Elbow Lake SNOTEL

3,050 ftWhatcom County, WashingtonNRCS site 910Updated Thu Oct 22, 6:00 PM PDT

Last peak10.0″SWE · Jan 11
Depth0″snow-free since Apr 21
Temp44°44°–61° 48 h
Wed 21Thu 22Past 48 hAir temperature44°F now40°60°32°44°FNow · Thu 6 PM
WedThuPast 48 hAir temperature44°F now40°60°32°44°FNow · Thu 6 PM
Fri 16Sat 17Sun 18Mon 19Tue 20Wed 21Past 7 daysAir temperature44°F now40°60°32°44°FNow · Thu 6 PM
FriSatSunMonTueWedPast 7 daysAir temperature44°F now40°60°32°44°FNow · Thu 6 PM
0″20″40″OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJul
0″20″40″ONDJFMAMJJ
<50%50–6970–8990–109110–129130–149150%+
0″2″8″16″32″+
0″6″24″48″100″+
Map
Open in the Vertex map

Next 3 days

The forecast for this station is on its way.

16-day outlook, three models

Last season

10.0″peak snow water equivalent

Last season peaked at 10.0″ of water, 25% of the median peak.

Nearby SNOTEL stations

All Washington

Station details

Elevation
3,050 ft
Location
48.6909°N, 121.9089°W
County
Whatcom County, Washington
Basin
Nooksack · HUC 17110004
Network
NRCS SNOTEL · site 910
Station ID
910:WA:SNTL · SHEF ELSW1
Reporting since
August 1995
NWS forecast office
Seattle (SEW) discussion

Questions

What is snow water equivalent (SWE)?

SWE is the depth of water you would get by melting the whole snowpack. Fresh powder is often 5 to 10% water; old spring snow can be 40% or more.

How often does Elbow Lake SNOTEL update?

The station reports every hour by radio telemetry to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. This page refreshes each hour. Readings are provisional until NRCS quality control.

What does “% of median” mean?

It compares today’s SWE with the 1991–2020 median for the same calendar day at this station. Above 100% means more water in the snowpack than on a typical year’s same date.

Where is Elbow Lake SNOTEL?

At 3,050 ft in Whatcom County, Washington (48.6909°N, 121.9089°W), in the Nooksack basin.

How is the snow forecast made?

Vertex runs the HRRR, RRFS and GFS weather models at the station’s own elevation and carries the measured snowpack forward hour by hour. Treat it as guidance, and check your avalanche center’s forecast before heading out.