Latest Wyoming Water Outlook is Not What We Want

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued their latest summary of water resources in Wyoming.

Here are some high points...

----Wyoming Water Supply Synopsis:

…Wyoming April precipitation was near 100 percent of average...

...Current water year precipitation is averaging 85 to 90 percent of normal across Wyoming…

…Mountain snowpack across Wyoming decreased to 60 to 70 percent of average...

…Below normal snowmelt streamflow volumes are expected across all major basins in Wyoming...

…Wyoming carryover reservoir storages are still 110 to 120 percent of average for May…

April precipitation totals across Wyoming were nearly 100 percent of average. Precipitation numbers varied between 244 percent of average over the Crow Creek/Lodgepole Creek Drainage (extreme southeast Wyoming) to near 59 percent of normal over the Upper Bear Watershed (extreme southwest Wyoming). Current water year (October 2014 – April 2015) precipitation across Wyoming was 85 to 90 percent of average.

Mountain snowpack across Wyoming decreased to 60 to 70 percent of median by early May. Snowpack "water" numbers and/or SWEs were the highest across basins in northern Wyoming---varying between 70 to 85 percent of median. SWEs across southern Wyoming continued to be the lowest at 50 to 70 percent of median.

Below normal (50 to 65 percent) snowmelt streamflow volumes are expected across all major basins across Wyoming. Several central and southern basins—including the Upper North Platte, the Wind, the Little Snake, and the Upper Bear---are forecasted to have well below (< 60%) normal streamflow volumes during the upcoming snowmelt season.

Carryover reservoirs storages across Wyoming continue to be above average (greater than 115 percent) for May.