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Drought creeps in

By
Alexis Barker, News Editor

Over 95% of Weston County is now listed as being in some category of drought as snow totals drop across the area, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor and the March 1 Black Hills Snow Course Readings report completed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Sundance. Three months ago, Weston County was listed as being 100% drought free. 
 
According to the snow report, Little Bear Run has a current snow depth of zero inches. At the same time last year, the snow water equivalent was listed at 4 inches, with the 30-year median SWE listed as 3.6 inches. 
 
Snow water equivalent, or SWE, is a common snowpack measurement for the amount of water contained in the snowpack.
 
Last month, Little Bear Run had a snow depth of 3.7 inches, with an SWE of 0.6 inches. 
 
Mallo has also lost snow depth over the past month, with 9.4 inches on March 1 compared with 10.6 inches on Feb. 1. Despite the change in depth, the SWE remained the same at 2 inches. 
 
With an SWE of 2 inches, Mallo is sitting at 31% of the 30-year median of 6.5 inches. On March 1 of last year, the SWE was reported to be 6.1 inches. 
 
With the decrease in snow, the U.S. Drought Monitor shows an increase in drought across the county with 95.37% of Weston County currently listed as being in D0 drought or higher. The map used in this report was released on Feb. 29. 
 
A further breakdown shows that 59.41% is listed as being in D0 drought. According to the report, another 35.97% of the county is listed as being in D1 drought, up from 19.7% one week ago. 
 
D0 drought means the area is unseasonably dry, while D1 drought, or moderate drought, means the area has low hay and forage yield, elevated fire danger and fewer wildflower blooms. 
 
“Yeah, we are definitely seeing a lack thereof with regards to snow and soil moisture as a whole,” said Caleb Carter, Weston County Natural Resource District manager, “which is a real concern at this point. Look at the NRCS SNOTEL report; we are about where we were in 2022 but way lower than we were last year. Now, last year was certainly a high year and 2022 was a low year. 
 
According to the SNOTEL report dated March 4, both basins in Weston County are below the 30-year median. 
 

 
The Belle Fourche Basin is listed at 59% of the median, compared with 126% last year and 69% in 2022. The Cheyenne Basin is listed at 60% of the median, compared with 115% last year and 67% in 2022. 
 
Statewide, the report says, readings are at 95% of the median, with a basin high of 117% in the Upper Bear Basin and a basin low of 47% in the South Platte Basin. 
“Last year the state was at 118%, and at 84% in 2022,” the report says. 
 
In addition to lower basin levels, Carter said there is also low soil moisture content in the county. 
 
“We are showing around 5% to 30% soil moisture around the county, and in Crook County as well. This is very low and a big concern as there is very little snow to melt to increase this at this time,” Carter said. “Hopefully, we get some good spring moisture to help bring this up, but it will take a lot of moisture to bring us out of these drought conditions.” 
 
Because of the lack of moisture, Daniel Tysdal, Weston County Fire Warden, said that not only is Northeast Wyoming but all of Wyoming is experiencing some critical fire weather conditions. 
 
Weston County fire resources, he said, have already provided aid to a fire in Crook County on one of the two fires they had on the same day. 
 
“The [Highway] 16 Fire that Weston County assisted with ended up being 1,246 acres just east of Moorcroft,” Tysdal said. “There’s also been numerous other fires across the state and region as well. Wyoming State Forestry Division recently posted on their Facebook page ‘As of March 1, Wyoming has already burned more acres in the last few weeks than all the fires burned in 2023. Many of these recent fires were human caused. We ask everyone to be aware of the fire risks, especially during Red Flag warning days.’”
 
This, he said, demonstrates the seriousness of the current conditions and our need for “beneficial moisture.”
 
“Hopefully the next several weeks will turn around and bring us helpful moisture to recover from the lack of anything significant over the last several months,” Tysdal said. “In the meantime, we ask folks to please continue to use extreme caution with any outdoor activity that could start a fire and refrain from doing any controlled burns until significant moisture is received for a substantial duration of time. Also please double check any controlled burns recently completed to ensure they are dead out.” 
 
If a fire is spotted, he encouraged people to call 911 immediately so resources can be dispatched quickly.

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