County snow totals stay high

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
Snow totals in areas closest to Newcastle included in the Black Hills Snow Course reading are, once again, above average, according to the Feb. 1 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Sundance. 
As of Feb. 1, both Little Bear Run and Mallo have above-average snow totals and snow water equivalents similar to last year’s totals at the same time, the report states. Little Bear Run currently has a snow depth of 16 inches with a snow water equivalent of 3 inches, while Mallo has a current snow depth of 25.6 inches and snow water equivalent of 5.8 inches. 
Snow water equivalent, or SWE, is a common snowpack measurement for the amount of water contained in the snowpack. It can be thought of as the depth of water that would theoretically result if the snowpack were to melt instantaneously, according to Jason Nehl, a U.S. Department of Agriculture resource specialist in Sundance, Wyo. 
The 30-year median for Little Bear Run is 2.6 inches of snow water equivalent, meaning that currently there is 115% of the 30-year median. Mallo, on the other hand, is at 126% of the 30-year median, which is 4.6 inches of snow water equivalent. 
Last year, the News Letter Journal reported that the snow water equivalent for Little Bear Run was at 135% of the 30-year median or 3.5 inches of SWE, while Mallo was at 122% of the 30-year median or 5.6 inches of SWE. 
Snow totals have likely increased, however, after a Feb. 3 storm dropped roughly 3 inches of snow in Newcastle city limits, according to Rangeland Management Specialist Joseph Rhoades for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service in Newcastle.