Snow in short supply

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
Snow totals in the area continue to be significantly below the 30-year median, according to the February Black Hills Snow Course Readings completed by the Natural Resource Conservation District’s Sundance office. Soil conservation technician Sherry Burr said that Northeast Wyoming and the Black Hills need snow. 
Little Bear Run, with an elevation of 6,240 feet, currently has 8.3 inches of snow, up from 6.5 inches in January, with a 1.3 inch snow water equivalent. Last year, the snow water equivalent in February was 1.2 inches. 
According to the NRCS website, “snow water equivalent, or SWE, is a commonly used measurement used by hydrologists and water managers to gauge the amount of liquid water contained within the snowpack. In other words, it is the amount of water that will be released from the snowpack when it melts.”
The average snow water equivalent for the area is 2.7 inches, meaning the current SWE is 48% of the 30-year median, from 1991 to 2020. 
Mallo, the other area near Newcastle included in the report, has an elevation of 6,420 feet with a current snow depth of 13.5 inches, up from 8.1 inches in January. This equates to a snow water equivalent of 1.8 inches, well below the 30-year median of 4.7 inches. 
This means Mallo has 38% of the 30-year median SWE. Last year the area had a snow water equivalent of 1.3 inches in January. 
In addition to the areas closest to Newcastle, other areas are seeing little snow pack with percentages ranging from 22% to 64% of the 30-year median. 
With the low snowpack, Weston County continues to see drought conditions across the county in various degrees of severity, according to drought.gov. 
Level 1, Moderate Drought, involves “some damage to crops, pastures; streams, reservoirs, or wells low, some water shortages developing or imminent; and voluntary water-use restrictions requested,” according to the monitor.
The monitor currently shows 90.33% of the county in moderate drought, up from just over 86% last month, with 44.1% of that listed as being in severe drought, up from 14.53% last month. 
Severe drought is classified as areas with poor pasture conditions, scarce hay, dust increases, stressed trees and vegetation and low water pressure. 
In addition to this, the entire county is listed as being abnormally dry. 
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center’s update predicts that the drought will persist in Newcastle and most of Weston County throughout February.