Aspen Journalism is compiling a data dashboard highlighting metrics of local public interest, updated weekly.
Snowpack at Schofield Pass reaches 29 inches of snow-water equivalent
Snowpack in the Roaring Fork basin reached an average of 16 inches of snow-water equivalent per site on March 24, or 107% of median. That’s up from 15.8 inches on March 17 and down from 110% of median, according to NRCS.
SNOTEL sites that monitor snowfall throughout the winter measured the snowpack at Independence Pass at 100% of median on March 24 with a “snow water equivalent” (SWE) of 15 inches, up from 14.2 inches and same as 100% of normal on March 17. Last year on March 24, the SNOTEL station up the pass (located at elevation 10,600 feet) recorded an SWE of 16.1 inches.
The monitoring station at McClure Pass, located at elevation 8,770 feet, recorded a SWE of 12.3 inches on March 24 or 82% of median. That’s down from a SWE of 12.9 inches on March 17. Last year, on March 24, the station measured a snowpack holding 26.7 inches of water.
On the northeast side of the Roaring Fork Basin, snowpack at Ivanhoe, which sits at an elevation of 10,400 feet, reached 16.8 inches of SWE on March 24, or 128.2% of median.
Snowpack at North Lost Trail, which sits at an elevation of 9,219 feet, has reached 15.9 inches of SWE on March 24, which is down from 16.1 inches on March 17.
Snowpack at Schofield Pass reached 29.4 inches on March 24, which represents 105% of median. That’s up from 27.1 inches on March 17. Schofield Pass sits at an elevation of 10,700 feet between Marble and Crested Butte.
Snow water equivalent — the metric used to track snowpack — is the amount of water contained within the snowpack, which will become our future water supply running in local rivers and streams.
Lake Powell’s water levels keep slowly decreasing
Lake Powell‘s water levels peaked in early July and are now decreasing. On March 24, the reservoir was 33.29% full (based on updated 2017-18 sedimentation data). That’s down from March 17 when the nation’s second-largest reservoir was at 33.53%.
On July 1, 2022, the Bureau of Reclamation revised its data on the amount of water stored in Lake Powell, with a new, lower tally taking into account a 4% drop in the reservoir’s total available capacity between 1986 and 2018 due to sedimentation. Aspen Journalism in July 2022 published a story explaining the that drop in storage due to sedimentation. We will be now using the 2017-18 sedimentation data only.
On March 24, 2023, the reservoir was 22.96% full.
On March 24, Lake Powell’s elevation reached 3,559.7 feet, or 140.4 feet from full pool, which is down from 3,560.4 feet on March 17. Last year, on March 24 the reservoir reached 3,521.61 feet in elevation, or 178.39 feet from full pool.
The “minimum power pool” for turbines generating hydropower at the Glen Canyon Dam is 3,490 feet, and 3,525 feet has been set as a buffer to ensure that the reservoir and the turbines can continue to function properly.
Air temperatures going up
High air temperatures at the Aspen airport went from 38°F on March 14 to 53°F on March 22, which is about 5 degrees above normal. Meanwhile, low temperatures went from 20°F on March 19 to 28°F on March 22.
