• The Fork ran at 113% of average at Stillwater and at 163.5% of average below Maroon Creek on May 21.
• Snowpack at Indy Pass reached 2.9 inches of snow-water equivalent on May 21.
• Lake Powell’s elevation jumped from 3,538 feet last week to 3,547 feet on May 21.

Author Archives: Laurine Lassalle
Laurine Lassalle is Aspen Journalism’s data desk editor, where she works to catalogue and analyze local public data. She also heads our our “Tracking the Curve” project, documenting COVID-19 in Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield counties. She has a master’s degree in data and investigative journalism from UC Berkeley with an emphasis on environmental reporting.
Data dashboard: Winter occupancy down from last year
• The air quality in Aspen was “good” last week except on May 10 when the AQI index for ozone reached up to 64.
• Winter occupancy was down from last year with 53.8% for Aspen and Snowmass combined, down from 2022’s 60.2%.
• The Fork ran at 120% of average below Maroon Creek, while the Colorado reached 211% of average near the Colorado-Utah stateline.
Data dashboard: Air temperatures and streamflow on the rise
• The Fork ran at 354 cfs or 118.8% of average below Maroon Creek on May 7. That’s up from 187 cfs last week.
• Snowpack at Indy Pass was at 86.7% of median on May 7. That’s down from last week’s 100.6% of normal.
• High air temperatures reached 70°F on May 1 at ASE.
Data dashboard: Spring runoff boosts streamflows
• The Fork ran at 78.9% of average on April 30 below Maroon Creek and at 102.2% of average at Emma.
• Lake Powell’s elevation reaches the target elevation of 3,525 feet on April 30.
• Air quality in Aspen has improved since last week.
New short-term-rental rules limit supply, restrict future growth
Since new permits became available in September and October, Aspen has issued 790 as of April 3 and 111 licenses were issued in unincorporated Pitkin County as of April 20, for a total of 901 licensed STRs between the jurisdictions. That appears to be well below the total number of properties involved in short-term vacation renting prior to the new permit regulations, when neither jurisdiction had strict limits on STR proliferation.
Data dashboard: Lake Powell rises above target elevation
• Lake Powell’s elevation reached 3,525.3 feet on April 23. That’s the first time since December that the reservoir’s water levels are above target elevation.
• The Fork at Stillwater ran at 40.1 cfs or 65.7% of average on April 23. That’s down from 117.4% of average last week.
• The air quality in Aspen was “moderate” last week. The AQI index reached up to 84 for ozone on April 23.
Real-time streamflow
Users can hover on each graph to get the most current streamflow information for the selected station.
Data dashboard: Streamflows spike as spring runoff begins
• Snowpack at Indy Pass went from 17.6 inches of snow-water equivalent on April 9 to 16.9 inches on April 16.
• The Fork at Emma ran at 412 cfs, or 101.7% of average, on April 16. That’s up from 244 cfs last week.
• Aspen recorded “moderate” air quality last week except for two days.
Data Dashboard: Snowpack at lower elevation sites just shy of records
• Snowpack at McClure Pass recorded a SWE of 29.2 inches on April 9, or 196% of median. It’s the second highest snowpack recorded at this site for that day between 1991 and 2020.
• Lake Powell’s water levels dropped to 3,520.4 feet or 4.6 feet below target elevation.
• Aspen recorded two days with “moderate” air quality last week.
Data dashboard: Winter occupancy lagging behind last year
• Aspen and Snowmass, combined, recorded 75.8% paid occupancy in February. That’s down from last year’s 78.5%.
• Snowpack at Ivanhoe reached 17.6 inches of snow-water equivalent, or 130.4% of median on April 2. That’s above the median seasonal peak of 17.2 inches.
• Lake Powell’s elevation is still hovering around 3,522 feet, or three feet below target elevation.