Final Manual Snowpack Readings For 2025 Look Good For Tongue River Basin/Not So Good For Powder River Basin

With the warmer weather approaching, the rate of the snowmelt in various parts of Wyoming is increasing, and the latest manual readings are providing mixed results for the Cowboy State.

The latest readings in the Tongue River basin recorded in late April, show the snowpack numbers are at 117% compared to the 30 year average, and those numbers are the highest in the state.

All stations were reporting numbers greater than 100%.

Most of western Wyoming is reporting between 73%-95%.

The Clear Creek Drainage within the Powder River drainage area, checked in at 96%, but as a whole, the Powder River was only at 67%.

Andrew Cassiday is the District Conservationist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.

He expressed concern regarding the southern Johnson County area, and says sometimes the numbers around this time of year can be a little deceiving.

“The rate of melt can affect the numbers. They can be deceptively high, if the rate of melt is slower than typical, or deceptively low, if the rate of melt is fast. If we warm up and we melt in late April, our numbers can be very low, or if we hold snow towards the first of June, with no new accumulation, can show much higher, because of that time element in those averages.”

Cassiday added he believes the snow melt for April in both the Tongue River and Powder River drainage areas, were a little slower than normal.