Runoff Arriving a Month Early
Record warm temperatures over the past several weeks have accelerated snowmelt across the Western Slope, pushing spring runoff well ahead of schedule. KVNF looked at stream gauge data on two local rivers to get a clearer picture of what's happening on the ground. On the North Fork of the Gunnison near Somerset, flows last week averaged around 228 cubic feet per second — more than triple the same period last year and nearly 80% above normal for late March. Typically, the river doesn't reach that level until mid-April. On the Uncompahgre River near Ridgway, flows were about 60% higher than last year and 35% above normal for this time of year.
Snowpack at Historic Lows
The bigger concern is what's left in the mountains to melt. The snow water equivalent in the Gunnison Basin — which covers the majority of the KVNF listening area — has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded for this time of year. To put it in context: the worst water year in the past three decades had 9.6 inches of snow water equivalent on March 26th. This year, that number was just 4.1 inches — less than half the previous record low, and less than a third of the 30-year average of 14.5 inches.
The Situation Is Getting Worse
By April 1st, the Gunnison Basin snowpack had dropped further to just 2.2 inches of snow water equivalent — more than seven times below the April 1st average, and more than four times less than the previous record low. If meaningful moisture doesn't arrive soon, snowpack gauges in the basin could reach zero as early as mid-to-late April. In a normal year, that doesn't happen until early June. A weather system passed over the Western Slope Tuesday and Wednesday, dropping some sporadic moisture. KVNF will continue to report on drought conditions and their economic, social, and cultural effects in the months ahead.
