JACKSON, Wyo. — On March 4, Teton Conservation District (TCD) announced that the Snow Water Equivalent (SWE), which measures the water content in the snowpack, has reached 100% of average for the Snake River Headwaters watershed basin.
In the beginning of February, the SWE was only at 75% of average.
“The recent heavy snowfall underscores just how much snowfall (LOTS!) is needed to ‘catch up’ when a basin falls behind in the mid to late season,” TCD said on its Facebook post.
A watershed basin consists of surface water — lakes, streams, reservoirs and wetlands — and all the underlying groundwater. Watersheds are important because the streamflow and the water quality of a river are affected by what happens on the land area “above” the river-outflow point, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). When snow or rain falls on dry ground, some of the water infiltrates the soil, and some of the water will infiltrate much deeper, recharging groundwater aquifers.
Since 1980, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), has partnered with the TCD, to operate a network of snowpack and climate sensors known as SNOTEL (“SNOwpack TELemetry”). These stations are equipped with sensors that calculate snow depth, snow water equivalent, temperature and other meteorological data. SNOTEL data is essential for snowpack monitoring, water supply forecasting, resource management and climate research, according to TCD.
