Warm And Dry January leaves Southeast Wyoming Parched For Snow

The Cheyenne Office of the National Weather Service says snow pack totals across the region are far below normal totals for this time of year.

That includes a snowpack in the South Laramie Range that is only 4 percent of normal. While most other snowpack totals are not that low, totals around the region are generally well below normal.

The agency posted the following on its website:

 January continued the warm and dry trend that has dominated this winter season so far. It will come as no surprise that snowfall is well below average across our entire area. Cheyenne's 7.6" for the season so far is the 6th least on record, and Scottsbluff's 3.8" for the season so far is the 4th least on record. This season's snowfall has generally come from numerous light dusting type events, and most areas have not seen a storm drop more than 2" at one time! The dry January caused mountain snowpack to fall even further behind. While not quite at record lows just yet, most of SE Wyoming's high elevations are in the lowest 10% of years for mountain snowpack. Snow water equivalent in the southern Laramie Range (between Laramie and Cheyenne) is below the prior record low value. February 1 marks roughly halfway through the snow accumulation season for our area. In Cheyenne, March and April are, on average, the snowiest months of the year, with February not far behind. The first 8-10 days of February will continue the warm and dry weather pattern, but there are hints of a possible pattern change around February 10-12. However, outlooks that far out include significant uncertainty.