Colorado snowpack numbers continue to soar thanks to plentiful mountain snowfall

Snowpack is above normal across six of Colorado's eight river basins including the Slate Platte basin which includes the metro area.

The two basins that remain below normal are the Upper Rio Grande basin which includes the San Luis Valley as well as the Arkansas basin. This is largely because recent storms have mostly missed the Sangre de Cristo and Wet mountains near Cañon City, Walsenburg, and Trinidad.

The Yampa and White River basin in northwest Colorado is in the best shape with snowpack nearly 50% above normal for the first week in January. That basin includes the Steamboat Ski Resort which had the snowiest December in a decade and has received over 200 inches so far this season.

Almost every ski area in the state has received above normal snowfall so far this season. And the snowiest months of the year (March and April) are still ahead.

If healthy snowpack is able to continue through the spring, Colorado should have less drought, fewer water restrictions, and a less severe wildfire season in 2023.