Bureau March study shows lake Powell along with other reservoirs barely rising this year

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Brent said:
https://www.usbr.gov/uc/water/crsp/studies/24Month_03.pdf

A bit confused! A great snow year with 138% of normal and barely any reservoirs showing much of an increase. Am I missing something here?
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I live in South West Wyoming. We are having a late spring here. This time last year Flaming Gorge was loosing ice fast. I was out on the water on the 10th of March. This year the boat ramp I launch from is still iced up. So, to me, the inflows to the reservoirs are not representative of the snow pack we have. I can tell you that I have 8 foot piles of snow the entire length of my driveway. I had none last year. There is a lot of snow in the mountains that hasn't even begun to come down. We had another sub zero night here last night. It will come. Hope it doesn't come down all at once.
 
waterlogged said:
I live in South West Wyoming. We are having a late spring here. This time last year Flaming Gorge was loosing ice fast. I was out on the water on the 10th of March. This year the boat ramp I launch from is still iced up. So, to me, the inflows to the reservoirs are not representative of the snow pack we have. I can tell you that I have 8 foot piles of snow the entire length of my driveway. I had none last year. There is a lot of snow in the mountains that hasn't even begun to come down. We had another sub zero night here last night. It will come. Hope it doesn't come down all at once.
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Yes a buddy of mine lives in Rock Springs and he reports the same as you. I wonder how a frozen lake(FG) rises? cause the water is coming.
 
I believe the study is as of March one, and does not account for the significant above average snowfall during March. If you look over On the Lake Powell issues forum, there is a thread where I posted the increase from January to February to March reports.
 
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I am hoping all we have to do is wait. If memory serves, the peak flow of the Gunnison river through Gunnison is in early June. It is still winter here Everything is frozen. An ice-fishing friend told me yesterday the ice on Blue Mesa is 30 inches near the marina and 12 near the dam. Crested Butte ski resort reported 274 inches of snow and as far as I can tell it is all still up there.

I was encouraged by the projection for Blue Mesa, putting 57 feet on the lake this summer and starting fall in a much improved position over last year. Blue Mesa is at 30% right now. Thanks for the link to the study.
 
OK I stand corrected. Chrisut is correct. The study was done on 3/1. We were only at about 110% of normal then. Guess I have to wait till the 4/1 to come out.
 
I think it’s coloradwater.org. Just posted an article that the snow pack it huge. Expect at the end of the water year Powell will be at 47% of average
 
Steve Moore said:
Watereducationcolorado.org
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LINK

"But snow isn’t water, and hydrologists and forecasters say they will be keeping a close eye on how quickly spring runoff occurs, how fast the weather heats up, and how much demand increases in the summer. All those factors will determine how much of the snow turns into water and makes its way into streams and reservoirs. Another key concern is how much water the state’s ultra-dry soils, still parched from last year, will absorb."
 
As I also posted on water discussion in Issues forum:
I just saw on Weather Channel that the NWS released April through June precipitation forecast. Colorado is right in the center of a larger area of above average precip. We can hope that adds to snowpack and dampens the dreaded warm spring winds.
 
Speaking of Spring runoff, anybody know what the “optimum” conditions would be for maximum runoff? (Most efficient conversion from snowpack to filled lakes with minimal evaporation/absorbtion)
 
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