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December precipitation over the West North Central region ranged from below-normal in the Great Plains states (NE, SD) to above-normal over the Rocky Mountain states (MT, WY). On a regionwide basis, the month ranked as the 48th wettest December in the 109-year record.
Late fall and early winter storm systems have brought a near- to above-normal snowpack to much of the central and northern Rockies. This is seen in snowfall reports of valley stations (December SF and days with SF, season-to-date SF and days with SF), snow water content reports of high altitude SNOTEL stations, and snow course observations. However, this is early in the snow season. The current snow water content is well below the April seasonal peak norms*. Several more months of above-normal precipitation are required before significant improvement is seen in reservoir levels and other indicators.
* Some cautionary notes (from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) regarding the experimental percent of seasonal peak norms map:
- Some SNOTEL sites are relatively new, so historical peaks are not
available. That is why you have some "black" dots.
- Percent of peak values are traditionally low right now.
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Climate-2003 /
Dec /
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