Actions

Denver7 joins researchers as they hike into the mountains to measure record low snowpack levels

There are more than 60 USDA snow survey sites across Colorado. The data is then averaged with SNOTEL numbers to create the snowpack percentage we all see.

Posted

By: Dan Grossman

David Tay, Denver7

Hydrologist Brian Domonkos takes notes of Colorado's latest snowpack numbers.

Hiking at 11,000 feet of elevation isn't a walk in the park.

Then add freezing temperatures, 40mph wind gusts, 30lbs of equipment, and two feet of snow.

That's the reality for 23-year hydrology veteran Brian Domonkos as he and two other hydrologists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture hike into a wooded area around 10 miles northeast of Fairplay in Park County to measure the snowpack.

The site, called Mosquito Creek, feeds into the South Platte River Basin, which supplies water to nearly all of Metro Denver.

It's one of more than 60 snow survey sites the USDA manages from January through May to get the most accurate snowpack readings possible.

"The work that we do is very important," Domonkos said. "The snowpack that we measure in the mountains of Colorado and across much of the Western United States usually constitutes about 80% of the water that we use in the Western United States."

On this day, Domonkos is joined by Chad Cherefko and Alex Mass as they take a massive metal rod with measurement markings and drop it into the snow at 10 measurement locations within the Mosquito Creek site.

Each time, they record the snow depth and snow weight, using both to calculate the snow density and determine how much water it's holding.

That information is then posted and used by the Colorado Department of Transportation, local municipalities, fire departments, and state governments to guide regulations and policy decisions.

It’s not new news that we’re in the midst of one of the worst snow seasons in Colorado history. As of Tuesday, Colorado’s snowpack is at 62%, according to USDA numbers. Last week’s storm helped the southern part of our state, but it didn’t help in Mosquito Creek.

Brian and his team measured the snowpack at the site is 45% of the median, a decrease from 48% last month.

Domonkos notes that while snowpack is important, when the snow falls is equally, if not more important.

"It is possible to have an even worse fire year if you have a great snowpack, but then a dry spring and a dry summer," Domonkos said. “One big storm can change everything, and then a good change from a dry pattern to a wet pattern, from spring into summer, or a good monsoon can wind up really helping keep things dampened down, those soils moist and the trees a lot wetter and hydrated.”

Amid the record-low snow season, the City of Aurora told Denver7 weeks ago it was anticipating water restrictions come spring. Same with Denver Golf.

Scroll down to see 24-hour snow reports from Colorado ski resorts and the latest Colorado snowpack report.