Snowpack drops to near half of normal levels

Though flurries have passed through the area fairly regularly over the last couple of weeks, Wyoming’s snowpack is lower than usual so far this season – and Crook County is almost at the bottom of the list in terms of how much snow has accumulated in this area.

While the overall average for the state is 88% of the median for this time of the year, Crook County has just over half the snowpack it would normally see. Only South Platte has a lower percentage at 31% of median.

According to the Water Resources Data System and Wyoming State Climate Office, the Belle Fourche Basin was at just 55% of its median at the end of 2021. The percentage dropped throughout the second half of December, from 66% on December 14 to 58% on December 21.

The situation right now is similar what Crook County experienced at the same time last year, when drought conditions had properly set in.

At the end of 2020, the snowpack in the Belle Fourche Basin was at 59% of median – a significant drop from the end of 2019, when it was over its average at 110%.

The National Integrated Drought Information System lists 2021 as the sixth driest year for Crook County in the 127 years covered by records. The county received 5.3 fewer inches of precipitation than normal.

The majority of the county is still flagged as suffering severe drought conditions, with moderate drought in the southeastern corner. The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center expects the drought to persist over the remainder of the season.