Montana SNOTEL Data Update - "It's a good thing"

Water is and will always be an issue in western Montana. There were worries in the fishing community that last year's relatively low snowpack would result in some seasonal closures due to low flows and high temperatures. Alas, we were saved by some spring and early summer rains that resulted in a 1.3 Recurrence Interval (RI) peak discharge of 9,980 cubic feet per second (cfs), which is below average, at the Clark Fork River above Missoula gage. While the peak discharge was below average there were multiple peaks and the higher flows were prolonged. As such, there were no fishing closures in western Montana last year. Such worries were not present during the two previous water years (2008 and 2009) when the recurrence interval of the peak discharge during spring runoff was a 2.8 with a discharge of 17,500 cfs. I have been lucky enough to have not been effected by any fishing closures during my short fly fishing career. This year, as those of you who live in western Montana know, we have had our fair share of snow and has resulted in healthy snowpack levels throughout the state. While there is plenty of time until the spring runoff of 2011 and there are other factors influencing the scale of runoff (namely timing and mechanisms that initiate it), it feels good to look at the numbers below and have a little confidence that this year's runoff will do good geomorphic and ecologic work. It is nice to see numbers above 100% and no where close to the 50%, 60%, and 70% seen last spring. Enjoy the recently updated SNOTEL data below. I am.

	Snow Water Equivalent	YTD Precip
Basin Site Name	Percent of Average	Percent of Average
KOOTENAI RIVER	113	106
FLATHEAD RIVER	129	119
UPPER CFR	114	107
BITTERROOT RIVER	98	109
LOWER CFR	107	105
JEFFERSON RIVER	116	118
MADISON RIVER	119	121
GALLATIN RIVER	129	128
MISSOURI HEADWATERS	121	123
HW MISSOURI MAINSTEM	112	99
SMITH, JUDITH, MUSSELSHELL	132	120
SUN, TETON, MARIAS	100	83
MISSOURI MAINSTEM	118	101
ST. MARY and MILK	109	103
UPPER YELLOWSTONE	129	124
WIND RIVER (WY)	118	110
SHOSHONE RIVER (WY)	111	117
BIGHORN RIVER (WY)	106	104
TONGUE RIVER (WY)	83	85
POWDER RIVER (WY)	102	85
LOWER YELLOWSTONE	107	103