
Wyoming Drought Information
The Riverton Weather Forecast Office has provided comprehensive information on the current drought situation as it pertains to Western Wyoming including Star Valley:
DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 808 PM MST THU FEB 28 2013 ...SOME EASING OF DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS WESTERN WYOMING DURING FEBRUARY... ...MARCH OUTLOOK - COLDER THAN NORMAL... SYNOPSIS... THE LATEST U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR FOR WYOMING RELEASED ON FEBRUARY 28TH SHOWED SOME IMPROVEMENT ACROSS WESTERN WYOMING AND THE BIG HORN BASIN DURING FEBRUARY. TETON COUNTY WAS LARGELY DROUGHT FREE WITH ABNORMALLY DRY /D0/ CONDITIONS NOW COVERING YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK AND MOST OF TETON COUNTY. DROUGHT CONDITIONS ALSO IMPROVED ACROSS THE REST OF THE FAR WEST WITH MODERATE DROUGHT /D1/ OVERTAKING SEVERE DROUGHT /D2/ ACROSS THE STAR VALLEY AND WESTERN UINTA COUNTY. DROUGHT CONDITIONS REMAINED MOSTLY THE SAME ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN WYOMING DURING FEBRUARY. EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT /D4/ COVERED 10.1 PERCENT OF THE STATE...OR MOST OF GOSHEN...NIOBRARA AND WESTON COUNTIES...CREEPING INTO EASTERN CONVERSE AND SOUTHEAST CAMPBELL COUNTIES. EXTREME DROUGHT /D3/ COVERED MOST OF CENTRAL WYOMING...WITH EXTREME OR EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT COVERING 56.7 PERCENT OF WYOMING. SEVERE /D2/ DROUGHT REMAINED ACROSS THE NORTHEAST...SOUTHEAST CORNERS OF THE STATE AS WELL AS PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING. SEVERE DROUGHT OR WORSE COVERED 83.6 PERCENT OF WYOMING. SUMMARY OF IMPACTS... RIVER AND STREAMFLOW CONDITIONS. USGS WYOMING DROUGHT-WATCH 28-DAY MAP OF BELOW AVERAGE STREAMFLOW SHOWED BELOW NORMAL STREAM FLOW ACROSS THE SNAKE RIVER BASIN...THE UPPER AND LOWER GREEN RIVER BASINS...THE LITTLE SNAKE RIVER BASIN AND THE SOUTH PLATTE BASIN. NO RIVER BASINS IN WYOMING WERE IN HYDROLOGIC DROUGHT CONDITIONS. FIRE WEATHER IMPACTS. NO FUELS WERE CLASSIFIED AS CRITICAL IN ANY AREAS ACROSS WEST AND CENTRAL WYOMING. MOST FUELS RECEIVED ADDITIONAL SNOW DURING FEBRUARY AND REMAINED UNDER SNOW COVER. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL COUNTY OFFICIALS FOR THE LATEST BURNING RESTRICTIONS. CLIMATE SUMMARY... BELOW ARE THE CUMULATIVE PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS FROM SELECTED LOCATIONS ACROSS WEST AND CENTRAL WYOMING FOR THE CURRENT WATER YEAR...OCTOBER 2012 THROUGH JANUARY 2013. LOCATION PRECIPITATION % AVERAGE OCT 2012-JAN 2013 -------- ------------- ----------- AIRPORTS * BIG PINEY 0.50 37 * BUFFALO 2.08 91 + CASPER 1.71 60 ^ EVANSTON 2.34 70 + GREYBULL 0.68 48 + LANDER 2.27 72 + RIVERTON 1.18 61 + ROCK SPRINGS 0.32 14 * SHERIDAN 3.50 108 + WORLAND 1.25 83 COOPERATIVE OBSERVER STATIONS ^ BEDFORD 3 SE 9.95 128 * BILLY CREEK 2.52 125 + BITTER CREEK 4 NE 1.20 68 * FOSSIL BUTTE NATIONAL MONUMENT 4.31 135 + GREEN RIVER 3.12 156 + JEFFREY CITY 1.00 45 MOOSE 9.10 97 OLD FAITHFUL 9.92 108 * POWELL FIELD STATION 0.77 71 + RIVERTON (DOWNTOWN) 1.44 81 * THERMOPOLIS 1.58 55 + LOCATION IN EXTREME DROUGHT /D3/ * LOCATION IN SEVERE DROUGHT /D2/ ^ LOCATION IN MODERATE DROUGHT /D1/ PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOKS... THE OUTLOOK FOR MARCH SHOWED A BETTER THAN EQUAL CHANCE OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS WYOMING WITH THE GREATEST CHANCE OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES NORTH OF A KEMMERER TO CASPER LINE. THIS WOULD BE QUITE A CHANGE FROM A YEAR AGO...MARCH 2012 WAS THE WARMEST ON 119 YEARS OF RECORD IN WYOMING. WYOMING HAS AN EQUAL CHANCE OF ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL PRECIPITATION DURING MARCH. THE THREE MONTH OUTLOOK FOR MARCH...APRIL AND MAY SHOWS A GREATER THAN EQUAL CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF WYOMING. THE REST OF WYOMING HAS EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE...BELOW...OR NORMAL TEMPERATURES. THE PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK FOR THIS THREE MONTH PERIOD SHOWS A BETTER THAN EQUAL CHANCE FOR BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST TWO-THIRDS OF THE STATE. THE NORTHEAST THIRD OF WYOMING HAS EQUAL CHANCES FOR ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL PRECIPITATION OR NO SIGNIFICANT CLIMATE SIGNAL. DEVELOPMENT OF EL NINO CONDITIONS STALLED OUT IN SEPTEMBER IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN. ENSO NEUTRAL CONDITIONS WERE OBSERVED IN JANUARY. ENSO-NEUTRAL CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH SPRING. THE U.S. SEASONAL DROUGHT OUTLOOK RELEASED ON FEBRUARY 21ST SHOWED THAT DROUGHT CONDITIONS WERE FORECAST TO PERSIST ACROSS MOST AREAS IN WYOMING CURRENTLY CLASSIFIED WITH DROUGHT CONDITIONS THROUGH MAY. HOWEVER...SOME IMPROVEMENT WAS FORECAST OVER THE SHOSHONE AND CLARKS FORK RIVER BASIN. HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK... SNOWPACK DATA FOR FEBRUARY 28TH - PERCENT OF AVERAGE DRAINAGE BASIN SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT (SWE) (BASED ON 1981-2010 NORMALS) SNAKE RIVER 87 MADISON 91 YELLOWSTONE 93 WIND RIVER 86 BIG HORN BASIN 95 SHOSHONE RIVER 93 POWDER 101 TONGUE 93 BELLE FOURCHE 84 CHEYENNE 89 UPPER NORTH PLATTE 76 SWEETWATER 78 LOWER NORTH PLATTE 68 LARAMIE 76 SOUTH PLATTE 73 LITTLE SNAKE RIVER 80 UPPER GREEN 83 LOWER GREEN 79 UPPER BEAR 75 _____________________________________________ RESERVOIR DATA FOR FEBRUARY 27TH - RESERVOIR PERCENT FULL CENTRAL WYOMING BOYSEN 70.0 BUFFALO BILL 66.5 BULL LAKE 51.4 PATHFINDER 42.0 UPPER GREEN RIVER BASIN BIG SANDY 20.0 FONTENELLE 41.0 FLAMING GORGE 79.0 UPPER SNAKE RIVER BASIN GRASSY LAKE 85.0 JACKSON LAKE 73.0
Here is a look at what the forecast temperatures and precipitation are for much of the Spring.