Star Valley Ranch Winter Snowfall and Drought Update
March 2021 produced well below normal precipitation/snow in Star Valley Ranch. After a February that ended up with 7 feet of snow the change in the storm track to south of Star Valley provided a needed winter break. Now that it is April typically the winter snow season is behind us (there can still be significant snows (even into May as Valley residents are aware) however any additional snow should quickly melt away under the strong spring sun.
Below is a March summary for the past 5 years of both snowfall and total precipitation at Star Valley Ranch.
March Snow and Precipitation for Star Valley Ranch WY
Year Snow Precipitation inches
2021 10.6 .57
2020 22.5 2.19
2019 23.3 2.12
2018 35.7 2.75
2017 17.2 2.81
Of more importance is the Winter snowfall for the Water Year that begins on Oct 1 each year.
Following is the data for the last 5 years for the period from Oct 1 -March 31
Oct 1-March 31 Snow/precipitation Oct 1-March 31
Year Snow Precipitation inches
2021 178 11.78
2020 216 15.11
2019 192 15.72
2018 164 14.97
2017 219 24.43
Regarding the notable drought conditions over much of the west, Star Valley so far is doing ok. Following are the charts indicating where the drought stands across the west including Wyoming. While our area is not far from average conditions, just to the south into Utah and from there south and west through Arizona and California, there exist extreme to exceptional drought
Just looking at Wyoming again the central part of the state is under extreme drought conditions while the western counties and southeast counties(Thanks to the mammoth snow storm last month around Cheyenne) are faring well with only a little drier than normal.
