Snow Water Equivalent (SWE): The liquid water equivalent of the snowpack, expressed in terms of depth.
Water Year: October 1 to September 30
Normal: The 1991-2020 median.
Percent of Median: The current value as percent of the current date’s normal.
Percent of Median Peak: The current value as % of the normal seasonal peak for the year.
Percentile: Ranking with respect to data on the same day of the year for other years in the period of record. The ranking percentile is equal to the fraction of available years whose value is less than the current year’s value. 100% means that all other years are less than the present value. 0% means that all other years are greater than or equal to the present value.
Record: A “new record high” means that the current value is now the highest value on record. A “near record high” means that the current value is exceeded or tied by only one other value on record. This is not necessarily an all-season record.
SNOTEL (SNOw TELemetry): An automated near real-time data collection network that provides mid to high elevation hydroclimatic data from mountainous regions of the western United States. A standard SNOTEL station provides snow water equivalent, snow depth, precipitation, and temperature data. The SNOTEL network is maintained by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting Program.
