Wyoming basin and water supply outlook reported for February

On Feb. 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) released the Wyoming Basin and Water Supply Outlook for February 2025, which analyzes snowpack, precipitation, streamflow and reservoir storage across the state of Wyoming.

The report assesses the water supply outlook for the entire state of Wyoming, as well as individual basins including the Snake River, Madison Headwaters, Yellowstone River, Wind River, Big Horn River, Shoshone River, Powder River, Tongue River, Belle Fourche River, Cheyenne River, Upper North Platte River, Lower North Platte River, Laramie River, Sweetwater River, South Platte River, Little Snake River, Upper Green River, Lower Green River and Upper Bear River basins.

Snowpack

and precipitation

According to NRCS, as of Feb. 1, snow water equivalent (SWE) across Wyoming was reported at 85 percent of median.

The Belle Fourche River Basin saw the highest SWE for the month at 116 percent of median, while the South Platte River Basin had the lowest SWE at 64 percent of median. 

NRCS notes the South Platte, Powder, Shoshone, Yellowstone, Wind, Madison Headwaters, Sweetwater, Snake, Little Snake, Lower North Platte, Upper Bear and Upper Green river basins posted SWEs below the 90 percent of median recorded from 1991 to 2020.

Additionally, the agency reports the highest amount of precipitation occurred in the South Platte River Basin at 209 percent of median, while the Madison Headquarters saw the least amount of precipitation for the month at 59 percent of median. 

Streamflow yields

For April through September, NRCS forecasts average streamflow yields from all basins in the state of Wyoming – except the Upper Green, Lower Green, Little Snake and Cheyenne river basins – at 84 percent of median. 

April through July median streamflow yields for these four exceptions are predicted at 80 percent of median in the Lower Green River Basin, 81 percent of median in the Little Snake River Basin, 82 percent of median in the Upper Green River Basin and 116 percent in the Cheyenne River Basin.

The NRCS report shows streamflow yields for individual basins across the state at 73 percent of median in the Sweetwater River Basin, 75 percent of median in both the Snake River and Wind River basins, 78 percent of median in the Big Horn River Basin and 79 percent of median in the Shoshone River Basin.

Median streamflow yields for the Lower North Platte, Yellowstone, Upper North Platte and Powder river basins are estimated at 81, 88, 93 and 95 percent, respectively, while both the Laramie and Tongue river basins are expected to see streamflow yields of 102 percent of median.

Reservoir storage

Additionally, the NRCS report outlines reservoir storage across the state of Wyoming, which averaged 89 percent of median as of Feb. 1.

Reservoirs reporting numbers below median include those in the Laramie River Basin at 53 percent, the Wind River Basin at 82 percent, the Upper Bear River Basin at 87 percent and the Cheyenne River Basin at 89 percent.

The Buffalo Bill Reservoir on the Shoshone and the Boyson Reservoir in the Wind River Basin were also below median, at 83 and 87 percent, respectively.

Reservoirs in the Belle Fourche River, Lower North Platte, Upper Green River, Upper North Platte and Lower Green River reported numbers near median at 90, 92, 93, 95 and 99 percent, respectively. 

Reservoirs in the Snake River Basin were above median at 104 percent.

Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.