Scientists measure snowpack in peak week of April

Snowpack in Colorado typically reaches a peak in the second week of April allowing for the first accurate prediction of how much water will be available to us this summer when the demand for water goes up.

And there is good news in this season's numbers.

First, you don't want the peak to happen too early. On average the peak of snowpack happens on April 8. This season, it peaked on April 9 right in that zone. And that's the second consecutive year peaking near the average after the previous two seasons peaked a little early.

You also want the amount of water in the snow to peak at or near the median. It's called the SWE or snow-water equivalent and gets measured. And the median snowpack for the state of Colorado is 15.4 inches. This year we peaked at 16.7 inches. It's the second consecutive season above the median after the previous two seasons peaked below the median.

Another good thing – the snow was well distributed across the state with all the major river basins peaking at least slightly above the median.

Now we go through the melting season, we'll keep monitoring the snowpack because we don't want the snow to melt too fast. The way we'll know is if this number stays close to 100% of the median through May.