CHEYENNE - Snowpack in Wyoming is significantly higher now than it was at this time last year, but the state climatologist said it's still too early to tell if there will be enough water for the state to start recovering from eight dry years.

State Climatologist Steve Gray said snowpack statewide is about 95 percent of the historical average, compared with 75 percent of the historical average this time last year.

However, Gray said current snowpack is only a small indicator of what the year will bring because most of the big snowfall commonly comes in March, April and May.

Even then, Gray said, it would take years of above-average snowfall and runoff to replenish the state's reservoirs from the past several years of dry conditions.

"If what we are seeing now is not a result of global warming, then it's definitely a preview of what we would see in the coming decades from global warming," Gray said.

John Lawson, Wyoming area manager of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, said snowpack in the dangerously dry North Platte region in south-central Wyoming is about 90 percent of the historical average. He said that last year at this time, snowpack stood at 79 percent.

Lawson said it's hard to tell what the increase in snowpack could mean for runoff later on. His office now is forecasting April-through-July runoff in the North Platte Basin above Glendo Dam to be 92 percent of the 30-year average. That number reflects projections of 99 percent of average runoff entering Seminoe Reservoir, 64 percent of average coming from the Sweetwater River, and 62 percent of average coming from the basin between Pathfinder and Glendo reservoirs.

Lawson said the North Platte Basin needs good runoff more than any other basin in the state because the area usually dries out even when it gets good snowpack. Two main reservoirs in the North Platte Basin, Seminoe and Pathfinder, are only about 20 percent full now.

Gray said the drought has also brought a Wyoming-Montana dispute over water supply to the forefront. The Big Horn River, which starts from Wyoming and flows into Montana, supplies water to both states.

Gray said there's ample snow in the nearby Big Horn Mountains right now, and more runoff from the Big Horns into the Big Horn River could help calm the interstate dispute.

The Bureau of Reclamation is forecasting inflow to Buffalo Bill Reservoir from April through July to be 93 percent of the historical average. Runoff into Boysen Reservoir is predicted to be 72 percent of average.

Gray said northwest and north-central Wyoming, including the Big Horn and Powder River basins, are faring best in the state with nearly average snowpack.

These numbers show the percentages of water content in snowpack around Wyoming when compared with the historical average as of Wednesday:

Snake River Basin 98 percent

Upper Yellowstone/Madison 113 percent

Wind River Basin 90 percent

Big Horn Basin 95 percent

Shoshone River Basin 95 percent

Powder-Tongue Basin 99 percent

Belle Fourche Basin 76 percent

Upper N. Platte Basin 110 percent

Lower N. Platte/Sweetwater 90 percent

Little Snake River Basin 117 percent

Upper Green River Basin 82 percent

Lower Green River Basin 86 percent

Upper Bear River Basin 96 percent

Source: National Resources Conservation Service]]>