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Snow report

U.S. Snow Report Today

As of November 12, 2026, 783 snow stations are reporting and the typical station is at 77% of normal snowpack. 579 have snow on the ground and 39 reported new snow in the last 24 hours. The most snow in the 5-day forecast: Nuka Glacier, 50".

Snow stations
783 reporting · by state
Oregon: 31% of normalWashington: 38% of normalIdaho: 50% of normalNew Mexico: 50% of normalWyoming: 50% of normalMontana: 64% of normalUtah: 80% of normalAlaska: 112% of normalCalifornia: 121% of normalColorado: 133% of normalNevada: 150% of normalArizona: 175% of normal
Typical snowpack
77% of normal for the date
0%normal200%
Most snow coming
50" Nuka Glacier · next 5 days
Updated
Nov 12, 2026
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Snow briefing · Nov 12, 2026

What the snow is doing today

Today’s summary of SNOTEL readings, snow analysis and NWS snow alerts across the country.

Arctic Alaska Braces for Significant Snowfall as Northern Tier Sees Light Activity

While the Lower 48 experiences minimal snow activity with just two inches reported in isolated mountain locations, Alaska's North Slope is preparing for what could be the most significant snowfall event in the nation over the coming days. The Brooks Range and Arctic regions are forecast to receive substantial accumulations, with Imnaviat Creek leading projections at six inches of new snow accompanied by rain-snow mix and areas of fog. This represents a dramatic shift from the quiet conditions observed across most of the continental United States, where only Washington's Sawmill Ridge in the Cascades and Colorado's Vallecito in the San Juan Mountains reported modest two-inch totals over the past 24 hours.

The developing storm system targeting northern Alaska presents challenging conditions for the Dalton Highway corridor, particularly around Atigun Pass, which sits at the critical junction between interior Alaska and the North Slope oil fields. The pass is forecast to receive four inches of new snow mixed with freezing fog, creating hazardous travel conditions for truckers servicing Prudhoe Bay. The combination of reduced visibility and accumulating snow will likely impact operations along this vital supply route.

Even Prudhoe Bay itself, typically receiving less precipitation due to its coastal Arctic location, is expected to pick up two inches amid transitioning rain-snow conditions. The weather pattern suggests a vigorous low-pressure system tracking across Alaska's Arctic region, with temperatures hovering near freezing creating that messy rain-snow interface that often produces the heaviest precipitation rates.

For snow enthusiasts and researchers monitoring snowpack development, the contrast between regions is striking. Washington's Sawmill Ridge maintains a robust 170-inch base despite the modest recent additions, reflecting the Cascades' exceptional early-season snowpack. Meanwhile, Colorado's Vallecito sits at just three inches base depth with thunderstorms forecast, indicating the southern Rockies remain in their transitional spring pattern.

The real story unfolds in Alaska's high country, where despite minimal existing base depths of one to two inches, the incoming system represents the season's most significant accumulation event. This Arctic snowfall will be crucial for researchers tracking permafrost insulation and wildlife habitat conditions as summer approaches in the Far North.

By state

Snowpack vs normal, state by state

Each square is the typical snow station in that state, as a percent of normal snowpack for the date. Tap a state for its full snow report.

AK112%ALARAZ175%CA121%CO133%CTDCDEFLGAHIIAID50%ILINKSKYLAMAMDMEMIMNMOMSMT64%NCNDNENHNJNM50%NV150%NYOHOKOR31%PAPRRISCSDTNTXUT80%VAVTWA38%WIWVWY50%
<50%50–90%90–110%110–150%150%+ of normal
Looking ahead

Most snow in the next 5 days

Snow stations ranked by total forecast snowfall over the next 5 days.

Station24 hrs72 hrs5 daysOn the ground
Nuka Glacier AK
1,178 ft
1″ 4″ 50" 3"
Lower Kachemak Creek AK
1,876 ft
1″ 4″ 50" 1"
Nuka Glacier AK
1,250 ft
1″ 6″ 49" 5"
Exit Glacier AK
377 ft
1″ 4″ 40" 2"
Exit Glacier AK
400 ft
· 5″ 39" 2"
Grouse Creek Divide AK
712 ft
1″ 5″ 30" 1"
Grandview AK
1,100 ft
2″ 7″ 29" 7"
Grandview AK
1,056 ft
2″ 5″ 29" 7"
Grouse Creek Divide AK
700 ft
1″ 6″ 29" 1"
Mcneil Canyon AK
1,345 ft
· 1″ 25" 1"
Bloods Creek CA
7,211 ft
· 18″ 24" 5"
Nohrsc Horse Meadows CA
8,607 ft
· 17″ 23" 10"
Last 24 hours

Fresh snow

StationNew snowOn the ground
Grouse Camp WA 1" 1"
Evening Star WY 1" 3"
Younts Peak WY 1" 2"
Little Goose WY 1" 1"
Sage Creek Basin WY 1" 1"
Snider Basin WY 1" 1"
Gallegos Peak NM 1" 1"
San Antonio Sink NM 1" 1"
Independence Lake CA 1" 3"
Css Lab CA 1" 2"
Dismal Swamp CA 1" 1"
Squaw Valley G.c CA 1" 1"
Snowpack

Deepest snow

StationDepth% of normal
Look Eyrie Snotel AK 67" ·
Flower Mountain Snotel AK 36" 175%
Nohrsc Silver Lake (goes) CA 33" 94%
Beartown CO 29" 564%
Nohrsc Beartown CO 29" 290%
Hatcher Pass AK 29" 245%
Upper Tsaina River AK 28" 223%
Upper Tsaina River AK 28" ·
Red Mountain Pass CO 23" 243%
Nohrsc Red Mountain Pass CO 23" ·
Munson Ridge AK 23" 116%
Coldfoot AK 22" 470%

NRCS SNOTEL and partner stations, 783 reporting in the last few days. Forecasts are model guidance. Tap any station for its history and forecast.

State of the snow · rebuilt daily · 2026-11-12 AccumulationPeakMelt

State of the Snow

The water locked inside the snow, and where this winter is heading. Where normal for the date is at least an inch of snow water (251 stations), the West holds 60% of it and the median station sits at 40%, ranking #22 of 24 winters on this date.

1258 SNOTEL/NOHRSC stations (1183 with PULSE forecasts); SWE-weighted % of normal; per-station 15-day cone (climatology-anomaly, weather-forced where available); projected peak and melt-out from the walk-forward-validated model; snowmelt-to-gauge couplings learned out of sample.

● El Niño tilt · from ENSO Watchvery strong El Nino (Niño 3.4 3.3 °C)El Niño winters favour the Southwest, southern Sierra and southern Colorado for snow, and lean warm and dry across the Cascades, northern Rockies and Montana. ENSO Watch →
Water-weighted snowpack
60%
Σ SWE ÷ Σ normal SWE · 251 stations with normal ≥ 1 in · the water-supply number
Median station
40%
of its own normal for the date · same 251 stations
-0.1 in SWE this week
Deepest pack now
Look Eyrie
AK · 22.9 in SWE · 68 in depth
Days to projected peak
149
median projected peak Apr 10
Snow line
9100 ft
median elevation of stations holding snow · lowest 1100 ft

Where the snow is

Every SNOTEL station, sized by snow water equivalent and coloured by % of normal. Hover a station; tap for its state's snow report.

The season so far — and the next 15 days

This year against each station's climatology, with the PULSE forecast cone
P10–P90 climatologymedian yearthis winter15-day cone (shown when the forecast is fresh)

How this 11-12 ranks

West-wide SWE on this date, each of the last 24 winters (526 long-record stations) — this year highlighted
20022026
This is the #22 pack for the date in 24 years (the record is 2022). Early-season rank is a weak predictor of the April peak — the ENSO signal matters more than today's number.

7-day movers

Biggest gains in SWE, inches
StationRangeSWEΔ 7d% normal
Flower Mountain AK7.0+4.2
Independence Mine AK9.0+2.9429%
Big Flat CA2.82+2.82
Easy Pass WA4.7+2.8112%
Mission Ridge Snow Pillow CA2.96+2.0

Basin scorecard

SWE-weighted % of normal by basin (HUC-6) with the projected peak and melt-out. Bar = % of normal; white tick = 100%.

Kootenai / Pend Oreille

HUC 17010 · ID, MT, WA · 96 stations
Snowpack now52% of normal
Projected peak60%
Melt-out (median)May 30
Runoff outlookbelow normal

Upper Snake

HUC 17040 · ID, NV, UT, WY · 87 stations
Snowpack now56% of normal
Projected peak40%
Melt-out (median)May 25
Runoff outlookwell below normal

Middle Snake

HUC 17050 · ID, NV, OR · 66 stations
Snowpack now52% of normal
Projected peak29%
Melt-out (median)May 24
Runoff outlookwell below normal

Great Salt Lake

HUC 16020 · ID, NV, UT · 66 stations
Snowpack now39% of normal
Projected peak23%
Melt-out (median)May 25
Runoff outlookwell below normal

Truckee / Tahoe

HUC 16050 · CA, NV · 62 stations
Snowpack now119% of normal
Projected peak53%
Melt-out (median)May 27
Runoff outlookbelow normal

Sevier

HUC 16030 · UT · 61 stations
Snowpack now136% of normal
Projected peak52%
Melt-out (median)May 20
Runoff outlookbelow normal

South Platte

HUC 10190 · CO, WY · 59 stations
Snowpack now37% of normal
Projected peak51%
Melt-out (median)Jun 5
Runoff outlookbelow normal

Upper Colorado

HUC 14010 · CO · 58 stations
Snowpack now72% of normal
Projected peak63%
Melt-out (median)May 29
Runoff outlookbelow normal

Lower Snake

HUC 17060 · ID, MT, OR, WA · 55 stations
Snowpack now34% of normal
Projected peak58%
Melt-out (median)Jun 6
Runoff outlookbelow normal

Dungeness-Elwha

HUC 17110 · WA · 54 stations
Snowpack now46% of normal
Projected peak31%
Melt-out (median)Jun 21
Runoff outlookwell below normal

Bighorn / Wind

HUC 10080 · WY · 44 stations
Snowpack now52% of normal
Projected peak59%
Melt-out (median)May 29
Runoff outlookbelow normal

Missouri Headwaters

HUC 10020 · ID, MT · 42 stations
Snowpack now65% of normal
Projected peak78%
Melt-out (median)Jun 7
Runoff outlookslightly below normal

Umatilla

HUC 17070 · OR, WA · 40 stations
Snowpack now15% of normal
Projected peak19%
Melt-out (median)Jun 10
Runoff outlookwell below normal

Green River

HUC 14040 · UT, WY · 39 stations
Snowpack now59% of normal
Projected peak40%
Melt-out (median)May 17
Runoff outlookwell below normal

Yellowstone headwaters

HUC 10070 · MT, WY · 38 stations
Snowpack now31% of normal
Projected peak48%
Melt-out (median)Jun 2
Runoff outlookwell below normal

Upper Green

HUC 14060 · UT · 38 stations
Snowpack now148% of normal
Projected peak43%
Melt-out (median)May 18
Runoff outlookwell below normal

Snow by elevation

% of normal SWE by elevation band — warm storms stack snow high and starve the low country
Alaska
<1.5k ft
121%
1.5–3k ft
62%
>3k ft
208%
Rockies
<8k ft
33%
8–10k ft
43%
10–12k ft
84%
Southwest
>10k ft
196%
Cascades / PNW
<4k ft
0%
4–6k ft
44%
6–8k ft
50%
>8k ft
53%
Great Basin / Wasatch
7–9k ft
49%
>9k ft
97%
Bands are station-elevation bins; each bar is the SWE-weighted ratio of current to climatological-median SWE for that bin and region. A widening low-vs-high gap is the clearest warm-winter signature.

Snow water now vs normal, by region

3D columns: mean station SWE today (solid) against each station's own median for the date (dashed), inches

From snow to river

Couplings PULSE learned from history: the SNOTEL station whose melt leads each gauge, and by how many days
Fremont PassSNOTEL · melt driver
1 dlag · r² 0.59
Halfmoon Creek Near MaltaUSGS gauge · flow cone anchored to this pack
Cole CreekSNOTEL · melt driver
6 dlag · r² 0.56
Red Lodge Cr Ab Cooney Re Nr Boyd MtUSGS gauge · flow cone anchored to this pack
Mule CreekSNOTEL · melt driver
5 dlag · r² 0.55
Big Hole River At Maiden Rock Nr Divide MtUSGS gauge · flow cone anchored to this pack
Emery CreekSNOTEL · melt driver
6 dlag · r² 0.54
S F Flathead R Ab Twin C Nr Hungry Horse MtUSGS gauge · flow cone anchored to this pack
Mule CreekSNOTEL · melt driver
5 dlag · r² 0.53
Big Hole River Near Glen MtUSGS gauge · flow cone anchored to this pack
ln(Qt) ≈ a + bswe·SWEt−L + bmelt·meltt−L, kept only when it beats climatology on the walk-forward backtest.

Next 7 days of snow by range

Mean forecast snowfall at the stations in each range, inches
RangeStationsSnowpack nowSnow next 7 d
Alaska72102%5.1 in
Rockies32657%0.8 in
Southwest89196%1.5 in
Cascades / PNW32248%1.2 in
Great Basin / Wasatch18372%3.3 in
Sierra Nevada6472%7.1 in
Station-by-station forecasts and the ski areas in the path are in the tables below.

Water-supply outlook

Projected peak as % of normal is the standard leading indicator of seasonal runoff volume
BasinNowProj. peakRunoff bandMelt-out (median)
Kootenai / Pend Oreille52%60%below normalMay 30Reservoirs →
Upper Snake56%40%well below normalMay 25Reservoirs →
Middle Snake52%29%well below normalMay 24Reservoirs →
Great Salt Lake39%23%well below normalMay 25Reservoirs →
Truckee / Tahoe119%53%below normalMay 27Reservoirs →
Sevier136%52%below normalMay 20Reservoirs →
South Platte37%51%below normalJun 5Reservoirs →
Upper Colorado72%63%below normalMay 29Reservoirs →
Lower Snake34%58%below normalJun 6Reservoirs →
Dungeness-Elwha46%31%well below normalJun 21Reservoirs →
Bighorn / Wind52%59%below normalMay 29Reservoirs →
Missouri Headwaters65%78%slightly below normalJun 7Reservoirs →
Umatilla15%19%well below normalJun 10Reservoirs →
Green River59%40%well below normalMay 17Reservoirs →
Yellowstone headwaters31%48%well below normalJun 2Reservoirs →
Upper Green148%43%well below normalMay 18Reservoirs →

Methods & data

  • Stations: NRCS SNOTEL + NOHRSC records synced daily (snotel), merged to one station per site (1883 records → 1258 stations) with the NRCS percent preferred; stations silent for 10+ days, or reporting more water than snow depth can hold, are excluded.
  • Two % of normal figures, on purpose: the water-weighted figure (Σ SWE / Σ normal SWE) is what runoff responds to; the median station is what half of stations are above. Both use only stations whose normal for the date is ≥ 1 in. The hub headline above uses every reporting station's published percentage with no such floor, so early in the season it will read differently.
  • Climatology & cone: per-station season-day percentiles and the 15-day PULSE cone from swe_forecasts; composites are station means.
  • Basins: basin_swe roll-up: current %, projected peak %, melt-out spread, runoff band.
  • Rank: composite of SWE on this calendar date across stations with 20+ years of record; years with fewer than 60% of those stations are skipped.
  • Normal for the date: each station's median SWE on this calendar date over its own record (10+ years); percentages are shown only where that normal is ≥ 1 in, so early-season ratios of tiny numbers never appear.
  • Snow → river: pulse_snotel couplings (station, lag, r²), one per river, r² ≥ 0.5.
  • API: /api/snowpack/state (JSON, CORS, 10-min cache).
Sources: NRCS SNOTEL, NOHRSC, NOAA NWS, NOAA CPC (ENSO), USGS NWIS & WBD. Generated 2026-11-12T06:23 UTC.
Ski areas

Snow at ski areas

Ski areas with new snow in the last 24 hours or snow in the 5-day forecast.

Ski areaNew snow
Arizona Snowbowl1"
Boreal Mountain Resort1"
Donner Ski Ranch1"
Soda Springs1"
Squaw Valley1"
Tahoe Donner1"
Aspen Highlands1"
Buttermilk Mountain1"
Crested Butte Mountain Resort1"
Kendall Mountain1"
Snowmass1"
Telluride1"
Ski area5-day forecast
Boreal Mountain Resort21.9"
Donner Ski Ranch21.9"
Soda Springs21.9"
Tahoe Donner21.9"
China Peak (Sierra Summit)20.3"
Bear Valley Mountain Resort19.6"
Kirkwood19.1"
Squaw Valley17.8"
Mt. Baker Ski Area17.6"
Dodge Ridge Ski Area17.5"
Alpine Meadows Ski Area17.1"
Granlibakken Ski Resort17.1"
Snow report FAQ

About the U.S. snow report

How much snow is there across the U.S. right now?

As of November 12, 2026, 783 snow stations are reporting and the typical station is at 77% of normal snowpack. 579 have snow on the ground and 39 reported new snow in the last 24 hours. The most snow in the 5-day forecast: Nuka Glacier, 50&quot;.

Where will it snow in the next 5 days?

The most snow in the 5-day forecast is at Nuka Glacier (50"). The full ranking is in the table above.

What’s a SNOTEL station?

SNOpack TELemetry: automated stations run by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Each measures snow depth, snow water equivalent (SWE), precipitation and air temperature — the standard snowpack measurement in the western U.S. and Alaska.

What does “percent of normal” snowpack mean?

Today’s snow water equivalent at a station compared with its historical median for the same date. Early and late in the season, when normal is near zero, the percentage is left out.

How fresh is the data?

Stations report hourly and Snoflo refreshes its tables through the day. Stations silent for more than three days are left out of today’s numbers.

How much snow is in the western snowpack right now?

Where normal for the date is at least an inch of snow water, the West holds 60% of it (251 stations); the typical station in the headline above is 77% by the looser all-stations measure. See “State of the Snow” above for the basin-by-basin view.

Where does the snowmelt go?

Each basin card above links to the river it feeds. PULSE also learns which SNOTEL station leads each river gauge and by how many days, so the river forecast is anchored to the pack while snow is on the ground. The map of where every river ends up is at Where the Rivers Go.

Is this a substitute for the avalanche forecast?

No. For backcountry travel always check your regional avalanche center (avalanche.org). Snoflo is informational data only.

Live · ENSO Watch

A record-breaking El Niño is rewriting this winter.

See how the strongest El Niño ever measured is likely to tilt snowpack, river flows and storm tracks across the US — explained for anyone, with the full data for researchers.

—Niño 3.4 anomaly
—Oceanic Niño Index
—Current phase
Explore ENSO Watch
Updated twice daily from NOAA