Daily Snowpack Data
for the Snake River Basin
Regional
Reservoirs & Stream Flows Report
Diagram depicts the status of reservoirs in the area
including some stream flow data. Though not mentioned on the
page, you can also click the diagram in various areas for more
information.
Current water flows on the Snake River:
1000'
below Jackson Lake Dam
At
Moose, WY
Near
the Town of Jackson, WY (below Flat Creek)
Near
Alpine, WY
Fishing Reports:
Snake River
and Jackson Hole
Yellowstone National Park
Green River
Interpreting snowpack data
When trying to understand how the snowpack will effect river runoff,
fishing and all the rest, it doesn't really matter how high the snow is piled
up (total precipitation), what
matters is the amount of water in that snowpack (snow-water equivalent). The
most important number is the basin wide percent of average for
snow-water equivalent.
Also keep in mind that the data presented is referred to as a percent of normal for a
given time of year. For a slightly more in depth
discussion of interpreting snowpack data read paragraphs 2 - 4
in the article Snow
& Trout.
Gaining Perspective on
Snake River Water Flows
The gauging station 1000' below Jackson Lake Dam
tells us how much water is being released out of Jackson Lake
and is the most subject to sudden change. Even moderate
fluctuations (for example, 500 cfs) have the potential to disrupt
fishing for up to three days. Radical fluctuations (1000+ cfs)
almost certainly will.
Good fishing can be had within a wide range of flows, but
most Jackson Hole fishermen would probably agree that stable
flows in the 1200-3500 cfs (cubic feet per second) range are
best. Stability is arguably more important than the actual flow
level.
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