Star Valley Continues to Benefit from the Very Snowy Winter

The summer of 2017 was particularly dry across all of Star Valley.  However the large amounts of precipitation and snow that occurred from last Fall through the Spring months have taken the edge out of what otherwise could have been a more serious dry condition.

The following are the monthly totals of both precipitation and snowfall at the Cocorahs station at Star Valley Ranch for the past 12 months. Also included is the highest and lowest temperatures for each month at Star Valley Ranch.

2017   Month   Precipitation   Snowfall  Max Temp   Min Temp
           August         .70                    0             89               43
           July              .22                    0             93               41
           June            2.06                   0            86               38
           May            1.47                 5.0            78               24
            April           4.56               23.7            68               23
           March         2.81               17.2            60               19
           February     5.04               41.1            46                 6
           January       5.00               69.5            39              -17
2016
           December   3.90                64.0           40              -11
           November   1.63               17.5            63               12
           October       6.05                 9.8            68               22
          September   3.45                   .5            82               31

12 Month Totals  36.89 inches of precipitation
                            248.3 inches of snow

Even with the less than 1 inch recorded in the past two months the almost 37 inches  of precipitation for the 12  months is well above normal, at least by 10 inches. As a comparison the average annual precipitation at Seattle WA is also around 37 inches.

The benefit of this  very wet period is reflected in the current level at Palisades Reservoir.  The reservoir filled to 100 percent by July 1st and even now, the 1st of September, is still above 90%,, This compares to last year on September 1st of around 10 percent and the average of 50 percent.