The lack of significant precipitation in January – except for the last couple of days – left the Animas, San Juan, Dolores and San Miguel basins with significantly less snow than usual.

The snowpack in the overall drainage, which was 100 percent of the median on Jan. 1 despite lack of snow, fell to 79 percent of the median on Feb. 1, the monthly Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) bulletin says.

Across the state, only the Rio Grande basin immediately to the east recorded a comparably lower median snowpack in February than in January – 82 percent compared to 99 percent.

Statewide, the snowpack on Feb. 1 was 107 percent of the median, compared to 103 percent on Jan. 1. The big winner was the South Platte basin, where on Feb. 1 the snowpack was 126 percent of the median and 220 percent compared to the same date in 2013.

In the Animas, San Juan, Dolores and San Miguel drainages, the snowpack on Jan. 1 was 146 percent of what it was on the same date in 2013. On Feb. 1, the snowpack was 93 percent of the Feb. 1, 2013, median.

“Expect spring and summer stream-flow forecasts in the northern parts of the state to improve compared to last month and to decline for the southwest and the upper Rio Grande,” the NRCS bulletin said.

Reservoir storage across the state increased from 87 percent of average on Jan. 1 to 90 percent of average on Feb. 1.

In the four basins in Southwest Colorado, reservoir storage increased from 69 percent of average on Jan. 1 to 84 percent of average on Feb. 1.

The Bureau of Reclamation released water storage numbers for reservoirs in Southwest Colorado as of Jan. 31. Lemon Reservoir stood at 43 percent of capacity; McPhee Reservoir was 48 percent full; Navajo Reservoir reached 57 percent of capacity, and Vallecito Reservoir was 76 percent full.

daler@durangoherald.com