Early Snowmelt Forecast 80 Percent Of Average

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Preliminary forecasts for this year's snowmelt in Wyoming are predicting a runoff of about 80 percent of normal.

Wyoming's winter mountain snowpack melts off from April to September.

Hydrologists with the Natural Resources Conservation Service say the predicted runoff into Wyoming's streams and rivers vary from 15 percent of normal to 99 percent of average.

Generally, river basins in the northwest have the highest snowpack and are expected to see runoff closer to normal, while those in the southeast have the lowest snowpack and the lowest runoff predictions.

Reservoir storage varies widely across the state but is at 96 percent of average for the entire state. Water levels are highest on the Buffalo Bill Reservoir and lowest on the North Plate River reservoirs.