While the Big Horn Basin has been blessed with some welcome precipitation recently, the area (including the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem) is still abnormally dry or worse as dry or drought conditions continue to plague the majority of the state.

As of April 22, approximately 52% of Wyoming is under drought conditions and 27% of the state is abnormally dry. Most of Park County is considered abnormally dry, while the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is considered to be in moderate to severe drought.

Wyoming's current Snowpack Telemetry (SNOTEL) snow/water equivalent report shows a very slight improvement in basins statewide over last year, Locally, including the Yellowstone, Shoshone, Big Horn and Wind River basins, there are mostly improved reports over last year, but down significantly over this time two years ago. While weekly reports are useful in gauging current conditions, many parts of the state are still considered to be suffering from drought conditions.

Statewide, SNOTEL reports show the state average at 86% of median with a basin high of 103% and a basin low (of those reporting) of 56% of median based on a 30-year period from 1991 through 2020. Last year the state was at 85% for the last week of April, However in 2023 the report showed the state at 136% of median.

The east and southeast parts of the state, including the Belle Fourche, Cheyenne and South Platte Basins, are reporting the lowest percentages and continuing to be significantly more arid than the 30-year average. Moving west, the Powder and Lower North Platte Basins are reporting 56% and 59% of median respectively. But once you cross the Bighorn and Laramie Mountain ranges into the Big Horn, Wind River, Sweetwater and Laramie basins, percentages continue to improve.

The Western borders of Wyoming, including Park and Teton counties, show medians of close to 100% over 2024, but are more than 20% below 2023 reports for the last week of April.

The reports do not include manually measured snow courses. The weighted state average is figured using the area of basins (square miles) with the reference period for computing medians is the 30-year period 1991 through 2020.

Despite puddles in the street Monday, a number of physical indicators are important for monitoring drought, such as precipitation and temperature, water supply (e.g., streamflow, reservoirs), and soil moisture. There are 83 SNOTEL sites in Wyoming.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service and Wyoming State Climate Office conducts and reports snow/water equivalent surveys.