Blizzard Boosts Watershed Snowpack

Watershed maintainers ventured out after last week’s snowstorm to take manual snow core samples in the Schoharie watershed. Using an aluminum tube and a spring scale, the scientific process measures the snow water equivalent, or the amount of water trapped within the snowpack. This reading allows upstate scientists to determine how much additional water will flow into the reservoirs once the snow melts. The blizzard, officially named Stella, swept through the Hudson Valley and Catskills and brought massive amounts of snow, with anywhere from 12–30 inches falling across parts of the watershed.

The results show that the resurgent snowpack in the watershed now holds more water than at any other time this winter. The previous peak came during the Feb. 15 snow survey, which showed 64.9 billion gallons of snow-water equivalent. That tally dropped to zero on Feb. 28. The post-Stella results from March 16 now show 93.8 billion gallons of snow water equivalent. About 80 percent of that snow water is in the Catskills.