NRCS publishes April water supply outlook

Across the High Plains, crop yields and hayfields heavily rely on accumulative snowfall and its subsequent streamflow throughout the growing season. 

On April 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) published the April 2026 Wyoming Basin and Water Supply Outlook Report, which analyzes snowpack, precipitation, streamflow and reservoir storage across the state of Wyoming, just in time for growers to gauge water supply ahead of the spring planting season. 

The NRCS report assesses the water supply outlook for the entire state of Wyoming, as well as individual basins including the Snake River, Madison Headwaters, Yellowstone River, Wind River, Big Horn River, Shoshone River, Powder River, Tongue River, Belle Fourche River, Cheyenne River, Upper North Platte River, Lower North Platte River, Laramie River, Sweetwater River, South Platte River, Little Snake River, Upper Green River, Lower Green River and Upper Bear River basins.

Snowpack and precipitation

As the Cowboy State wraps up its warmest winter on record, snowpack and precipitation data outlined in the NRCS report looks concerning.

As of April 1, snow water equivalent (SWE) across the state of Wyoming was sitting at only 38 percent of median. Last year, the April SWE was at 91 percent of median. 

In this year’s report, the highest SWE was seen in the Yellowstone River Basin at 84 percent of median, and the lowest SWE was marked in the Cheyenne River Basin at zero percent of median.

The report also notes the Belle Fourche, Cheyenne, Laramie, Little Snake, Lower Green, Lower North Platte, Powder, South Platte, Sweetwater, Tongue, Upper Bear and Upper North Platte river basins were below 50 percent of the median SWE recorded from 1991 to 2020.

Additionally, NRCS shows the Upper Bear River Basin had the highest precipitation over the past month at 101 percent of median, while the Madison Headwaters River Basin saw the lowest amount at 25 percent of median. 

Streamflow yields

NRCS expects median streamflow yields in all Wyoming basins – except the Little Snake, Lower Green, Cheyenne and Upper Green – to average 66 percent from April through September. 

Streamflow yields for these four exceptions are expected to average 44 percent, 59 percent, 62 percent and 72 percent, respectively, from April through July. 

Expected streamflow yields for individual basins across the state include the Upper North Platte River Basin at 40 percent of median, the Lower North Platte River Basin at 48 percent of median, the Laramie River Basin at 50 percent of median, the Sweetwater River Basin at 55 percent of median and the Wind River Basin at 66 percent of median.

Other streamflow yields across Wyoming include the Tongue River Basin at 70 percent of median, the Powder River Basin at 74 percent of median, the Big Horn River Basin at 75 percent of median, the Snake River Basin at 82 percent of median, the Yellowstone River Basin at 90 percent of median and the Shoshone River Basin at 92 percent of median.

Reservoir storage

For the entire state of Wyoming, NRCS reports average reservoir storage at 80 percent of median, down from last April’s 98 percent. 

The majority of reservoirs across the state reported numbers below median including those in the Upper Bear River Basin at 41 percent of median, the Laramie River Basin at 54 percent of median, the Upper North Platte River Basin at 57 percent of median, the Cheyenne River Basin at 75 percent of median, the Wind River Basin at 87 percent of median and the Belle Fourche River Basin at 88 percent of median.

Reservoirs in the Lower North Platte River Basin and Lower Green River Basin, as well as the Boysen Reservoir in the Big Horn River Basin reported numbers near median at 94, 95 and 96 percent, respectively.

Those reporting numbers above median include the Buffalo Bill Reservoir on the Shoshone River at 101 percent, reservoirs in the Snake River Basin at 104 percent and reservoirs in the Upper Green River Basin at 125 percent.

Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.