Big Sky Country Snowpack Report - February, 2026
Hi, friends, and welcome to our second snowpack report of winter 25-26. I woke up early to write this one so I can hopefully make it up skiing this morning. That’s right, it’s a powder day. In 2026, more than most years, that a great reason to be excited.
Starting about the time we posted our last report, our weather pattern shifted definitively to the “Warm and Dry” zone. In fact, 2026 winter temps across the west have been well above average. Delightful for walking the dogs every morning, but definitely suboptimal if you are a snow sports enthusiast and/or a fan of robust snowpack numbers. Snow water equivalents have dropped relative to the daily median in all of our local watersheds since the last report. You’ll be able to see the flatline in the SWE data plots corresponding to the dry spell. The good news is that a really nice storm system pushed in a couple of days ago. It’s been cold, and snowing hard in the mountains and valleys. After today, it looks like we’ll have a couple of dry days, but then another round of moisture is forecast for Tuesday through Friday next week. As the young folks say, “LETS GOOOOOOOO!”
No more chitchat. Here’s the pictures, numbers, and words you all clicked the link to see! Note that these numbers are based on NRCS Snotel data and online mapping tools, and the number are from February 18th. The disparity between snowiness up high and in the valleys remains, but at least the ground is white more or less everywhere currently. Check out the statewide maps for snow water equivalent. Less green and blue shading colors than last month, but when you compare it to the entire western US, we are doing about as good as it gets this year!
Diving a bit deeper, in the Madison watershed, Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) is at 92% of median for this date, down from 106% at the time of our last report. That puts us at 59% of our median peak snowpack with 61 days left in the typical snowpack building season. Comparing the Black line (this winter) to the blue line (last winter) and the orange line (2024) you can see we are a bit below where we sat a year ago but significantly above 2 years ago.
In the Yellowstone River Headwaters, SWE is at 113% of median, which is down from last report but still really nice. Snowpack is currently 80% of the median peak value with 65 days remaining in the typical snowpack building time period. Compared to the last two years, this is AMAZING news. It’s good to be above the green, blue, and orange lines!
The Upper Henry’s Fork is a somewhat lower elevation watershed, and the snowpack is, as expected, slightly lower. SWE is at 82% of median, down from 91% at the time of our last report. SWE is 58% of the median peak with 51 days remaining in the typical snowpack building period. This puts us in a spot with less snowpack than last winter, and about the same as we had in 2004. It’s been snowing the last couple of days and hopefully more on the way.
So, there you have it. Hopefully the current weather trend continues and snowpack continues to build.
Until then, take care.
Matt and the BSA Crew
