Click the link to read the article on the Pagosa Springs Sun website (Clayton Chaney and Randi Pierce). Here’s an excerpt:
January 7, 2026
Snowpack and stream flow
According to data from the Natural Resource Conservation Services (NRCS), as of 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 7, the Wolf Creek Pass site at 10,930 feet had a snow water equivalent of 7.6 inches, compared to that date’s median of 15.5 inches. This is up from the Dec. 31, 2025, report of 7 inches. The current amount is 49 percent of that date’s median snow water equivalent…The San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and San Juan River basins were measured to be at 49 percent of its 30-year median snowpack as of December 31, 2025, and at 56 percent on January 7, 2026…
In Pagosa Springs, U.S. Geological Survey for the San Juan River at Pagosa Springs has showed record flows multiple times since the start of the year. For example, at 9 a.m. on Jan. 2, the river was running at 128 cubic feet per second (cfs), which compares to a median of 53 cfs and a previous high of 118 in 1986. At 11 a.m. on Jan. 5, the river was running at 119 cfs, which compares to a median for that date of 54.5 cfs and a previous max value of 116 in 1987. By 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 7, the river was flowing at 111 cfs. The Jan. 7 median is 55, and the record high is 116 cfs, which was recorded in 1987. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s most recent map released on Dec. 31, 2025, 100 percent of Archuleta County is in an “abnormally dry” drought stage.
