Weather and Water: What to Expect

Climate in the Southern Rockies, from which the Rio Grande and Rio Chama flow, is classified as “semi-desert”.  The region experiences sunshine during more than 300 days per year.  Weather conditions in the Rio Grande Headwaters are highly variable from year to year.  On average, the high mountain valleys receive 12-15 inches of precipitation, more or less equally distributed throughout the year.  The high mountains generally receive substantially more precipitation; as winter storm systems strike the western range they tend to drop their load of moisture as snow.  Wolf Creek Pass, on the Continental Divide, regularly receives about 300 inches of winter snow.

The river running season extends from April to October, when day time high temperatures average 60-80 degrees.  In April, May and October, however, winter storms are not unusual.  Even when daytime highs are mild or warm, night time temperatures at these elevations (6000 feet-plus above sea level) tend to be chilly throughout the season.  The savvy river traveler will be prepared for extremes of hot and cold and, very occasionally, wet weather.  Follow this link to view monthly weather averages at Taos.

Rio Grande Streamflows also vary widely from year to year, with drought and flood being about equally common.  Flows are dependent upon the melting of winter snowpacks; runoff generally peaks during May and June.  The rivers may be expected to run their highest at those months.  Following a wetter than normal winter, river conditions are often quite “rowdy”.  In drier than normal years, these months may offer the only runnable flows on steep, congested river sections, like the Taos Box (class 4). 

Shoulder seasons (mid-April to mid-July) usually offer moderate, but runnable river conditions on sections like the Box.  Less extreme sections (such as the Racecourse and LaJunta) are runnable throughout the summer in all but the most extreme drought years.  Follow this link to view current snowpack conditions in the Rio Grande and Rio Chama basins.  <whole sentence is link> ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/data/snow/update/riogrand.txt

Bear in mind that a single large storm event can substantially change the percentage or snowpack.  Even if mid-winter snowpacks are below average, March and April (and even May) snowstorms can turn an unpromising season into a good one.

Rio Chama is a dam-controlled river, unlike the Rio Grande.  During the irrigation season in the middle Rio Grande, valley water demand drives the height of the river.  On the Rio Grande, a rising river may keep rising (with diurnal fluctuations observable).  The river will have two or three peaks per year, based on the melting of snowpacks at different elevations.  We generally monitor Rio Grande Flows at the “Rio Grande below Taos Junction” gauge <you can link to http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nm/nwis/uv/?site_no=08276500&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060>. and Rio Chama flows at the “Rio Chama below El Vado Dam” gauge <you can link to http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nm/nwis/uv/?site_no=08285500&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060>.  Follow this link to view real-time streamflow data. <whole sentence is link>.  http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nm/nwis/current/?type=flow  Click the link in the left hand column to see a graph of recent flow conditions.

For a sophisticated interpretation of weather and water trends or late forecasts, call the Far-Flung Adventures office at 800-359-2627.