Snake River level at Moose
Wyoming · Tubing & floating
Measured at USGS 13013650 — SNAKE RIVER AT MOOSE, WY · NWS forecast point MSEW4
Reading taken · as of 1 hour ago
Running thin — a slow, scrapey float
At 2,090 CFS, this gauge is in the lowest quarter of the 31 years USGS has recorded for this date (1995–2026), at 73% of the 2,870 CFS median.
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Flood stages at Moose
National Weather Service categories for gauge MSEW4, WFO RIW. Impact wording is the NWS's own, verbatim.
-
Minor flood 15.0 ft
- 15.0 ft Flood stage. Minor low land flooding.
- 15.3 ft Record stage and flow---25,300 cfs (6/11/1997).
-
Action 14.0 ft
- 14.0 ft Bankfull stage.
- Right now 9.68 ft
Flow history at Moose
Daily values from USGS 13013650, updated every 15 to 60 minutes; NWS forecast for MSEW4 reissued through the day. Provisional.
Highest crests on record at Moose
12 on record
| Stage | Flow | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 15.25 ft | 25,300 CFS | Jun 11, 1997 |
| 14.76 ft | 22,000 CFS | Jun 16, 1996 |
| 14.61 ft | 17,000 CFS | Jun 8, 2010 |
| 14.52 ft | 16,600 CFS | Jun 7, 2017 |
| 14.26 ft | 15,100 CFS | May 28, 2018 |
| 13.79 ft | 16,900 CFS | Jun 18, 1999 |
| 13.71 ft | 12,900 CFS | Jun 7, 2020 |
| 13.49 ft | 14,900 CFS | Jun 2, 2009 |
| 13.46 ft | 12,400 CFS | Jun 6, 1995 |
| 13.44 ft | 12,400 CFS | Jun 6, 2012 |
Crests published by the National Weather Service.
About Snake River at Moose
Between September and October this gauge loses two thirds of its water. The published monthly medians read 3,020 CFS in September and 1,030 in October, the largest month-to-month change in the year, and by December the median is 880. From February at 838 the river then climbs to 7,250 in June. That is the signature of a reach below Jackson Lake rather than a weather pattern.
Daily statistics cover 1995 to 2026, about 31 years, and the series runs from 576 CFS on 19 March 2014 to 24,500 CFS on 11 June 1997. The NWS sets action stage at 14 feet and minor flood at 15, with no moderate or major published, and notes 14 feet as bankfull. Only two of the twelve crests on file, both from June 1996 and June 1997, have exceeded 14.7 feet.
Snake River at Moose — common questions
6 questions
Why does the flow drop so sharply in October?
The published median falls from 3,020 CFS in September to 1,030 in October, a two-thirds cut in one month, on a station below Jackson Lake. Nothing in a natural hydrograph does that. Read the percent of normal figure for early October with the release schedule in mind, since the normal it compares against is itself a release pattern.
How close to flood does this gauge get?
Rarely close. Action stage is 14 feet and minor flood is 15. The record crest is 15.25 feet from 11 June 1997, and the only other crest above 14.7 is 14.76 feet from June 1996. The remaining ten crests on file sit between 13.1 and 14.6 feet, which is to say at or just under the action rung.
How does the South Fork at Irwin compare?
They move together well. Across 11,422 shared days since April 1995 the two correlate at 0.873 in log flow, and this gauge runs at a median of about 0.48 times the South Fork's discharge, on a gauge 32.8 miles away. Both sit below reservoirs in the same snowpack, and at roughly a two to one volume ratio.
Does rain upstream change Snake River at Moose quickly?
Yes. It is free-flowing, so rain upstream moves it directly. Several feet in a few hours is normal after a heavy storm.
Is Snake River at Moose high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median flow for late September here is 2,870 CFS, from 31 years of record (1995–2026). Today sits in the lowest quarter of those years, at 73% of the median. The comparison is what makes the raw number mean anything: the same reading is a drought on one river and a flood on another.
How often does this reading update?
USGS transmits from gauge 13013650 every 15 to 60 minutes, and the National Weather Service reissues the flood forecast for MSEW4 a few times a day — more often when the river is rising. This page refreshes from both when you open it. The timestamp is in the gauge's local time.