The next three months will tell the story, but as of this month, the snowmelt forecast “sounds promising, not ominous,” said Jay Dallman, Wyoming Bureau of Reclamation spokesman.

Area reservoir forecasts are all slightly above 30-year averages, Dallman said. The Shoshone River inflow forecast is 113% of the 30-year average to Buffalo Bill Reservoir, the Bighorn River forecast to Bighorn Lake is 116%; and Wind River inflow to Boysen Reservoir is forecast at 113%.

Compared to last year, the forecast for the Shoshone River is slightly higher; inflows were forecasted at 105% in March 2019. In 2017 — a high water year — March inflow forecasts were 142% of the 30-year average. Dallman said it’s hard to forecast actual seasonal inflows in March because we get much of our mountain snow now through May.

“It could go either way,” he said. “The whole picture can change in the next two to three months, but it’s a good chance no drought or floods are looming.”

Buffalo Bill Reservoir is being drawn down in anticipation of snowmelt inflows, but currently has about 33% higher storage than average, said Jeff Goats, who reports on streamflows for the U.S. Department of Agriculture out of Casper.

Goats said the wettest area in the state is along the Tongue River, which is forecast to have 207% of average streamflows. The driest area in the state is in the Sweetwater Basin, with streamflow forecasts of 48% of average.

“Overall, the rest of the state looks good,” Goats said.