‘I’ve never seen a winter like this’
A record snow drought is gripping the U.S. West, bracing some of the thirstiest states for less water and increased fire risks in the dry months ahead.
Snow cover across the West is roughly one-third of what it is this time of year, according to measurements from the National Snow and Ice Data Center. This is leading to widespread concern among experts and water managers that several key catchments will be severely affected for the remainder of the year.
oregon, colorado And Utah All reported the lowest snowpacks statewide since the early 1980s, records show.
“Snowpack is as bad in at least some of the western U.S. states as it has been in recorded history for that time of year,” climate scientist Daniel Swain said in a statement in the weather and conditions section. argument He posted on his website last week, describing the record-breaking heat that preceded it as “astonishing.”
Relating to: Millions across the US face freezing temperatures as rare snow falls in the South
An extremely warm winter combined with record-breaking unseasonable weather across the region is fueling the harsh conditions, according to federal forecasters.
“I’ve never seen a winter like this before,” said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, which has been in Colorado for almost 40 years. “This pattern we’re in is so permanent.”
Snowpack is an important source of water that feeds watersheds relied on by millions of people, expanding agricultural hubs, and already stressed ecosystems. Water content in snow, a key measurement that gives an idea of how much melt will be available for use, measured below average at 91% of western weather stations on Feb. 1.
The strikingly low levels have increased pressure on ongoing urgent negotiations over the future of the Colorado River, a 1,450-mile (2,300 km)-long waterway that runs through the western United States and serves about 40 million people in seven states, 5.5 million acres (2.23 million hectares) of farmland, dozens of tribes and parts of Mexico.
Approximately 80% of the river’s supply agricultureincluding water–Intensive crops such as alfalfa and hay used as feed for livestock.
As resources become increasingly scarce, representatives of states that depend on these flows are stuck on how to manage the endangered basin. Long-term overuse and the mounting pressures of the climate crisis have acted as a one-two punch that has left the system in crisis.
Negotiators face a weekend deadline before the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation implements its own plan. This outcome is expected to lead to litigation and even more uncertainty. But the harsh conditions are serving as their own deadline, according to experts who say devastatingly low flows require urgent action.
The water supply outlook in the Colorado River basin in February was the worst in more than three decades. More than two-thirds of the river’s water is fed by mountain snow.
“The river is not going to wait for process or policy,” said Matt Rice, southwest regional director for the conservation organization American Rivers.
Experts say snow drought may also start early forest fire season. Daniel McEvoy, a researcher at the Western Regional Climate Center, said the earlier-than-average loss of snow exposes the land to warmer weather in the spring and summer, which dries out soils and vegetation more quickly.
Warm weather caused the snow mass to rise. Snow is present in the higher elevations but has melted or is absent in the lower elevations. Lack of snow cover can cause land to dry out prematurely, resulting in an extended fire season or reduced runoff efficiency as snow melts.
“Especially in December, it was so hot that snow only fell on the highest parts of the mountains,” McEvoy said. “Then we moved into January and for the last three to four weeks almost everywhere stayed really dry and warm.”
Meteorologists are expecting wetter, cooler weather and some snow in the west this week, so this could be the peak of the snow drought. But the weather will still be warmer than normal in many areas, and scientists are not optimistic that the snow will be enough.
“I don’t think we’ll ever get back to average or close to it,” said Russ Schumacher, a professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University and Colorado state climatologist. “But at least if it becomes more active, we can close these gaps to some extent.”
Associated Press contributed reporting
