Most of us grew up with the adage that April showers bring May flowers, but the fact that winter snow droughts set the stage for wildfires may have been glossed over.
Unfortunately, a snow drought in the western United States amid drier and warmer winter weather than normal is increasing that risk, according to Wildfire Today.
The National Integrated Drought Information System, which coordinates drought monitoring, forecasting, and planning, sounded the alarm about the "unprecedented" situation in a Feb. 23 briefing.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Climate Center followed up in a Feb. 26 report, writing: "Below-average snow water equivalency remains a concern in much of the west, even in drought-free areas such as the Sierra Nevada. ... In much of Arizona, New Mexico, and Oregon, snow water equivalency values were less than 50% of normal."
By April 2, the USDA confirmed that snowpack levels had remained at "record to near-record low levels" in western states, many of which experienced economic disruptions when winter ski resorts shuttered operations early due to unseasonably warm weather and lack of snow.
As a result of these conditions, fire weather experts have warned that a furious wildfire season could peak early.
"The snowpack can definitely drought-stress the vegetation from the reduced soil moisture," Desert Research Institute Director Tim Brown explained in the briefing for the NIDIS.
"There may also be a feedback process where that drought stress also increases the atmospheric drying … that exacerbates what the fire outcome might look like," Brown added.
Tracking the status of fires and having a "go bag" can help keep you and your loved ones safe in case of an emergency.
In the meantime, as Wildfire Today highlighted, researchers are advocating for deeper investigations into how snow cover dynamics impact wildfire severity.
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"Improved understanding of how snow dynamics affect burn severity will help inform resource allocation (e.g., funding, monitoring, personnel), fuel reduction, and forest management strategies to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire and maintain forest ecosystem health and function," a team from the University of Toronto wrote in a study published in December.
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