A warm, relatively dry winter in the West has resulted in record-low snowpack in portions of several states. The impact on the Colorado River, which supplies water to 40 million people, has raised concerns among water authorities in the region.
"What you're seeing is bare mountaintops, and what that is gonna mean for us is low reservoirs this summer," Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network, told KTNV. "And the uncertainty with that is making life very difficult on water managers."
Climate data from the National Centers for Environmental Information reveal that Nevada had its 16th-warmest and 15th-driest first two months of meteorological winter on record, while Utah had its 22nd-warmest and seventh-driest December through January period. These are just two examples of states that rely on the Colorado River for water and have been hit hard by a winter weather pattern that has left snowpack severely depleted.
Most of Nevada and Utah are reporting less than 50% of their median snow water equivalent, the amount of liquid water held in the snowpack, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service. Officials monitoring Colorado's snowpack are also very concerned about the low levels.
In January, Denver was reporting some of its worst conditions in over half a century. "Denver Water relies on snowpack for about 90% of our water supply," said Todd Hartman, Denver Water spokesperson, per KUSA. "It's absolutely critical for us. The Colorado River Basin in our collection system is at about 55%, and the South Platte River basin in our collection area is at about 42%, which is an all-time low as far as we know from our records going back."
This winter's "snow drought" extends as far north as Washington and Oregon. The lack of snow forced a major ski resort in Oregon to suspend its operations. The world's largest mountain resort operator, Vail Resorts, said its properties experienced a 20% year-over-year drop in visits through early January.
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"A January dry spell resulted in most states receiving 50% or less of normal precipitation," noted a summary of the conditions published by the National Integrated Drought Information Center. "Combined with above-normal temperatures and sunny days, this resulted in little snow accumulation and some snowmelt across the West. Historically, January is a significant snow accumulation month for much of the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies."
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report showed drought conditions have spilled over into February in Utah. Just over 94% of the state is experiencing at least a moderate drought. More than 55% of Colorado is also experiencing at least moderate drought.
Record warm temperatures in February aren't helping with the snowpack situation. Some of the records set in Colorado since the start of the month include 71 degrees Fahrenheit in Holyoke, 69 degrees in Loveland, and 68 degrees in Greeley. Nevada's record highs this month include 81 in Laughlin and 79 in Bunkerville. Utah has either tied or set 30 record highs since Feb. 1 at the time of writing, including 75 in St. George and 64 in Salt Lake City.
"Snowpack is of critical economic and ecological importance to Western communities," according to NIDIS. "Consequential economic impacts have already occurred, especially for the recreation sector and the communities that rely on it. Water supply concerns continue to increase, impacting key economic sectors like agriculture, recreation, and energy."
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