Record snow drought, heat hit western US
A record snow drought with unprecedented heat is hitting most of the American West, depleting future water supplies, making it more vulnerable to wildfires and hurting winter tourism and recreation. Scientists say snow cover and snow depth are both at the lowest levels they’ve seen in decades, while at least 67 Western weather stations have measured their warmest December through early February on record.
Normal snow cover this time of year should be about 460,000 square miles —about the size of California, Utah, Idaho and Montana - but this year it’s only California-sized, about 155,000 square miles, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Centre.
“I have not seen a winter like this before,” said centre director Mark Serreze, who has been in Colorado for almost 40 years. “This pattern that we’re in is so darned persistent.” The snowpack - measured by how much water is trapped inside - in Oregon is not only record low, but 30 per cent lower than the previous record, said Jason Gerlich, regional drought early warning system coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Much of the US east of the Rockies is snowbound and enduring more than two weeks of bone-chilling abnormal cold, but in West Jordan, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City, Trevor Stephens went to the store last week in gym shorts and a T-shirt.
“Right now there’s no snow on the ground,” he said in a video interview, looking out his window and lamenting the lack of snowboarding opportunities. “I’d definitely rather have icy roads and snow than whatever is going on out here right now.”
Concerns over water supply and wildfires. Ski resorts had already been struggling through a difficult season, but the lack of snow has been persistent enough that concerns are growing about wider effects. Oregon, Colorado and Utah have reported their lowest statewide snowpack since the early 1980s, as far back as records go.
A dry January has meant most states have received half their average precipitation or even less. Along with sunny days and higher-than-average temperatures, that’s meant little snow buildup in a month that historically gets a lot of snow accumulation across much of the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies. Because of heavy rains in December.
