暗黑爆料

Snow data from the Colorado River Basin Forecast Center shows a strong start for the region's water supplies, but heavy snow may get soaked up by dry soils before it can flow into Lake Powell and Lake Mead.

Heavy rain and snow could provide a boost to the Colorado River, where the nation's largest reservoirs are shrinking due to 23 years of drought and steady demand. But climate scientists warn that it will take more than one wet winter to end the drought.

A new study shows that extreme spring heat waves can wipe out mountain snowpack at alarming rates, with big consequences for the West鈥檚 water supplies.

Researchers are traversing Western mountains to better understand snow algae 鈥� and whether its blooms are hastening the melting of mountain snowpack.

As a drought-stricken region looks ahead to the summer, climate scientists are keeping an eye on high-mountain snowpack and its path to streams and rivers. Snow at high altitudes makes up the majority of the water in the Colorado River 鈥� where this past winter has left low totals.

If it doesn鈥檛 snow again in Denver soon, this will be the city's shortest snow season on record. And Denver's dearth of snow reflects a more consequential climate trend 鈥� the Mountain West's shortening season for accumulating mountain snowpack.

Year by year, Rocky Mountain snowpack is shrinking, slowly exhibiting the sting of a warming climate. The way we measure the snow is changing too, as a shifting baseline for what counts as 鈥渁verage鈥� paints a somewhat deceptive picture of how much snow is stored at high altitude.

Recent storms brought mountain snowpack above normal levels across much of the West, but the precipitation only slightly improves the region's long-term drought conditions.

鈥淲e are careening towards this future where our mountains no longer have the snowpack that we have come to expect them to have to meet our downstream water needs."

Colorado鈥檚 Front Range has been abnormally warm and dry this fall, heading into winter. Although some snowfall is expected later this week, many Coloradans are wondering what the rest of winter is going to be like.