Big Worries in the West — Lack of Snow & a Warm Winter

This year, and late last year, there hasn’t been much snow in the West. Some climatologists say it’s a record drought. The lack of snow has several negatives. The first being a big lack of water as we move into spring and summer. Secondly, businesses relying on winter tourism like ski areas are suffering.

A frightening 67 weather stations in the West are seeing the warmest December through early February on record. The snow cover at this time of year should register 460,000 square miles. That’s an area the size of California, Idaho, Montana and Utah combined.

Mark Serreze of the National Snow and Ice Data Center has lived in Colorado for 40 years. He said he’s never seen anything like this. The snow cover in the West is 155,000 square miles — or an area just the size of California.

“I have not seen a winter like this before,” Serreze said. "This pattern that we’re in is so darned persistent.”

Jason Gerlich of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the snow cover is not only at a record low, but the water trapped inside the snowpack is 30% lower than the previous low record.

A big worry is the drought — and it will be a bad one — kicking off the wildfire season much earlier than usual.

Daniel McEvoy, a researcher at the Western Regional Climate Center, said moisture that is normally snow is now water. It runs off much more quickly.

“It was so warm, especially in December, that the snow was only falling at the highest parts of the mountains,” McEvoy said. “And then we moved into January and it got really dry almost everywhere for the last three to four weeks and stayed warm.”

Meteorologists are predicting wetter and cooler weather in the West with some snow but it’s too little, too late.

Source link: ABC News — https://bit.ly/4bWzof3