After the West's historic snow drought, spring could bring water shortages and wildfires
CBS News • • nation
Key Points:
- The Western U.S. is experiencing a historic snow drought this winter, with states like Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona seeing record-low snowpack levels not seen in over 40 years, raising concerns about water shortages and wildfire risks.
- Snowpack, which supplies about 75% of the region's water, is critically low, threatening major reservoirs like Lake Mead and Lake Powell and potentially reducing water availability for millions of people and agricultural lands throughout the Colorado River Basin.
- Despite near-normal precipitation totals, unusually warm temperatures caused much of the precipitation to fall as rain instead of snow, accelerating snowmelt and diminishing the seasonal water buffer that snowpack typically provides.
- The early disappearance of snowpack increases the risk of an earlier and
