The winter's snow drought is now a full-blown water crisis
The winter's snow drought is now a full-blown water crisis
Snow globes contained more powder than the mountains out west this winter. Below-average snowpack across the Cascade Range, Rockies, and the Sierra Nevada created an unprecedented âsnow droughtâ that caused abnormally warm winter vacations and muddy ski runs. Those monitoring the Earthâs weather cycles saw it as a of whatâs to come this summer.
And just as feared, as the ice began to melt, the snow drought began showing the signs of a traditional drought. Already in June, the data is showing a dire scenario.
unpacked the snow droughtâs impact on water sources, particularly in Western states, and how increasing dryness will affect this yearâs wildfire season.
Drying Out
The snow water equivalentâa measure of melted snowâset record lows in April across Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. Thatâs already impacting water runoff into key tributaries and rivers. For example, the Colorado River Basin is forecast to produce and experienced its warmest March on record; Californiaâs river basins experienced their driest March on record.
Government agencies in May announced the water reservoir from snow melt as âalready gone in many places.â And the drought isnât limited to the West: Nearly 60% of the continental United States is .
Regions in the South and Midwest have also been hit with extended episodes of dryness, which this past winterâs rainfall didnât fully alleviate. Persistent , Mississippi, and Louisiana is impacting cattle ranchers, farming, and recreational water supply.
The reality on the ground is so bad that the federal government is planning to hand out money through Bidenâs capstone climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. While the White House previously instructed agencies to claw back billions in spending earmarked under the law, the Interior Department is now extending contracts that to farmers and ranchers who agree to follow climate-friendly practices, including water conservation.
Whereâs the Water?
The for 40 million people across seven states, including Colorado, California, and Arizona, as well as 30 Native American Nations and Mexico. To call the riverâs water levels bad would be a grave understatement.
In the last 20 years, âroughly 14 million Olympic-sized swimming poolsâ worth. The reason is largely attributed to over-pumping, but this yearâs snow drought has exacerbated it.
A group of Colorado River experts released projections earlier this month that if next winter doesnât replenish the water basin, and use continues at the current pace, such a drain would ârisk a ,â and be âan outcome with devastating consequences.â This yearâs to parched areas along the Pacific, but it will lead to increased heat elsewhere.
The Trump administration is aware of the reality facing the top agriculture sector in the U.S. In mid-May, the government proposed a water-conservation plan that could cut up to 40% of the current water supplies to . It would be an astonishing hit to the agriculture and ranching industries, but some say the main way to mitigate the drought is to curb overall water use. Because the Colorado Riverâs water flows south, Arizona is anticipated to witness the brunt of the cuts. The 10-year plan is supposed to be finalized this month.
In the meantime, all three states have already announced their own proposal for of up to 3.2 million acre-feet through 2028. Itâs resulting in some wheeling and dealing, as well as some creative climate solutions.
is working on a deal with Arizona and that would exchange some water claims the city holds to the Colorado River for an investment in its desalination plant, which, in recent years, led to a water surplus for the county but racked up debt for the water utility. Another water project is underway in Los Angeles that aims to convert sewage water into drinking water for at a cost of $3.4 billion.
A Worrisome Combination
The scarcity of water and growing dryness across the country are teeing up a likely brutal fire season.
âI think this is going to be the year,â Timothy Ingalsbee, co-founder and executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology, . âThe conditions are just ripe for some really bad outcomes.â
As of Tuesday, have burned nationwide, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Thatâs nearly double the annual average between 2016 and 2025. And thereâs serious concern that the federal government is ill-equipped to handle the fire season ahead. Last year, the White House proposed cutting the by 65%. The move was largely rejected by Congress.
Trump has long pushed for increased logging as a fire management tool, and this season will put that theory to the test. Experts warn that industrial-scale logging canât significantly reduce wildfire threats.
âThe type of drought weâre seeing this year across the West is a glimpse into the future,â Erica Fleishman, director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State University, âThinning and logging forestsâthatâs not going to control wildfires.â
Last June, the White House directing the secretary of agriculture and secretary of the interior to consolidate their wildland fire efforts. The mandate resulted in the announcement of a new . But in March, the agency announced a major reorganization of the Forest Service altogether, including . Previous headquarters moves under Trump have led to significant layoffs and resignations. Congressional Democrats âpart of a familiar Republican playbook.â
Three days after the announced relocation of the Forest Service this spring, the White Houseâs 2027 budget proposed , down from $309 million the year before.
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