Western Snow Drought Bad

A significant snow drought is impacting the western United States. Image: NASA Earth — A significant snow drought is impacting the western United States. This map from March 15 shows how much water is stored in snow compared to the 2001-2025 average. Image: NASA Earth

A snow drought has been affecting the western U.S., with mountains seeing unusually low snowfall since October 2025. Less snowmelt can affect hydropower, farms, wildfire risk, and more.

With few exceptions, the mountains of the U.S. West have seen unusually little snow accumulation since October 2025, constituting a widespread snow drought. The lack of mountain snowpack has resource managers on alert going into the warmer spring and summer months.

Chart reflecting how severe this year's snow drought is. Image: NASA — Chart reflecting how severe this year’s snow drought is. Image: NASA

According to NASA, the Upper Colorado Basin was exceptionally dry in spring 2026. Snow water equivalent (SWE) is a measure of how much water there would be if all the snow in a given area melted at once. SWE peaked for the season around March 15 at below-average values for the time of year in most watersheds. Snowfall at elevations from 8,000 feet and below aren’t counted towards SWE since snow at lower elevations often melts quickly and is not representative of overall snowpack health.