snowpack

The federal government is spending nearly $5 million to improve drought monitoring and forecasts in the West to help states, communities and farmers better plan and prepare for droughts.

A new study shows just how much climate change is shrinking water supplies for Western farmers. But its authors also have some ideas of what they could do to adapt.

More than 100 years ago, a professor in the Mountain West invented a tool and technique to measure the amount of water in a snowpack — a discovery that still lives on to this day.

New research shows less snow is falling in many parts of the U.S., including the Mountain West, a region that relies heavily on snow.

The wet season got off to a weak start in the Mountain West, but federal officials say recent winter storms have helped strengthen some snowpacks.

A new study shows human-caused climate change is shrinking snowpacks around the world, raising concerns for regions where communities and industries rely on snow.

Federal officials say many parts of the West continue to see “massive” drought improvements, with some of the most significant changes in the Mountain West.

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

A new study shows wildfires are burning more high-elevation areas, and that’s impacting the snowpack across the West.

Airborne Snow Observatories flies planes over watersheds and beams masses of laser pulses each second to the snowpack below to create elevation maps. The maps help calculate snow depth and the water supply forecast across the West.