snowpack

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.

Read or listen to the news headlines for Wednesday, May 11, 2022.

If it doesn’t snow again in Denver soon, this will be the city's shortest snow season on record. And Denver's dearth of snow reflects a more consequential climate trend – the Mountain West's shortening season for accumulating mountain snowpack.

Read or listen to the news headlines for Thursday, April 14, 2022.

Read or listen to the morning news headlines for Tuesday, April 5, 2022.

The National Weather Service doesn’t expect Reno to get any precipitation through at least Valentine’s Day.

Recent storms brought mountain snowpack above normal levels across much of the West, but the precipitation only slightly improves the region's long-term drought conditions.