Latest news with #NevadaWaterSupplyOutlookReport
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Southern Nevada set for ‘lean water year,' while northern Nevada snowpack in ‘good shape'
Overlooking Lake Tahoe from Incline Peak, Nevada on April 2, 2025. (Photo Credit: Jeff Anderson/USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) Water officials have raised concerns about anticipated water levels in Southern Nevada this summer, following a disappointing winter snowpack that threatens to stall progress made during last year's wetter-than-average season. Snowpack in the Upper Colorado River Basin, which provides streamflow for the two largest reservoirs in the United States — Lake Mead and Lake Powell — has underperformed this winter, reinforcing long-term drought challenges facing the west. Snowpack is a crucial source of water for Nevada and the West. As snowpack melts, it recharges ecosystems and replenishes reservoirs that provide drinking water for millions of people and irrigation water for millions of acres of farmland. Despite two consecutive decent water years, both reservoirs could see gains reversed, according to the monthly Nevada Water Supply Outlook Report from the Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. 'Southern Nevada should expect a lean water year with less than normal streamflow predicted for the Virgin River and the Colorado River inflow to Lake Powell,' reads the report. According to the report, the Upper Colorado Basin's snowpack only reached 89% of the historical median this April, which is considered the month when the snowpack reaches its highest snow water total before melt begins. That could spell trouble for water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell which are already suffering deficits due to drought impacts and high water demands. Water officials estimate that streamflow for Lake Powell will be at about 74% of the historical median, according to the report. Lake Powell's water levels directly affect Lake Mead because streamflow to Lake Powell is eventually released to Lake Mead. Combined storage in Lake Powell and Lake Mead as of March is down 691,000 acre-feet compared to the same time last year, or enough water to supply 1.3 million households. Both reservoirs combined are at 33% of capacity as of April. Snowpack in Southern Nevada's Spring Mountains has also underperformed this winter, hitting only 30% of its historical median. Snow melt from Spring Mountains is the largest source of groundwater for Southern Nevada and provides some limited water to Lake Mead. However, Spring Mountains did receive much needed rain in March, hitting about 229% of the historical median as of March. Despite deficits in Southern Nevada, other parts of the state are looking at a more robust water year. Snowpack in the Eastern Sierra is about normal at 105% of median, compared to 134% at this time last year. Snowpack in several basins that supply water for the Reno-Sparks area — including the Walker River, Carson River, Truckee River and Lake Tahoe basins — are at about normal as of April. Combined all four basins hit nearly 98% of their historical median. Snowpack is well above normal in other parts of Northern Nevada, especially in regions along the Oregon-Nevada border. That snowmelt will also help bolster already healthy reservoirs in northern Nevada. Most reservoirs in northern Nevada were near normal to well above normal storage as of March, according to the report. Snowpack in the Humboldt, Owyhee, Snake, Clover-Franklin basins — largely located in Elko County — reached well above normal snowpack at 122% to 151%. The Humboldt Basin has now seen three consecutive winters with snow water peak amounts above normal. There hasn't been a three-year period with better consecutive snowpacks in the Humboldt Basin since the mid-1980s. The Humboldt Basin is a major course of water for Humboldt, Elko, Lander, and Eureka counties Snowpack in the Northern Great Basin, located largely in Humboldt County, also reached well above normal at 151% median as of early March. Precipitation in March in the Northern Great Basin was also about normal at 96%. Snowpack in Eastern Nevada — which covers the majority of White Pine County and part of Eureka County — improved dramatically from 55% in early March to 86% by early April. While March significantly improved snowpack in Eastern Nevada, snowpack in the region is still below the historical median, hitting 86% of median. Snowpack in the region was also not distributed evenly. 'Eastern Nevada is a mixed bag with better mountain snowpack conditions near Austin, Eureka and Ely, but well below normal snow in Great Basin National Park,' read the report. 'It should be noted that snow percentages in Eastern Nevada vary widely from site to site ranging from twice normal to less than 50%.' Above normal rain also helped improve conditions in Eastern Nevada, reaching well above normal at 182% in March, Above normal precipitation in March also reduced drought severity on the US Drought Monitor Map in Elko, Churchill, Lander and Eureka counties over the last month. But areas of extreme and exceptional drought in southern Nevada remain unchanged from last month. Dry conditions in Southern Nevada followed a pattern of drought throughout the Southwest this winter, according to the latest National Water and Climate Center report from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The Southwest experienced a snow drought and precipitation deficit this season, with well-below normal streamflow from snow melt expected for the spring and summer period, according to the National Water and Climate Center report. Above-normal springtime temperatures are also causing a rapid melting of high-elevation snowpacks across the entire West, which could impact streamflow as snow melts before it's most needed in the summer. In Nevada, snowmelt started early due to a week of warm temperatures in late March. Daily average air temperature at snow monitoring sites across Nevada peaked at 48 degrees Fahrenheit on March 26th, very close to a record for that date. Those conditions are expected to continue in Nevada in the long term. The National Weather Service predicts there is a 40 to 50% chance most of Nevada will see above average temperature from April through June, according to the National Water and Climate Center report. Climate scientists predict Nevada will also see below average precipitation during that same period.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Snowpack at 90% of normal as ‘lean' year projected for Southern Nevada
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A 50% chance of snow Friday night in the Colorado Rockies might be the last hurrah for a winter that has fallen short this year. Current snowpack levels in the Upper Colorado River Basin hit 90% of normal on Friday. The region includes parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, providing the runoff that collects in reservoirs along the river and eventually reaches Lake Powell and Lake Mead. And 90% is better than where snowpack stood on Monday, when it had declined to 86%. It's been a volatile end to winter, with big swings rather than a steady increase to peak levels. Snowpack measurements — SWE, or snow water equivalent — generally peak the first week of April, when temperatures warm and more snow melts than new accumulation from snowfall. The black line on the graph below shows 2025 SWE measurements collected at SNOTEL stations across the basin: 'Southern Nevada should expect a lean water year with less than normal streamflow predicted for the Virgin River and the Colorado River inflow to Lake Powell,' according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Nevada Water Supply Outlook Report, dated April 1 but distributed Friday afternoon. The Nevada report provides detail on the eastern Sierras and Northern Nevada, but none of that water reaches Las Vegas, which relies on the Colorado River for 90% of its water. The remaining 10% comes from wells. Streamflow into Lake Powell for April through June is projected at 74% of normal. The Virgin River is projected to flow at 61% of normal at Littlefield, Arizona. Water shortage levels based on end-of-year measurements at Lake Mead currently have Southern Nevada in a Tier 1 water shortage, unchanged from last year. In 2023, snowpack levels ended the winter at 160% of normal, providing a short-term rescue along the Colorado River in the 23rd year of a 'megadrought.' The extra water that year built levels at Lake Mead, which had fallen to 25% of capacity. The nation's largest reservoir is currently at 33% capacity. Over the past two years, water conservation agreements have helped preserve levels at Lake Mead. That effort has helped stabilize Lake Mead and Lake Powell, but a below-average snowpack could bring problems seen over the past few years, particularly in the summer of 2022. That's when Lake Mead hit its lowest point — 1,041.71 feet above sea level — since the reservoir was initially filled in the 1930s. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation — which runs Hoover Dam, Glen Canyon Dam and others that manage the water flow upstream from Lake Powell — faces a deadline at the end of 2026 to implement updated guidelines for river operations. The path to a final decision on that plan is already seeing obstacles, with Nevada, Arizona and California challenging the choices selected by Reclamation as the Biden administration ended. Those states, known as the Lower Colorado Basin states, have asked the Trump administration to include a choice that addresses problems at Glen Canyon Dam. There has been no public response yet. Here's a look at SWE measurements going into the weekend: The best snow conditions this year occurred in Wyoming, which feeds into Flaming Gorge Reservoir and down the Green River, the Colorado River's largest tributary. The worst conditions came in Southern Utah, including the Lower San Juan region, which reached only 15% of normal: Upper Green: 105% Lower Green: 92% White-Yampa: 95% Colorado Headwaters: 95% Gunnison: 82% Dirty Devil: 73% Lower San Juan: 15% Dolores: 73% Upper San Juan: 65%(Totals as of April 4 provided by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation) The USDA's report indicated much better conditions for Northern Nevada. 'Snowpacks are 94-103% in the Sierra basins, 122-151% across the northern Nevada, 86% in Eastern Nevada, 88% in the Upper Colorado, and 30% in the Spring Mountains on April 1. April 1 is typically when basin snowpacks reach their highest snow water total before melt begins. This year snowmelt started early due to a week of warm temperatures between March 21-27,' the report said. Water from snowfall in the Spring Mountains (Mt. Charleston and the surrounding area) plays an important part in recharging aquifers in the region, but it is far short of normal levels this year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Experts warn of troubling pattern threatening popular ski resorts: 'Raises concern'
One of the country's most popular skiing regions has been suffering from a snow drought this winter. But this lack of snow in California and Nevada has implications beyond the tourism industry. During the warmer seasons, there is also a higher risk of wildfires. A snow drought in the Lake Tahoe basin and its surrounding regions could significantly impact the area's economy, water supplies, and wildfire season. "Too many blue-sky days in January followed by too much rain in early February raises concern about where this winter's snowpack will end up on April 1," said the Nevada Water Supply Outlook Report, per the Tahoe Daily Tribune. Snowpack improved in mid-February but fell off in the second half of the month in the Tahoe, Truckee, Carson, and Walker basins. The March report cautioned that these basins "will be playing catch-up in March with a couple more significant storms needed to achieve a normal peak snow water amount." The National Ski Areas Association has called rising global temperatures the top threat to the snowsports industry. The NSAA includes over 300 alpine resorts that collectively generate over 90% of the country's skier and snowboarder visits. According to a snapshot of the 2023-24 season, downhill snowsports contribute nearly $59 billion annually to the nation's economy. Unfortunately, analysis of over 2,000 United States locations by Climate Central showed that "nearly two-thirds (64%) of locations now get less snow than they did in the early 1970s." Another study by the nonprofit group — which studies how our changing climate impacts people's lives — determined that winter is the fastest-warming season for most of the country. "Warming winters can disrupt snowfall patterns, which can in turn limit snowfed water supplies critical for people, agriculture, and ecosystems," Climate Central wrote. "Limited snowpack accumulations reduce the amount of water stored for drinking, hydropower, and irrigation." Climate Central also cautions that earlier snowmelt raises the risk of wildfires in forests with abundant fuels in the West. A Dartmouth College study found that seasonal snowpacks have shrunk significantly across the Northern Hemisphere over the past 40 years. In recent months, our warming world has contributed to the closure of popular ski resorts in Canada and Switzerland. The NSAA has pledged, among other things, to "engage in advocacy with key policy makers in support of the adoption of standards and legislation to curb carbon emissions" and "support research and funding of adaptation, resiliency and restoration measures that will protect the outdoor experiences enjoyed by millions of Americans, and ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy the benefits of mountain recreation." Moving away from dirty energy sources and embracing renewable options will reduce the harmful heat-trapping gases released into our planet's atmosphere. Taking public transportation whenever possible can have a big impact, saving nearly a pound of pollution for every mile of travel. Driving more efficiently and choosing a planet-friendly electric vehicle for your next vehicle purchase, if possible, can also help. When was the last time you weatherized your home? This year Last year More than two years ago Never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
