Latest news with #RussSchumacher
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Some of Colorado's mountains have no snowpack left after below-average winter
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (KDVR) — The latest data shows Colorado has just 59% of the median snowpack it has seen over the last three decades. 'This winter has not been a good one in terms of snowpack,' state climatologist Russ Schumacher said. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up for weather alerts from the Pinpoint Weather team The southwestern corner of the state is suffering the worst. According to the USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service, Cortez and the Four Corners have zero moisture left to melt. 'It got off to a really fast start in November. There are places that were at or near record highs in early November with the huge snowstorm that happened and then barely got any more snow the rest of the winter. And now melting out early because it's been so sunny and warm over the last few weeks,' Schumacher said. Schumacher says it will lead to low flows in the rivers during the spring runoff. 'We're kind of getting into the conversation of some of those really bad drought years in the past,' he said. The U.S. drought monitor predicts about three-quarters of Colorado will be experiencing drought conditions by the end of July. According to Schumacher, Coloradans may face water restrictions, reduced output from the agricultural industry and an increased risk of wildfire. 'If you have rainfall in the summer that's timed well, that can really prevent the wildfire situation from getting really bad even if it's otherwise a dry year. But those years where the snowpack is low and we have long lasting drought, those tend to be the years that have a lot of fire,' Schumacher said. He points to similar snowpack conditions in 2018. In June of that year the 416 Fire burned 55,000 acres in Durango and the Spring Creek Fire scorched another 108,000 acres near La Veta in July. What is severe weather season in Colorado? However, there is still some time for mother nature to turn things around. 'We'll have a storm coming into the mountains tomorrow. There may be a bigger storm next week so there's still a chance for things to recover up here in the northern part of the state,' Schumacher said. Inching closer May and June though, he said spring storms may not be enough to fix the precipitation problems in southern Colorado. 'The reservoirs that we have in Colorado do help to provide a savings account for a dry year. So usually one dry year is possible to get through because there's water stored up in the reservoirs,' Schumacher said. 'Some of the places in southern Colorado that had poor snowpack last year as well, their reservoirs didn't fill up that much last summer. That's where the bigger concerns are.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
20-02-2025
- Climate
- USA Today
Water crisis in West still looms as Lakes Mead and Powell only 35% full
Water crisis in West still looms as Lakes Mead and Powell only 35% full Show Caption Hide Caption Historic drought spurs Arizona to explore importing billions of gallons of water Arizona is exploring plans to import billions of gallons of water to address historic drought conditions in the Colorado River. Straight Arrow News Last week's rain and floods in California may soon give way to concerns about drought in the West as spring kicks off the region's dry season. This year's storms won't erase looming drought worries across the entire southwestern U.S., experts fear. Of particular concern are the giant reservoirs of the Colorado River basin, Lakes Mead and Powell, which remain far below capacity. Colorado State climatologist Russ Schumacher told USA TODAY Wednesday that "because of the warm, dry conditions over the last couple of decades, which have been made worse by a warming climate, and also because of high demand for water in the region, the two big reservoirs on the Colorado River (Lakes Mead and Powell) are still very low compared to their historical levels." How are Lakes Mead and Powell doing? Lakes Mead and Powell, which provide the water that 40 million Americans depend on, are now only about 35% full, climatologist Brian Fuchs of the National Drought Mitigation Center said. Additionally, he said that while "Powell and Mead are in slightly better shape than a few years ago when they were at record lows and it really was a crisis situation, they are still only holding about half of the water compared to the average over the last 40 years." Fuchs also said that there is a lot of storage capacity available in the reservoirs, and that "Mother Nature needs to help do her part, too." Recent storm helped The recent wet conditions over California allowed for some improvements and eased some of the state's drought conditions, Thursday's U.S. Drought Monitor said. Schumacher also said the mountain snowpack in the Upper Colorado River basin (the area upstream of Lake Powell) did see a nice boost from the recent storm: it had been at about 82% of average as of last week, but is now up to 94% of average, he said. Snowpack is key for water for the West: "Most of the water for the Colorado River originates from mountain snow," Schumacher said. Snow drought in the Southwest However, the Lower Colorado River basin snowpack is still extremely low, and a "snow drought" has been declared in many states: "Exceptional snow drought persists in the Southwest (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah) as a result of record dry conditions," according to Snowpack there had been record low before the recent storm, which gave it a slight boost, but only to 35% of average, Schumacher said. The U.S. Drought Monitor continues to show moderate to extreme drought over much of the Colorado River basin, with worse conditions the farther southwest you go. Overall, he said precipitation for this water year (which started October 1) is well below average over the Southwest. Many locations in the region have been near-record dry since October. Looking ahead The Colorado River Basin Forecast Center's recent forecast is for only 70% of the average flow into Lake Powell this spring and summer, according to Schumacher. He added that the medium-range forecast shows an extended period of warm and dry conditions into early March, "so unless the pattern changes to bring some huge snowstorms in the spring, it's likely to be another year with very low flows on the Colorado River."
