Western snowpack is low
An unseasonably warm winter left Oregon with one of its worst snow seasons on record, forcing many ski resorts to close early and shaping local water and fire forecasts. (opb.org) Reports warn that poor snowpack across the West is increasing wildfire risk and that Colorado’s March heat wave produced its worst end‑of‑winter snowpack for early April on record. (gjsentinel.com)
Snowpack is the mountain snow that acts like a frozen reservoir, and across the West that reservoir is running unusually low this spring. Oregon just went through one of its worst snow seasons on record, and Colorado finished winter with its lowest early-April snowpack on record after a March heat wave. (opb.org) (aspenjournalism.org) In Oregon, the thin snow season has already changed daily life in the mountains. Mt. Hood Meadows said it would close on April 12, weeks earlier than usual, after patchy conditions and a warm winter cut short the season. (opb.org) State and federal water officials are now describing Oregon’s outlook in blunt terms. The April 2026 Oregon Water Supply Outlook Report said peak snow water equivalent, the amount of water stored in snow, was near record lows statewide and pointed to a “grim water supply outlook” for summer. (usda.gov) The problem is not just that storms were weak. In Oregon and Colorado, repeated warm spells turned what might have fallen as snow into rain and then melted snow early, shrinking the mountain snowbank before the normal spring runoff even began. (opb.org) (aspenjournalism.org) Colorado’s numbers show how extreme the spring became. Western Water Assessment reported that Colorado’s statewide snowpack was 24% of median on April 1, 2026, with record-low April 1 snowpack in every regional river basin except northwestern Wyoming. (colorado.edu) March did much of the damage. Colorado Climate Center said the March 18-21 heat wave was the warmest March heat wave in the state’s records since 1951, and Western Water Assessment said March 2026 temperatures broke records across Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. (colostate.edu) (colorado.edu) Low snowpack changes more than ski calendars because mountain snow feeds rivers and reservoirs for months after winter ends. When the snow melts out early, streams often run lower in summer, irrigators get less water, and landscapes dry out sooner. (usda.gov) (opb.org) Fire forecasters are already incorporating those conditions into spring and summer planning. The National Interagency Fire Center’s April through July 2026 outlook said fire activity increased in March and published elevated significant fire potential across parts of the West in the months ahead. (nifc.gov) Oregon’s snow stations still show how little cushion remains. The Natural Resources Conservation Service update for April 12 listed many Oregon sites with little or no snow water equivalent left, even though early April is normally near or just past peak snowpack in many basins. (usda.gov) The next test is summer. Water managers, farmers, firefighters and ski towns are all heading into the warmest months with less snow in storage than they usually count on by mid-April. (usda.gov) (nifc.gov)
