Record Low Rockies Snowpack

The snowpack feeding the Colorado River reached historic lows in April. The warmest winter on record saw a March heat wave critically reduced the snowpack feeding the Colorado River, the source of 70-80% of the water supply in the western U.S. The snowpack usually reaches peak Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) in early April. However this year’s SWE peaked in mid-March. In the low to mid elevations precipitation fell as rain, not snow. Since rain dissipates immediately and loses more volume to evaporation than snow, the spring thaw, which provides a gradual water supply, has been dramatically reduced. According to the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, the Upper Colorado River basin’s April 1st snowpack was only 23 percent of the median. This means the amount of runoff forecast to reach Lake Powell, the nation’s second-largest reservoir and a vital store of Colorado River water, is forecast to be 22% of normal. Lake Powell drains into Lake Mead, which then supplies water to the U.S. Southwest.