We are now nearly a third of the way through the west’s snowpack season.
It plays a critical role in supplying that part of the country’s water throughout the year.
According to USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey, “Already we’re starting to see some clues as to where we may end up when we head into the spring and summer of 2025. We have seen a pattern become established that is very consistent and has featured significant storminess moving in off the Pacific across northern California and the northwest, and at the same time, any early precipitation in the southwest has disappeared. And, we have gone into a dry weather pattern for many, many weeks now, since that early December storminess.”
Rippey says that while some states are facing snowpack 50% below average it is still a bit early to sound water supply alarm bells, but the resource is critical.
“Those areas will have little, if any, runoff into major reservoirs and rivers come spring and summer, and that does not bode well for some of our bigger basins dealing without, including the Colorado River Basin which serves as a multi-state area stretching from California eastward to the Rockies,” he adds. “That’s a little bit of an early alarm bell for southwestern water supplies, especially in basins that are still chronically dry for many, many years of drought.”
Meanwhile, the California Farm Water Coalition is celebrating a water win.
It says that Lake Mead is rebounding thanks to conservation efforts in the state. The coalition says that farmers in Imperial and Coachella Valley have helped save more than a million acre-feet of water in the Colorado River system.
That puts them on track to exceed their goal by 2026.
