From Snow Drought To Full-On Drought Across West; Colorado River Flow Projected 30% Of Normal, Water Cutbacks Coming [View all]

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The snow water equivalent—a measure of melted snow—set record lows in April across Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. That’s already impacting water runoff into key tributaries and rivers. For example, the Colorado River Basin is forecast to produce less than 30% of its average runoff and experienced its warmest March on record; California’s river basins experienced their driest March on record.

Government agencies in May announced the water reservoir from snow melt as “already gone in many places.” And the drought isn’t limited to the West: Nearly 60% of the continental United States is experiencing moderate drought.

Regions in the South and Midwest have also been hit with extended episodes of dryness, which this past winter’s rainfall didn’t fully alleviate. Persistent drought stretching across Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana is impacting cattle ranchers, farming, and recreational water supply. The reality on the ground is so bad that the federal government is planning to hand out money through Biden’s capstone climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. While the White House previously instructed agencies to claw back billions in spending earmarked under the law, the Interior Department is now extending contracts that paid out nearly $1.4 billion to farmers and ranchers who agree to follow climate-friendly practices, including water conservation.

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The scarcity of water and growing dryness across the country are teeing up a likely brutal fire season. “I think this is going to be the year,” Timothy Ingalsbee, co-founder and executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology, told Inside Climate News. “The conditions are just ripe for some really bad outcomes.” As of Tuesday, more than 2.5 million acres have burned nationwide, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. That’s nearly double the annual average between 2016 and 2025. And there’s serious concern that the federal government is ill-equipped to handle the fire season ahead. Last year, the White House proposed cutting the Forest Service’s 2026 fiscal budget by 65%. The move was largely rejected by Congress.

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https://atmos.earth/political-landscapes/the-winters-snow-drought-is-now-a-full-blown-water-crisis/