Western Snow Drought Threatens Water Supplies and Winter Sports

Warm temperatures and lack of storms lead to historically low snowpack across the region

Published on Feb. 6, 2026

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The western United States is experiencing a severe snow drought this winter, with record-low snowpack levels in many states. Warm temperatures have caused much of the precipitation to fall as rain instead of snow, leading to sharply reduced mountain snowpack. This is threatening water supplies, agriculture, and winter tourism across the region.

Why it matters

The snowpack typically acts as a natural water reservoir, slowly releasing water through the spring and summer. Without an adequate snowpack, rivers run lower, soils dry out earlier, and drought conditions can deepen and linger. This has major impacts on water management, agriculture, ecosystems, and the economies of mountain resort communities that rely on winter sports.

The details

Much of the western U.S. entered winter already in drought, and the lack of snow this season has only exacerbated the problem. Utah is facing the worst drought conditions, with over 94% of the state experiencing at least a moderate drought. Salt Lake City has only received a tenth of an inch of snow so far this season, the lowest on record. Snowpack levels are also at record lows in Colorado, Oregon, and Montana. The reservoirs along the Colorado River, which provides water for over 40 million people, are especially threatened, with Lake Powell and Lake Mead both around 30% full.

  • December 2025 was the warmest December on record for many western cities.
  • As of early February 2026, the Colorado River system was only 37% of capacity, down from 42% a year earlier.

The players

Jon Meyer

Assistant Utah state climatologist.

Eric Sproles

Associate professor of earth sciences at Montana State University.

Marcene Mitchell

Senior vice president for climate change at the World Wildlife Fund.

Rob Katz

Chief Executive Officer of Vail Resorts.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

The federal agency that manages water resources in the western United States, including the Colorado River system.

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What they’re saying

“This winter, we've just had an extreme lack of storm activity, and the storms that we have had have either brought very small amounts of snowfall or have brought rain.”

— Jon Meyer, Assistant Utah state climatologist

“If you look at most of the West, it's at or above average, with regards to precipitation to date. But if you look at the the amount of water that's stored in the snow pack is, it's pretty bleak.”

— Eric Sproles, Associate professor of earth sciences at Montana State University

“The resort winter tourism is a huge economic backbone for many of these mountain resort communities. And so as they lose their snowfall, they also lose these revenue.”

— Marcene Mitchell, Senior vice president for climate change at the World Wildlife Fund

“We experienced one of the worst early season snowfalls in the western U.S. in over 30 years, which limited our ability to open terrain and negatively impacted visitation and ancillary spending for both local and destination guests during the period.”

— Rob Katz, Chief Executive Officer of Vail Resorts

What’s next

February and March typically bring significant snowfall to the region, and odds favor above-average precipitation over the next few weeks. However, forecasters caution that this pattern may not last for the rest of the month, with overall warmer and drier-than-average conditions still favored.

The takeaway

The worsening snow drought in the West is having cascading impacts on water supplies, agriculture, ecosystems, and the winter tourism industry. This highlights the region's critical dependence on mountain snowpack and the vulnerability of communities to climate change-driven shifts in precipitation patterns.