Snowpack in parts of the Rocky Mountains is at record lows because of warmer than usual weather, “raising concerns about water supplies and economic damage,” says Inside Climate News. “Runoff from melting snow is now projected to be less than 50 percent of average in key river basins in the central and southern Rockies.”
Snowmelt is an essential part of water supplies during the warm months. “If the snows don’t come, there’s no water to fill the reservoirs,” said Inside Climate News. At many sites monitored by the USDA, snowpack was less than 50 percent of average at the start of 2018. “California … is once again dry and hot … the snowpack was only 44 percent of average at the end of December.” If climate change brings higher average temperatures, as forecast, “water managers will have to make extensive — and expensive — adjustments to water storage and distribution.”
The weekly Drought Monitor said 32 percent of the contiguous 48 states was in drought, up from 28 percent at the start of the year. “The ‘snow drought’ over much of the mountainous western United States is catching more attention, but there is time to make up the poor start to the current water year,” said the report. “Drought continued to intensify [in the West] with moderate and severe drought expanding over Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and southern Wyoming.”
Some 43 percent of winter wheat territory was in drought, including 71 percent of Kansas, the top producer, said the USDA’s Ag in Drought site. At the start of the year, 33 percent of winter wheat land was in moderate or more intense drought. Winter wheat is dormant during cold weather, so there is no immediate impact on the crop. Water supplies will matter after the spring thaw. Winter wheat is grown mostly in the Plains and the Corn Belt.