How Will This Winter Affect the 40 Million People Living in the Colorado River Basin? - SnowBrains

"With March rapidly approaching, this season has crossed the "bad start" threshold and is now solidly in "bad year" territory. The recent wave of storms brought much needed snow to many areas, with Palisades Tahoe reporting over 100 inches in the last 10 days, Alta reporting almost 60 inches, and Steamboat reporting almost 25 inches. Yet, most SNOTEL sites across the West still report below average snowpacks compared with twenty year averages."

"For the almost 40 million people that live in the Colorado River Basin, which supplies water to seven states in the U.S. and two in Mexico, a low snow year can have dire consequences long after the ski season is over. Winter snowpacks store water up in the mountains, and their spring and summer melting feed streams and rivers throughout the summer. Between 85% and 95% of the water in the Colorado River Basin comes from mountain snowpacks."

"A system of dams on the Colorado River and its tributaries help store water, regulate spring runoff and prevent flooding, and generate hydroelectric power. Water supply requires active flows below dams with plenty of supply in reservoirs, flood mitigation requires keeping those flows below a certain level and having enough extra storage to handle all of the snowmelt, and hydroelectric power generation requires maintaining a certain flow out of the reservoir."

Recent storms provided temporary relief to western ski areas, with significant snowfall at major resorts like Palisades Tahoe, Alta, and Steamboat. However, most SNOTEL monitoring sites across the West still report below-average snowpacks compared to twenty-year averages, marking this as a bad snow year rather than a temporary setback. This situation has serious implications beyond skiing. The Colorado River Basin, which supplies water to seven U.S. states and two Mexican states for approximately 40 million people, depends heavily on winter snowpacks. Between 85-95% of the basin's water originates from mountain snowmelt during spring and summer. A system of dams manages competing demands: water supply, flood mitigation, and hydroelectric power generation. The Colorado Basin River Forecast Center tracks water distribution across the basin to balance these complex requirements.

Read at SnowBrains