Click here to go to the Western Water Assessment Climate Dashboard website to read the latest briefing. Here are the highlights:
Highlights
January was overall very dry for the region, with nearly all mountain areas receiving below-average precipitation.
The region’s snowpack has suffered since January 1 due to the dry and warm conditions, with most basins now reporting below-median SWE. Basins in southwestern Colorado and southwestern Utah remain the driest in the region, with less than 65% of median SWE.
The February 1 spring-summer runoff forecasts show widespread reductions compared to the January 1 forecasts. Most forecast points are now in the below-average and much-below-average categories, with near-average runoff expected in central Colorado and northern and western Wyoming.
“El Limbo” continues in the tropical Pacific; by some measures weak El Niño conditions are occurring, but the likelihood of an official El Niño event has dropped slightly compared to one month ago.