Click the link to read the article on the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent website (Jaymin Kanzer). Here’s an excerpt:
January 8, 2026
It doesn’t matter if you’re a full-time ski bum, a longtime resident, or a first time visitor — the ramifications of the distressing 2025-26 winter on the Western Slope impacts everyone. The combination of unseasonably warm temperatures and jarring lack of snow has created a perfect storm — or lack thereof — and will continue to impact agriculture, recreation, and potable water for over 30 million people long after the 2025-26 winter concludes. Brendon Langenhuizen, the Director of Technical Advocacy for the Colorado River Water Conservation District, compared the snowpack to a reservoir but said the extreme heat is detracting from the benefits of a natural reserve.
“How warm it’s been has been a concern for me, because snowpack is really a big reservoir for us,” he said. “You can hold that water for the warmer times of the year and then it slowly runs off or melts into the deltas and then comes back into the rivers later in the summer when we need it for crops and water temperatures and recreation.
“If we have these really warm temps continuing, it just diminishes the snowpack and we can’t hold as much snow into the spring — making it so even if we had the moisture, we wouldn’t be able to hold it.”
[…]
According to a Colorado Climate Center graph, parts of Colorado experienced some temperatures exceeding averages by double digits during the first week of January. The graph shows all of Garfield County experienced average temperatures at least eight degrees hotter than average, with northern Garfield County facing average temperatures at least 12 degrees hotter than average. He continued to explain that there was already evidence of a fast runoff, using the Dotsero marker on the Colorado River as reference…Although the area has finally experienced some precipitation since the calendar flipped to 2026, the temperatures aren’t letting a solid base build in the higher alpines – further threatening the snowpack. Walter admitted that every little bit helps, but doesn’t think the recent storms were enough to move the needle, especially since the forecast dries out after Thursday night.
