Western Drought and Wildfire Risk

National data show most of the Western United States is in a record 'snow drought' for early February 2026, driven less by lack of storms than by unusually warm temperatures turning snow into rain, raising alarm over spring and summer water supplies and wildfire danger. The National Snow and Ice Data Center reports Western snow cover is only about 155,000 square miles — roughly one-third the normal area for this time of year — and Oregon’s snowpack is not just at a record low but 30% below the previous worst year. At least 67 Western weather stations have logged their warmest December-through-early-February on record, and Utah’s capital has gone 327 days without a one-inch snowfall, as ski areas struggle and winter recreation businesses lose revenue. Scientists warn that the meager, patchy snowpack in states like Oregon, Colorado and Utah — including in the Upper Colorado River Basin — will likely mean weaker runoff into rivers that supply cities, farms and hydropower and could trigger an early, severe fire season as bare ground and vegetation dry out faster. California is a partial exception thanks to heavy December rains, but experts emphasize that a persistent warm pattern across the broader West is unlike anything regional climate researchers have seen in decades and fits long-term warming trends that are reshaping how much of the Rockies and Cascades can be counted on as natural water storage.