… Iconic mountain towns like Aspen, Colorado, and Park City, Utah, were seen with shockingly bare slopes, as the region endured a historic snow drought that experts warn could bring water shortages and wildfires in the months ahead. … Colorado hasn’t experienced such a severe snow drought in more than 40 years. Neither has Utah … and newly released federal drought data show similar conditions in New Mexico and Arizona. All four states are contending with record-low snowpack. … A snow drought of this magnitude has the power to disrupt fundamental aspects of life in the West. … In addition to increasing the risk of water shortages for states already strapped for those resources, low snowpack can make wildfire-prone land even more vulnerable.

Other weather and water forecast news:

• Capital Press (Salem, Ore.): El Nino on its way and expected to stay for the winter
• KQED (San Francisco): ‘Snow-eater’ heat wave behind big Sierra melt is a look at our climate future
• The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Calif.): What is a snow drought? Why California’s ‘warm snow drought’ matters
• The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.): What does the March heat wave mean for fire season?
• Sierra Sun (Truckee, Calif.): What Truckee’s fire season could bring this year
• The Arizona Republic (Phoenix): Colorado River outlook was bleak, but the heat is making it worse
• Colorado Public Radio: Colorado’s early snowmelt is a preview of a hotter future
• The New York Times: Across the West, record heat is colliding with a snow drought
• The Land Desk: Blog: The (new) water year of our discontent