It was a record-smashing first quarter for the American West. An astonishing heat wave smothered the region for weeks. Mountain snowpack, already low in many states after a rainy winter, melted quickly. Drought conditions intensified. And it’s only early April. Scientists warn that extreme conditions could continue and cause water shortages and raging wildfires. Dwindling snowpack is a big warning sign, climate experts say. Low snow levels in the spring often foretell drought. Recent research suggests that “snow drought” can worsen wildfires. A March 23 study in Environmental Research Letters found that in years with earlier snow melt in the West, wildfires generally burned more acres.

Other snowpack and drought news around the West:

• The New York Times: Heat wipes out Western snowpack, raising fears of drought, wildfire
• Capital Press (Medford, Ore.): Snow drought contributes to Western fire risk
• Nevada Appeal (Carson City): Driest winter ever? Not in western Nevada
• ABC4 (Salt Lake City): ‘Completely uncharted territory’: Utah experts say April 1 snowpack conditions worst in state history
• Jefferson Public Radio (Ashland, Ore.): In the Klamath Basin, farmers brace for another tight water year