A combination of unusually balmy winter weather across much of the Western United States and one of the worst snow droughts in decades has experts bracing for what could be a particularly intense wildfire season.The snowpack is well below average for this time of year in nearly all Western states, with little time remaining to add snow cover and depth in the mountains before spring thaws begin. At the same time, higher-than-normal temperatures have made for a warmer and dryer winter than many states are accustomed to, raising concerns about wildfire risk and water supply.“The snowpack in Colorado’s mountains is the lowest it’s been in over 40 years,” said Russ Schumacher, director of the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University and the state climatologist.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe period from October through February in Colorado — a time when the state normally sees a large buildup of snow in the mountains — was the warmest on record “by a large margin,” Schumacher said. Fort Collins, where he is based, nearly doubled its previous record for the number of 60-degree-Fahrenheit days in the winter, jumping from 22 days to 43 so far.A snow drought sweeping the Western United States led to low snowpack in Breckenridge, Colo., on Jan. 22. (Hyoung Chang / Denver Post via Getty Images)(Hyoung Chang)As a result, the state hasn’t seen the types of snowstorms it would normally expect, and when storms have hit, they have often dropped rain instead of snow, particularly at middle and lower elevations.The problem extends beyond Colorado. Measurements of snow-water equivalent (the amount of water stored in the snowpack) across the Western continental U.S. show most of the region at well below average, with many basins at less than 50% of the average for this time of year. Some even hover around 25% of the average.“When most places are at 50% of average or less, that means there would b …
