{"id":2868,"date":"2026-07-22T13:03:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T13:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2868"},"modified":"2026-07-22T13:03:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T13:03:10","slug":"last-winters-extreme-snow-drought-was-a-sign-of-the-wests-future-colorado-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2868","title":{"rendered":"Last winter\u2019s extreme snow drought was a sign of the West\u2019s future, Colorado study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Extreme snow droughts like the one that plagued the West last winter will become more frequent \u2014 and eventually the norm \u2014 across much of the region as climate change fuels warmer temperatures, according to a new study led by a Colorado School of Mines professor.<\/p>\n

Read more Colorado\u2019s 150th anniversary somber occasion for Native Americans who lost territory<\/a><\/p>\n

Climate change made the season\u2019s low snowfall four times more likely to occur than during the preindustrial period from 1850 to 1900, says the study, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.<\/p>\n

The size of the impact surprised the study\u2019s lead author, Adrienne Marshall, who is a computational hydrologist and assistant professor of geology and geological engineering at the School of Mines. She expected an increase in likelihood of just 20% or 30% due to climate change \u2014 not the many times over that she found.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a gut punch in a way that (other findings) haven\u2019t been,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m looking at and living through the snow conditions we have right now, and I don\u2019t like it. It makes them real in a way that feels new, even for someone that has been working in this field for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lack of snow\u00a0has translated this summer to extreme drought, parched rivers and reservoirs, water use restrictions and increased wildfire risk across Colorado and the region.<\/p>\n

Similarly dry winters will become more common across the West if greenhouse gas emissions are not curbed and climate change continues to intensify. Through the end of the decade, the chance of such a winter will hover around 10%, according to the study.<\/p>\n

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Endangered Snowpack: How climate change will affect Colorado skiing<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n