Drought for the west

[SAJ-99]

The more I read the more I think we are understating the severity. I guess if we get good rain it makes everyone look like alarmists. If not, we will see the size and scale of the true problem.

‘On a whole other level’: rapid snow melt-off in American west stuns scientists

Experts say brutal March heat has left critical snowpack at record-low levels – and key basins in uncharted territory

www.theguardian.com

 

[Steiny77]

Finally getting some much needed rain in Indiana. 2" In my gauge from the last 12 - 14 hours.
Hopefully the ponds, lakes and all the wetlands will get filled back up.

 

[hank4elk]

Maybe a lil somthin somethin for @hank4elk.
View attachment 405146
View attachment 405147

Ground was damp,sort of. Winds dried it out fast.
Rio Grande was low and sandbars exposed last week. When it should be full spring runoff mode. Farmers told limited water this year. Like none.
Gramma grass trying and about an inch. With limited competition from cattle, elk might make it to summer.

Yeah that green corner elkduds has me hopeful. But the Rockies are pretty dry along with most of NM.

 

[mountainlaurel3]

Good soaking rain overnight into this morning, now off and on at 7800', SW CO. And damn, do we need it.

Forgot to set up my rain barrels last night, though, big mistake.

 

[Ktoye]

Big Droughts up here in Canada

 

[F250]

Big Droughts up here in Canada

Which Province are you in ?

 

[Salmonchaser]

Northern Blue Mts in Oregon is about 30% normal snow pack. Ridge behind the house is right at 7K. Should be a lot of snow up there. It snowed two days ago, gone that fast. Been quite a bit of rain this winter,with temps running 5 to 18 degrees or more above average any time I bothered to check. Ne Oregon typical gets no meaningful rain from the 4th of July until mid October. Our water supply comes from snow pack.
Spent the last three days driving home, Tucson to NE Oregon. Traveled the back roads mostly Tucson to Show Low to Four Corners to Spanish Fork then picked up I 84 to Lagrande. Started getting precip at Show Low with heavy rains from Salt Lake to home. Grass growing like crazy any place grass will grow. No snow even near 7,000 foot pass elevations. All that grass from Northern Utah through Idaho and Eastern Oregon is going to dry out fast if the long range forecast holds.

 

[SAJ-99]

New fire risk released yesterday. Nothing surprising. I almost think it would look worse.

 

[hank4elk]

1st rain and damp ground since Jan. and gone. Grass trying everywhere a drop fell. White Mtns got a dusting.
Burn bans in Catron County. Hills brown with dead pinion. Extreme drought here.

 

[Salmonchaser]

A few days ago we drove from Tucson to Show Low thu to the four corners area before swinging north west. The wife got her PHD in Forrest science and concentrated her work on the overall impact of significant or large die off events. She worked on every continent but Antarctica researching the impacts. Several times on our drive she would have me stop on the shoulder of the road, she would get her binoculars out study a strip of dying pinion or ponderosa and draw a circle on her map. Some times the dogs needed a potty break-again. We would drive down a logging road, wake the dogs from their nap and go for a short walk.
She’s been retired for 8 years. The drought and mild winters is going to be significant. “Bet Mike Lee is blaming the Forrest service by next year” she said.
Got a light dusting of snow in the Blue Mts. On Wednesday night thankfull for that. Wednesday pic vs Thursday morning.

 

[BigHornRam]

Got some much needed moisture the past couple days. More coming Wednesday. Decided now is a good time to do some improvements on the irrigation system.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Finally!

 

[antlerradar]

We got a foot of snow in the past few days, I hear Burgess Junction got 30 inches. Snow pack went from the forties to the sixties. Hope this keeps up.

 

[WVmike]

Hopefully there is some precipitation hitting out west soon. May be a bad fire season and dry in places for elk hunting this fall. Two years ago we were in Colorado and we camped near a lake a few hours south of Glenwood Springs and it wasn't much more than a small slew of water maybe a foot deep at the deepest part. The reservoir near Breckenridge was pretty dry also.

 

[JV842]

It’s pretty bad down here in South Texas…my grandparents owned approximately 3.5miles of lake front, when Medina Lake is full…now their stretch of land has no lake frontage! When I was a child we used to walk out on the damn n watch the water go over the spill way almost yearly and on today; Easter Sunday, it really hits home…we all used to get together at the lake house to celebrate.
There’s a YouTube channel; Carasco Ranch, the guy goes around some of the South Texas lakes and rivers and documents how far they have dropped every week or so…very revealing and scary. But things have been worse….one of my uncles has property along the Quihi Creek and one of the deepest holes has dried up…what did he find at the bottom, an old rock well.