[NASA] The West Faces Snow Drought

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3. The West Faces Snow Drought

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January 15, 2026

The mountains of the western United States are sporting thin winter coats in early 2026. Although most regions saw average or above-average precipitation in fall and early winter, warmer temperatures meant that much of it fell as rain. The result has been an unusually low snowpack for this time of year, constituting a

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This image, acquired with the

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 (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s

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 satellite, provides a wide view of meager western snow cover on January 15. On that day, measurements derived from satellite observations showed that snow blanketed

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(369,700 square kilometers) of the west. That’s the lowest coverage for that date in the MODIS record dating back to 2001 and less than one-third of the median. Coverage had increased slightly by January 26.

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In addition to snow cover area,

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(SWE)—the amount of water stored in the snowpack—is an important indicator of winter conditions in the West. In early January, the National Integrated Drought Information System

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that snow drought, defined as SWE below the 20th percentile for a given date, was most acute in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. At least one ground-based monitoring station in every major western watershed recorded the lowest SWE in at least 20 years on January 26, according to data published by the USDA

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Overall, the preceding few months were very wet and warm across the West. For the water year beginning on October 1, 2025, many regions saw average or above-average

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. However,

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across a

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of the region meant that much of that precipitation fell as rain rather than snow. A December 2025

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in the Pacific Northwest was one such warm precipitation event.

One nuance in the snow deficit picture can be found in the Southern Sierra and Northern Rockies, where more precipitation has fallen as snow than rain on the lofty peaks. SWE levels stood above average at some

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but were low farther downslope. “This is a classic climate-change, temperature-driven, elevationally dependent snowpack deficit,” said Daniel Swain, climate scientist at the California Institute for Water Resources, in a

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Precipitation falling as rain tends to

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before it can recharge reservoirs and groundwater. On the other hand, winter snowpack that melts in the spring can produce a more metered, sustained water supply. The health of the mountain snowpack has implications for ecosystems, wildfire dynamics, and water availability for agriculture and other uses during drier times of the year.

There is still a lot of winter remaining, and February and March can bring significant amounts of snow. But snowfall in the coming months may not be able to make up for existing deficits. In places such as the

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and the

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that are already dry, snow drought may turn into or exacerbate traditional drought.

NASA Earth Observatory image and chart by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA 

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 and 

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, and snow cover area data from

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. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

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January 15, 2026

JPEG (5.63 MB)

References & Resources

• The Conversation (2026, January 8)
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  . Accessed January 28, 2026.
• NASA Earthdata
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  . Accessed January 28, 2026.
• National Integrated Drought Information System
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  Accessed January 28, 2026.
• National Integrated Drought Information System (2026, January 15)
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  . Accessed January 28, 2026.
• National Integrated Drought Information System (2026, January 8)
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  . Accessed January 28, 2026.
• National Snow and Ice Data Center (2026)
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  . Accessed January 28, 2026.
• Rittger, K., et al. (2025)
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  . SPIRES_HIST, Version 1. National Snow and Ice Data Center. 
• Rittger, K., et al. (2026) 
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  . SPIRES_NRT, Version 1. National Snow and Ice Data Center. 
• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (2026)
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  . Accessed January 28, 2026.
• Weather West (2026, January 19)
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  . Accessed January 28, 2026.

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