Democracy Dies in Darkness

Mountains in the West have a lot less snow than they should right now

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Updated January 5, 2024 at 4:46 p.m. EST|Published January 5, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EST
Sean de Guzman, right, snow survey manager at the California Department of Water Resources, conducts the first snow survey of the season with his team at Phillips Station, Calif., on Tuesday. (Nathaniel Levine/AP)
6 min

It’s the heart of winter, but the Mountain West is mired in a widespread snow drought.

Although snow season started strong in some spots, it has since flatlined. Ski resorts in Utah are running on limited terrain. Idaho and Montana mountains are hurting for snow. So is the Pacific Northwest. The Sierra just picked up some to open the year, but it needs a good deal more to get out of the rut.