Snow Today

January 2021 was the lowest in the 21-year satellite record for average snow-covered area and snow cover days in the western United States. In late January, an atmospheric river brought large increases in snow cover and snow water equivalent in California.

December snow-covered area and snow cover days in the western United States were below average compared to the previous 20 years. Storms in mid-December bolstered the snow-covered area but not enough to bring it close to the December average.

Snow-covered area and snow cover days in the Western United States were below average in May 2020. The vast majority of snow monitoring sites in the Western United States no longer reported a snowpack by the end of the month.

Snow-covered area and snow cover days were near average in April 2020. Snow-covered area continued to decline in April 2020 but was bolstered by storms in California in early April and in Colorado in late April.

April 1 is historically viewed as nearing the maximum Snow Water Equivalent (SWE). The Rockies show less than a 50 percent probability of reaching maximum SWE in March while the Sierra Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico...

February continued to see a trend of below average snow cover across the Western United States. Late January and early February storms replenished snow cover in some areas, but drought continues to impact California.