West faces snow drought as January snow cover hits record low

NASA Earth Observatory reported that mountains across the western United States had unusually low snowpack in early 2026: a MODIS/Terra image from January 15 showed snow covering 142,700 square miles (369,700 square kilometers), the lowest coverage for that date in the MODIS record (since 2001) and less than one-third of the median.

Snow water equivalent (SWE), the amount of water stored in the snowpack, is a key indicator of conditions. The National Integrated Drought Information System said snow drought—SWE below the 20th percentile for a given date—was most acute in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service reported that at least one ground-based monitoring station in every major western watershed recorded the lowest SWE in at least 20 years on January 26. For the water year beginning October 1, 2025, many western regions saw average or above-average precipitation, but record warmth meant much of that precipitation fell as rain rather than snow.

NASA noted a December 2025 atmospheric river in the Pacific Northwest as an example of a warm precipitation event. In the Southern Sierra and Northern Rockies, however, lofty peaks did receive more precipitation as snow, with SWE above average at some high-elevation locations while levels remained low farther downslope.

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