Study: Snowpack Will Become a Less Reliable Predictor of Drought in Western U.S.
In the next 16-45 years, two-thirds of Western states may have to turn away from snowpack and find new tools to predict drought.
And by the late century, scientists estimate that area will grow to four-fifths of the western United States, according to a new paper in Nature Climate Change.
“When the temperature warms, the phase of the precipitation is likely to change from snow to rain. So less snowpack is something that’s pretty likely,” said lead author Ben Livneh, an assistant professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder.
