Western U.S. Weather Blog
A Look at the Western Snowpack
Mar 17, 2010; 12:01 PM ET
With the weather remaining exceedingly uninteresting in a large part of the West for much of the time through the coming weekend, I thought I would visit where the snowpack sits in the West compared to normal.
From the Natural Resources Conservation Service, here is a map of how the Western snowpack was compared to normal as of March 1.

Really, none of this should come as a surprise. Since my forecast early last autumn that this winter would feature an El Nino, the weather has pretty much reacted accordingly. The Northwest and northern half of the Great Basin has had less-than-normal snowfall and warmer temperatures than normal. Meanwhile, snowfall was at or above normal in the Southwest. Look how far above normal in Arizona!
This is all great news in the Southwest, which needed a good rain and snow season after four consecutive winters of dry weather. The snowpack will go a long way in bringing back reservoirs to higher levels than we have seen for some time, but I will remind you that one good winter does not cancel out four years of drought. However, nobody can say it at least hasn't helped, and won't help water supplies this coming summer.
The lack of snow in the north should not have a big impact on water availability for two reasons. The first is the wet weather in prior winters. The second is that total precipitation, rain and snow, is not that far off from normal. The exceptions to that last point are areas from northern Utah into eastern Idaho, western Wyoming and western Montana.
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com
More Ken Clark
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El Nino by Late Summer/Fall?
May 16, 2012; 12:11 PM ET
Is it ever too early to talk about the next Winter Season in the West?
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And the Tropics Come Alive
May 14, 2012; 1:47 PM ET
I believe it will be an above normal year for named storms.
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The Weather Treats Mom Nice in the West
May 11, 2012; 12:13 PM ET
The weather pattern this Mothers Day weekend brings sunny skies and much warmer temperatures to a large percentage of the area.
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Nothing Big This Week
May 7, 2012; 12:29 PM ET
For the rest of the week there will not be anything drastic going on in the West.
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Lake Mead Water Levels Dropping
Apr 27, 2012; 12:40 PM ET
Despite a late-season surge in precipitation across a large part of the West, Lake Mead is still expected to experience noticeably lower levels
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Late-Season California Rainstorm
Apr 25, 2012; 12:43 PM ET
Two storms will combine to bring late-season rain to California Wednesday night into part of Thursday.
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Another Late-Season Storm at Midweek
Apr 23, 2012; 12:28 PM ET
A combination of two separate storms will bring much of the West a round of wet, cool weather for Wednesday into Thursday.
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Huge Temperature Gradient
Apr 20, 2012; 12:36 PM ET
Most coastal areas are only in the low to mid 60s but it warms to the 80s in the eastern coastal cities and the 90s in the valleys.
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Last-Minute Winter Rain/Snow Helps Water Situation
Apr 18, 2012; 12:54 PM ET
note that a few cities had nearly as much, or more, rain in the past month than they did in the previous four and a half months.
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Summerlike Weather by Weeks End
Apr 16, 2012; 12:45 PM ET
This ridge will likely bring well above-normal temperatures by Friday into the weekend for areas away from the Pacific waters.
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A Wild, Crazy Weather Day Friday-California Severe Weather
Apr 12, 2012; 1:38 PM ET
There are not many times in a year that one can say that severe weather is likely with a storm. This looks to be one of those few times.
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Next Storm to Pack a Punch
Apr 11, 2012; 1:35 PM ET
The second storm is looking like a bigger precipitation producer than yesterday.
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Two California Late-Season Storms
Apr 10, 2012; 12:36 PM ET
some welcomed rainfall levels of between 1/2 to 1 inch over central California with nearly the same amounts around the Los Angeles Basin.
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Storms Return Next Week
Apr 6, 2012; 12:42 PM ET
In fact what is so scary about this long range forecast is how much the models agree.
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Weather Calming Down for the Weekend
Apr 4, 2012; 12:13 PM ET
The cold trough that is centered in the Northwest will slowly move east after tomorrow.
About This Blog
Ken ClarkKen Clark's Western U.S. weather blog tackles daily weather events with commentary from one of the most experienced and trusted Western U.S. weather experts.
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