drought

A new report finds 2025 brought widespread drought, massive wildfires and destructive windstorms across several Mountain West states — and underscores how closely connected those disasters have become.

Declining snowpack is creating new challenges for irrigation, livestock, and traditional food systems in tribal communities

Leaders of environmental groups are issuing fresh warnings this week about the impacts the ongoing gridlock could have in the river basin.

Less snowfall means less water in rivers and reservoirs. The economies in many of these communities rely in part on water activities.

The Fetcher ranch in northwest Colorado is on the frontlines this year of record-low snowpack across the West. It's adding a sense of urgency among seven states to finalize a plan for how to conserve the dwindling Colorado River.

At less than 140,000 square miles, snow cover across the region was the lowest ever recorded on February 1 in the satellite record, which goes back to 2001. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) call it the “worst snowpack on record.”

Legislation based around “chemtrail” conspiracy theories was killed by lawmakers, although there’s still a narrow window for it to resurface. Meanwhile, the state's approval for cloud seeding, which is at the root of the conspiracies, is moving forward.

Across the Mountain West, groundwater is the unseen force keeping springs flowing, wetlands green, and desert plants alive. Now, a new interactive tool is making that hidden water easier to see.

As much of the Mountain West faces another dry winter, researchers are turning their attention underground to the water many communities rely on but rarely see.

Cold temperatures have settled over much of the Mountain West this winter, but precipitation has been harder to come by, leaving large parts of the region unusually dry for late January.