Learning From Recent Snow Droughts to Improve Forecasting of Water Availability for People and Forests

In the dry southwestern United States, snowmelt plays a crucial role as a water source for people, vegetation, and wildlife. However, snow droughts significantly lower snow accumulations, disrupting these critical water supplies for local communities and ecosystems. Despite its large influence on land- and water-resource management, snow drought has only recently been properly defined and its historical distribution and effects on key natural resources are essentially unknown. To remedy this serious knowledge gap, project researchers are examining the causes, effects, and forecastability of snow drought to provide needed scientific information and guidance to planners and decision makers. The central goals of...

Categories: Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2017, CASC, Drought, Drought, Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather, All tags... Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather, Fire, Fire, Other Water, Other Water, Projects by Region, Rivers, Streams and Lakes, Rivers, Streams and Lakes, Southwest, Southwest CASC, Water, Coasts and Ice, Water, Coasts and Ice, climate change, drought, extremes, forest fire, management, snow, streamflow, water, water planning, water resources, wildland fire, Fewer tags