Summer monsoons don’t supply much water to the Colorado River, but climatologists say they’re needed to lower wildfire threats and raise soil moisture levels, which means that more crucial winter snowmelt will make its way downhill.
As a drought-stricken region looks ahead to the summer, climate scientists are keeping an eye on high-mountain snowpack and its path to streams and rivers. Snow at high altitudes makes up the majority of the water in the Colorado River – where this past winter has left low totals.
Warmer days are here, and the snow that supplies most of the water to the Colorado River is melting. Our drought-stricken region needs all the water it can get. So as the last traces of winter come to a close in the mountains, KUNC’s Alex Hager tells us what we can expect for a summer in the Colorado River basin.
As a drought-stricken region looks ahead to the summer, climate scientists are keeping an eye on high-mountain snowpack and its path to streams and rivers. Snow at high altitudes makes up the majority of the water in the Colorado River – where this past winter has left low totals.
A device under the plane uses lasers, cameras and sensors to map snow and help drought-prone communities improve forecasts of how much water will fill reservoirs.
GUNNISON, Colo. -- At a tiny airport surrounded by mountains, a three-person crew takes off for the inaugural flight above the headwaters of the Colorado River to measure the region's snow by air.
Southern Colorado river basins have suffered a setback in terms of the seasonal water supply outlook following a dry April, and dust-on-snow conditions have accelerated snowmelt in that region.
At a tiny airport in Colorado surrounded by mountains, a three-person crew takes off for the inaugural flight above the headwaters of the Colorado River to measure the region's snow by air.