Climate change ravaged the West last year and 2021 could be worse ‘We’ve got a pretty deep hole that 2020 has dug for us.’ (Francisco Kjolseth | Tribune file photo) This Jan. 6, 2021, file photo shows limited snowfall in Big Cottonwood Canyon where south facing slopes showed bare spots. Already in the grip of a stubborn drought, Utah, along with the entire Intermountain West, is facing what looks to be another bleak water year as climate change settles into the region. By Judy Fahys | Updated: 7:34 p.m. If there were any doubts that the climate is changing in the Colorado River Basin, 2020 went a long way toward dispelling them, thanks to yet another year of extreme weather.