>> reporter: for his part, atkin is hoping for a wet monsoon season this summer to re plenish hi dry ponds and keep his cattle business afloat. >> we could catch more water in one week than in three we're. >> reporter: if not, he predicts the entire country will be impacted by this unprecedented drought. >> it's almost half of the united states. if this goes one more year, it will have a huge effect on everyone. >> reporter: stephanie elam, cnn, the colorado river basin. stephanie, thank you. joining me to discuss this is daniel swain, a climate scientist. daniel, thanks for being with us. we're just watching stephanie's piece there. we know the west is seeing this trifecta of dangerous weather conditions. it's hot, dry, windy. what are your biggest concerns as we look at all of this?