Snowfall in the West indicates 20-year drought will persist and intensify April 15, 2021 Researchers with the University of Colorado work on the 2019 snow survey in the Green Lakes Valley, which includes the Arikaree Glacier and provides a substantial portion of the water supply for Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Kodas/Inside Climate News) Sparse monsoon rainfall last summer and spotty snowfall this winter have combined to dramatically worsen the drought across the West in the past year, and spring snowmelt won’t bring much relief. Critical April 1 measurements of snow accumulations from mountain ranges across the region show that most streams and rivers will once again flow well below average levels this year, stressing ecosystems and farms and depleting key reservoirs that are already at dangerously low levels.