Over 60% of the US Is Experiencing a Drought, Here's What That Could Mean For Mountain Towns
As winter quickly transitions to spring in much of the country, the National Weather Service is reporting unsettling drought metrics following a dismal winter.
According to the April 7 Drought Monitor, more than 60% of the contiguous United States is currently experiencing drought conditions. These conditions intensified over the last month due to above-normal temperatures and increased spring evapotranspiration across the West and Central US.
As the NWS looks to the next three months, things aren't looking much better. The Pacific Northwest (PNW) is favored for below-average precipitation, which, combined with a lack of mountain snow cover, increases the likelihood of drought persistence and expansion.
The US Forest Service recently shut down research stations in Portland, Seattle, and Wenatchee, which some fire experts say could hamper firefighting efforts this summer. Due to a particularly bad snow year in the PNW, severe fire conditions are expected to arrive in eastern Washington and Oregon by June, worsening in July.
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"Oregon, Washington, and Idaho have all seen uncharacteristically warm weather since November, leading to a lack of snowfall and drought conditions which will limit our region's water supply for the year to come," wrote Washington state representative Rick Larsen along with twelve of his colleagues in a letter to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Dr. Neil Jacobs in March. "We are deeply concerned about the impact these conditions may have on wildfire risk in our states later this year. Drought conditions this winter are likely to lengthen the upcoming wildfire season and stretch federal, state, local, and tribal resources."
The Sierra is facing similar concerns, as a prolonged drought could threaten reservoir levels and adequate streamflow throughout the summer. 65% of California is currently rated D0, or Abnormally Dry, following a warm, dry March with record-breaking heat that led to early snowmelt across the state.
As of early April, 98-100% of California and Nevada's SNOTEL sites were in a snow drought, and the statewide snow-water equivalent was the second-lowest on record (since 1981) for California. The areas of California that did see late-season storms could have buffered some of these drought conditions from further degrading. However, warmer-than-normal forecasts for the region from May to July pose a significant wildfire risk in Northern California.
In Colorado, wildfire experts are also bracing for a tough summer season after a historically dry winter. Eagle County, Colorado, is bracing for an unprecedented wildfire season.
The division chief of wildland for the Eagle River Fire Protection District, Hugh Fairfield-Smith, called it the "eve of the worst wildfire season ever" in a recent episode of NPR. Fairfield-Smith compared the upcoming summer to 2020, when Colorado's three largest fires burned. The Grizzly Creek fire also occurred in 2020, burning 32,000 acres near Glenwood Canyon and shutting down I-70, one of the state's main highways, for two weeks.
Although the Eastern US fared better than the West in snowfall, drought conditions are rapidly worsening, leading to dry soils, low streamflows, and long-term groundwater concerns.
Many ski towns turn to summer recreation to support their local economies and communities, with some even becoming more popular destinations in the warmer months.
Where there are mountains, there are often rivers, and many ski towns in California, Colorado, and the Pacific Northwest turn to whitewater rafting and water sports in the summer.
In Colorado, towns like Steamboat Springs, which is home to the Colorado River's last undammed tributary, the Yampa River, rely on snowmelt to fill the river for summer whitewater rafting, kayaking, and inner-tubing attractions.
In low-snow years, the Yampa has been known to close at low flows to protect its fragile ecosystems from warm, low water. However, it leaves local raft companies, kayak schools, and retailers high and dry of work and income. Wildfires can also impact river operations and local tourism in Colorado and beyond.
The aforementioned Grizzly Creek fire took place not just along one of the state's main travel arteries, but also along the most popular commercial section of whitewater in the state, the Shoshone stretch of the Colorado River.
POWDER will continue to cover this developing story.
Related: Tracking the "Super El Niño" and What It Could Mean for Next Ski Season
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This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 4:12 AM.