Assessing the Record-Low Snowpack of 2026 and Perspectives of Drought in the Intermountain West

In this webinar, WWA provides an update on the 2025-2026 Intermountain West snow drought, followed by an overview of the Western Drought Perspective Tool and the research supporting it. Seth Arens begins with a discussion of the magnitude of extreme low snow-water equivalent (SWE) conditions in early 2026, the snow drought’s historical context, likely causes of the snow drought, and early impacts from record-low regional SWE. Nels Bjarke follows with an overview of the Western Drought Perspective Tool and presents the supporting research that reveals how drying trends in the West change our perspectives on drought.