Western US Drought: Parts of west facing 'exceptional drought' status

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It's been a dry winter, and now spring, in large portions of the western United States. Snowpack is well below average in many mountain areas. And parts of several states are now in "exceptional drought" status. As CGTN's Hendrik Sybrandy reports, that could spell trouble in the region if significant rain doesn't fall soon.

Brian Domonkos and Karl Wetlaufer are with the Colorado Snow Survey Program. Each winter and spring, that work takes them into the mountains to measure snow depths first-hand.

BRIAN DOMONKOS COLORADO SNOW SURVEY SUPERVISOR "I love it. I absolutely love it. It's one of my favorite portions of the job."

But what they've found this season is pretty disappointing to some. Colorado's mountain snowpack was just 66 percent of the norm when last measured in early April. And this state is not alone.

BRIAN DOMONKOS COLORADO SNOW SURVEY SUPERVISOR "Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico particularly are really seeing very low snowpack."

This past winter saw fewer storms than normal in large parts of the U.S. west. Combine that, experts say, with a planet that's significantly warmer than it was three, four decades ago.

DOUG KENNEY WESTERN WATER POLICY PROGRAM DIRECTOR "And that's started us down a path where this region is just drier than it used to be."

The dryness the University of Colorado Boulder's Doug Kenney refers to is reflected in this U.S. drought map. The darkest shades denote areas currently in extreme or exceptional drought status. Kenney says the Colorado River system, which supplies water to nearly 40 million Americans, has enjoyed much less snowmelt than it typically does.

DOUG KENNEY WESTERN WATER POLICY PROGRAM DIRECTOR "A year like this makes people in Arizona nervous, makes people in Los Angeles nervous, people in Las Vegas nervous. Just cause it erodes their long-term water supply."

Some reservoirs are half-empty. Farmers and ranchers who depend on water from streams that are fed by snowmelt could be in trouble this year. And that's not all.

HENDRIK SYBRANDY DUMONT, COLORADO "One big concern is aquatic life. After all, fish need water every day. Depleted streams could seriously impact fish habitat."

Lean snowfall has already hurt ski resorts. This report from the organization, Protect Our Winters found that low snowfall years in the U.S. resulted in 5.5 million fewer skier visits each year and over $1 billion less in revenues.

LINDSAY BOURGOINE MANAGER OF ADVOCACY & CAMPAIGNS, PROTECT OUR WINTERS "It used to be at Thanksgiving we had booming holidays at resorts and now resorts are lucky if they're able to open by Thanksgiving. What we make is those high snowfall years isn't enough to offset what we lose in those low snowfall years."

Kenney says, just like in drought-plagued places like Australia and South Africa, water conservation in the U.S. west will be critical going forward.

DOUG KENNEY WESTERN WATER POLICY PROGRAM DIRECTOR "This isn't a case where we just hunker down for a year or two and things will all get better. The world is changing. We have to adapt to it."

It's a long-term challenge he says. And these snow depth numbers are yet another reminder. Hendrik Sybrandy, CGTN, near Berthoud Pass, Colorado.