For water providers and others in the Rocky Mountain West who depend on the pulse of runoff from the melting snowpack from April through July, snowpack monitoring is drought monitoring. A well-below-average snowpack as measured by snow-water equivalent (SWE) is a harbinger of not only low water supply but also other drought impacts, such as increased fire risk and below-normal summer soil moisture. However, the snowpack is complex, varying...

Overall, the evaluation will address the following goals identified in the upper Colorado River Basin drought early warning system (UCRB DEWS) annual CIRES reports: service products; determined the value of drought-related information; and determined the value of specific products at different times during the water year.

This report is a synthesis of climate science relevant for management and planning for Colorado's water resources. It focuses on observed climate trends, climate modeling, and projections of temperature, precipitation, snowpack, and streamflow. Climate projections are reported for the mid-21st century because this time frame is the focus of adaptation strategies being developed by the State of Colorado and other water entities.

The current El Niño event is very strong, and is expected to affect weather around the globe, and in Colorado, through next spring. The impacts of El Niño are more complex over Colorado than other parts of the West. Strong El Niño conditions improve the odds for wetter-than-normal conditions in most parts of Colorado, especially in fall and spring. However, strong El Niño conditions also tend to bring dry mid-winters to our North-Central mountains....

Climate variability and change is causing perturbations to natural systems (agriculture, water regimes, forestry, ecosystems, coasts and oceans, temperature extremes, etc.) and human systems necessitating that communities, states, and nations around the world take action to enhance their resilience to climate impacts. Adapting to climate change requires decision makers to have information in hand that is relevant to solve their problems,...