The weather event follows Earth’s two hottest years on record.
Weather
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What Mt. Hood’s fading summer ski season means
As year-round skiing in the Pacific Northwest diminishes, what else will be lost?
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Hopes high for a ‘Super’ El Niño
The weather phenomenon could bring rain but also mudslides and drought to the different regions of the West.
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Are nonprofit models an answer for small ski areas?
As climate and economic challenges mount, some community ski hills find a new path.
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Abnormal weather linked to more recreation deaths
Summer is always high season for fatal outdoor accidents, but increased lightning and heat seem to make it worse.
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Scientists strengthen link between climate change and drought
How much of California’s dry spell can be traced to climate change?
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Weather dispatch from Wrangell, Alaska: Drought in the rainforest?
As Southwest states were pummeled with rain, Southeast Alaska dries out.
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Rains bring incomplete drought relief to parts of Southwest
Snowpack is above normal in spots, but doesn’t make up for its lack earlier in the year.
Posted inApril 27, 2015: Lost frontier
A crystal ball for the Pacific Northwest’s climate
This year’s drought is as bad as scientists predict for mid-century.
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Colorado’s snow is dust-free for the first time in a decade
But conditions are still prime for early snowmelt and summer drought.
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Snapshot of a drought in progress
Southwest Colorado’s snowpack is dismal and melting fast.
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This just happened: Alaska’s warm winter
It might seem like the big weather story this winter was the spate of snow and cold that hit the East Coast. But a more prolonged and sobering story was all the snow and cold that did not hit large parts of the West, and especially Alaska. Today, the Sierra Nevada’s snowpack hovers at around […]
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The art – and science – of forecasting wildfires
This model could eliminate guesswork and predict fire according to geography.
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Dry January means more drought across West
After a rainy December, many states now have lower-than-normal snowpacks.
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Mapping Earth’s hidden water
A new NASA satellite will measure the planet’s soil moisture.
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New cloud seeding study from Wyoming
Research renews the debate about whether scientists can really make more rain.
Posted inDecember 22, 2014: The Dust Detectives
The dust detectives
Scientists are closer than ever to understanding how microscopic airborne particles shape the Earth, and the West.
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Residential wells run completely dry in the Central Valley
The drought is not an abstract threat for families in Porterville, California.
Posted inNovember 10, 2014: Fallout
USGS launches a billion-dollar initiative to map the West in 3D
LIDAR is about to become more widespread — helping agriculture, pilots and homeowners.
Posted inOctober 13, 2014: Charles Bowden's Fury
Flash flood chaser
One man’s obsession improves forecasting in southern Utah.