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Climate Central’s Monthly Briefing Highlights: February 2026

by By Dr. Zachary Labe, climate scientist at Climate Central

March 19, 2026

Winter 2025-2026 (December, January, February) ranked as the second-warmest winter on record for the contiguous United States. 

Records have been kept for 132 years.

Large parts of the western U.S. experienced their warmest winter on record, associated with high pressure and a persistent upper-level ridge. This type of weather pattern typically brings warmer and drier-than-normal conditions, limiting winter storms and reducing snowfall across the region’s mountains. As a result, one of the most significant climate stories of the past few months has been a historic snow drought across much of the West. This raises concerns because mountain snowpack serves as a critical source of water for communities, agriculture, energy, and ecosystems throughout the region. For example, 95% of Utah’s water supply comes from their snowpack.

By early January 2026, snow drought conditions were already well underway across the western United States. Satellite observations show that the snow-covered area was only 34% of normal in January, the lowest on record for the month. Unusually warm conditions continued into February, producing another record low snow-cover across the West. Snow cover duration was 63% below normal by the end of February, the lowest in the 26-year satellite record. The largest departures from normal occurred across much of Wyoming and in the higher elevations of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Utah, where some locations experienced up to 60 fewer snow-covered days.

Another important metric for understanding water availability across the West is snow water equivalent (SWE) at the peak of the water season, which typically occurs in early April. Snow water equivalent refers to the amount of liquid water stored in the snowpack and is monitored through a network of automated snow telemetry stations (SNOwpack TELemetry Network; SNOTEL) operated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. These stations measure hourly conditions including snow depth, snow water equivalent, precipitation, air temperature, soil moisture, streamflow, reservoir conditions, and soil temperature. More than 800 SNOTEL stations operate across the western U.S., primarily in remote, high-elevation areas where mountain snowpack accumulates.

Given the current outlook (see Climate Outlook) for unusually warm and dry conditions over the Southwest, several indicators point to worsening drought and declining water stored in the snowpack. As of early March, average snow water equivalent is a record low for this time of year in Colorado and close to the daily record minimum in Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah. Across most of these individual watersheds, snow water equivalent is currently below 50% of the 1991-2020 median, and no basins are observing above-average snow water equivalent. Conditions are also particularly concerning in the Colorado River Basin, a critical water source for the Southwest, where snow water equivalent was near a record low at most SNOTEL stations. Snow melt has even been reported as high as 10,000 feet here. 

As discussed in our briefing from last month, this snow drought has been primarily driven by unseasonably warm temperatures, with drier-than-normal precipitation playing a secondary role. Additional analysis of western water conditions will be included in an upcoming Climate Matters.