Snowpack isn’t what it used to be. Severe drought has set in for portions of western Wyoming river basins, even after decent snow years, due to factors exacerbated by climate change.
Squeezed by aridity on both ends, the Snake basin’s roughly 100% of average snowpack both melted off early and went into the ground instead of rivers and creeks.
“It’s a compounding effect, actually over several years, that can lead up to this,” Dalling said, referring to record-low levels in the Snake River above Jackson Lake, even in the wake of a decent snow year.