Snow Drought

Not only are we experiencing a snow drought in the Stateline, the white stuff is failing to appear (or not appearing in its normal abundance) across most of the U.S. this winter season. As of yesterday, only 22% of the country had measurable snow cover. This is the smallest percentage we've seen since 2004. Unless the second part of the winter reveals a major change to colder, snowier weather, a multitude of homes, farms, and industries across the country will be impacted adversely. For example, 1/3 of California's water supply comes from mountain snowmelt in the spring and summer months. And in the northern Plains, wheat farmers depend on snowcover to insulate their crop from harsh, Arctic outbreaks that could still creep across the country later this month. For more on this, here's an article from accuweather.com.