U.S. Department of the Interior (DoI)

Key Points Fires are burning higher in elevation, increasing the geographical overlap between burned areas and seasonal snow zones (areas with persistent snowpack throughout the winter season). We found a 10-fold increase in fire in California's seasonal snow zones in 2020–2021 versus 2001–2019. Wildfires accelerate snowmelt resulting in earlier snow disappearance come spring

The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) will host a four-day Southwest Drought Virtual Forum on September 21–22 and 28–29. The Forum will assemble stakeholders, decision makers, and drought experts for a cross-cutting dialogue on worsening drought conditions in the Southwestern United States, and response and relief efforts across levels of government and sectors, with the goal

The Colorado River provides water to almost 40 million people and 4 million acres of farmland. Since 2000, historically dry conditions have added stress to the Colorado River’s water resources. As a result, the risk of reaching critically low elevations at Lakes Powell and Mead has increased nearly four-fold over the past decade. Critically low reservoir levels could affect compliance with the