An initiative of the Center for Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder

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The
Snow
Desk

Covering snow science and tracking the American West's snowpack.

The Snow Desk is a project of The Water Desk that reports on news and trends related to snow and the American West’s snowpack—a vital and endangered source of freshwater, biodiversity, recreation, and economic vitality in the region.

The Colorado River, Rio Grande, and many other important rivers in the West are primarily supplied by the mountain snowpack, which serves as an essential frozen reservoir and is the cornerstone of the region’s water management. Snow is also integral to the ecosystems, economies, and cultures of many communities throughout the American West.

Nationwide snowpack

An interactive dashboard updated daily.

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Snowpack stories

Stories related to the snowpack that The Water Desk has published since 2019

Scientists use cosmic rays to study the snowpack

Mitch Tobin -
Extraterrestrial particles offer insights into Earth’s mountain water towers

Taking stock of the spring snowpack

Mitch Tobin -
Maps and charts visualize conditions at the April 1 milestone

9 graphics that visualize EPA’s climate change indicators for snow

Mitch Tobin -
The downward trajectory for snow carries serious consequences for water supplies, wildlife habitat, wildfire activity and outdoor recreation.

Rain or snow? Observers help scientists understand wintry weather

Mitch Tobin -
With a free app, volunteers gather crucial data on what type of precipitation is falling

An illustrated glossary of snow-related terms

Mitch Tobin -
Learn the lingo of the cryosphere

Tip sheet: monitoring the West’s snowpack

Mitch Tobin -
What’s the current state of the snowpack? How have conditions changed over the season?
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Free multimedia library

The Water Desk offers a free multimedia library with photos and videos of key water-related locations and topics. All of our imagery is available for non-commercial re-use under a Creative Commons license.

To explore more free imagery in the library, see our interactive map.

Snow-related photo and video galleries

Photos: Snowpack in San Juan Mountains, May 2023

The Water Desk -
This page in our free multimedia library features aerial photos of the snowpack in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado. The San Juans are mostly located in southwest Colorado...

Photos: Animas River aerials, May 2023

The Water Desk -
This page in our free multimedia library features aerial photos of the Animas River in southwest Colorado. The Animas River begins high in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado,...

Photos: Dolores River and McPhee Reservoir, May 2023

The Water Desk -
This page features aerial photos of the Dolores River and McPhee Reservoir in southwest Colorado. The Dolores River begins in the San Juan Mountains and meets the Colorado River in...

Photos and videos: Arkansas River, Colorado, March 2021

The Water Desk -
This page features ground-based and drone-captured photos and videos of the Arkansas River in central Colorado. The Arkansas River begins near Leadville, Colorado and travels nearly 1,500 miles until it...

Photos: Roaring Fork River, Colorado, December 2020

The Water Desk -
This page features photos of the Roaring Fork River on Colorado's Western Slope. The Roaring Fork River runs for 70 miles and is a tributary of the Colorado River. The...
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Snowpack data visualizations

Map: Winter photo galleries

Geoff McGhee -
Use this interactive map to browse photos and videos taken in wintertime from our expanding collection of free-to-use media captured by drones, planes and ground-based photographers.
precipitation map ecowest

Map: monthly average precipitation

The Water Desk -
This map shows total rain and snowfall in the contiguous United States, every month from 1981 to the present. The map's color scale runs from white (no precipitation), to blue (significant precipitation) to red (intense...
Snowpack dashboard screenshot

Map: daily nationwide snowpack

The Water Desk -
This map shows daily snowpack estimates for the contiguous United States since October 2003. Using the dropdown menu above the chart – or clicking a state on the map...

Snow News: free multimedia newsletter

Learn more about the science of snow and the state of the West’s snowpack by subscribing to Snow News, a free multimedia newsletter on Substack by Water Desk Co-Director Mitch Tobin.

Questions? Feedback?

Please contact Water Desk Co-director Mitch Tobin at mitchtobin@colorado.edu if you have questions about the Snow Desk or want to offer a suggestion.

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