Winter storms blanket the East, while the U.S. West is wondering: Where’s the snow?
Ski season is here, but while the eastern half of the U.S. digs out from winter storms , the western U.S. snow season has been off to a very slow start.
The snowpack was far below normal across most of the West on Dec. 1, 2025. Denver didn’t see its first measurable snowfall until Nov. 29 – more than a month past normal, and its latest first-snow date on record .
But a late start to snow season isn’t necessarily reason to worry about the season ahead.
Adrienne Marshall, a hydrologist in Colorado who studies how snowfall is changing in the West, explains what forecasters are watching and how rising temperatures are affecting the future of the West’s beloved snow.
