Skiers May Not Be Surprised by NOAA’s Snow Drought Update, but It Still Hurts

Skiers closely watching the forecast won’t be surprised to hear this news: according to NOAA, much of the West faces a snow drought as the 2025-26 season gets underway.The agency shared a screenshot of a map published by the National Resources Conservation Service covered in red markers, indicating a lack of snow. The map catalogs snow water equivalent (SWE) totals—the measure of the amount of water contained in the snow pack—and in almost every basin being measured, the S