According to the National Water and Climate Center SNOTEL for Colorado, the rocky mountain state is currently sporting an exceptionally deep snowpack in its high-country. With most of the state reporting amounts over 150% of the normal, people are beginning to wonder ‘what gives.’ While the snow, which started in April and intensified through May, is keeping fire season at bay, climate experts are saying that the extreme rainfall and snow events in Colorado are a signs of climate change in action.
As stated by the U.S. National Climate Assessment, “Nearly all studies to date published in the peer-reviewed literature agree that extreme precipitation event number and intensity have risen, when averaged over the United States.” This data, according to many climate scientists is one of the prime symptoms of a warming climate: warmer air can hold more moisture.
However, as climate experts nail down these intense weather events to a science, they hope to pinpoint when and where these events are most likely to occur.
At this point, California can only hope that one of these rainfall events will happen in the very near future.