2026's historic snow drought is bad news for the West
For much of the Western US, winter 2026 was the year snow never came.
Signal weather
Stable
The story has moved beyond the first headline and now acts as a reliable context anchor.
Across much of the Western United States, winter 2026 was the year the snow never came. Many ski resorts got by with snowmaking but shut down their winter operations early. Fire officials and water supply managers are worried about summer. Where I live in Boise, Idaho, temperatures hit the low 80s Fahrenheit (high-20s Celsius) in mid-March. The same heat dome sent temperatures soaring to 105° F (40° C) in Phoenix. Ordinarily, water managers and hydrologists like me who study the Western US expect the mountain snowpacks to be at their fullest around April 1. Snowpacks are natural reservoirs of water that farms and communities depend on through the hot, dry summer. Their snow water equivalent, meaning the amount of liquid water in the snowpack, is seen as a bellwether for water supplies. Read full article Comments
Stay on the signal
Follow 2026's historic snow drought is bad news for the West
Follow this story beyond a single article: new follow-ups, adjacent sources, and the evolving storyline.
Story map
Understand this topic fast
A quick entry into the story: why it matters now, who is involved, and where to go next for context.
Why it matters now
Topic constellation
Open the live map for this story
See which entities, story threads, sources, and follow-up articles shape this story right now.
Click nodes to continue
Story timeline
Continue with this story
A short sequence of events and follow-up stories to understand the arc quickly.
How reliable this looks
Signal and trust for Ars Technica
This source works at a rapid pace: 100% of recent stories land in the hot window, and 0% carry visible search signal.
Reliability
92
Freshness
100
Sources in storyline
1
Related articles
More stories that share tags, source, or category context.
South Korea plans to train entire military as "drone warriors"
Half-million strong military will train on drones as “universal combat tool.”
Signal weather
Momentum is building quickly, so this card is a good early entry point into the topic.
Why now
Fresh coverage with immediate momentum.
Doctors suspected man had brain cancer. He actually had worms.
His doctors went looking for cancer, then they saw the worms' heads.
Signal weather
Momentum is building quickly, so this card is a good early entry point into the topic.
Why now
Fresh coverage with immediate momentum.
Streaming services’ obnoxiously loud ads become illegal on July 1 in California
Illinois passed a similar law, giving services more incentive to make ads less booming.
Signal weather
Momentum is building quickly, so this card is a good early entry point into the topic.
Why now
Fresh coverage with immediate momentum.
Russian citizens told "switch to Android" after Apple blocks key Russian apps
Russian government lashes out at Apple's "bizarre" decisions.
Signal weather
Momentum is building quickly, so this card is a good early entry point into the topic.
Why now
Fresh coverage with immediate momentum.
More from Ars Technica
Fresh reporting and follow-up coverage from the same newsroom.
South Korea plans to train entire military as "drone warriors"
Half-million strong military will train on drones as “universal combat tool.”
Signal weather
Momentum is building quickly, so this card is a good early entry point into the topic.
Why now
Fresh coverage with immediate momentum.
Doctors suspected man had brain cancer. He actually had worms.
His doctors went looking for cancer, then they saw the worms' heads.
Signal weather
Momentum is building quickly, so this card is a good early entry point into the topic.
Why now
Fresh coverage with immediate momentum.
Streaming services’ obnoxiously loud ads become illegal on July 1 in California
Illinois passed a similar law, giving services more incentive to make ads less booming.
Signal weather
Momentum is building quickly, so this card is a good early entry point into the topic.
Why now
Fresh coverage with immediate momentum.
Russian citizens told "switch to Android" after Apple blocks key Russian apps
Russian government lashes out at Apple's "bizarre" decisions.
Signal weather
Momentum is building quickly, so this card is a good early entry point into the topic.
Why now
Fresh coverage with immediate momentum.