FILE -This photo provided by Palisades Tahoe shows a freshly covered snowfall on a ski run at Palisades Tahoe ski resort in Olympic Valley, Calif., on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. (Blake Kessler/Palisades Tahoe via AP,File)

Water Supply Threat

(Undated) — Rapid melts across the western U.S. are causing snowpack to disappear up to four weeks early in some areas, including Utah. Federal meteorologists are now warning of the potential havoc this could bring on the region’s water supply. According to an update from the National Integrated Drought Information System, conditions have particularly affected parts of Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, causing some basins to shift from above-average snowpack to “snow drought.” Utah has already declared drought emergencies due to low snowpack.