Warmest Winter on Record

Scientists recorded this winter to be the warmest winter on record worldwide. The month of January was over one full degree hotter than any other January ever recorded. The Colorado high country began it's winter with a boom - over 5 feet of snow fell in October alone. That trend has pretty much completely reversed itself, however, and as of about a week ago the Colorado River headwaters snowpack was at about 82 percent of normal. Compare this to last year when it was at about 129 percent of average, and you get a bunch of grumbling ski bums. Graphs of the snowpack show that this season's trends are eerily similar and even slightly lower than the winter of 2002, which was the previous warmest winter ever, and which was a huge drought year for Colorado and the rest of the West. Here in Rifle we have just experienced the first few days of April, yet it feels like May. The temperatures are in the mid 70's, the leaves are on the trees, and the Colorado River is running at near capacity. Oddly enough this is the busiest week of the spring ski season at Snowmass, yet lifts at the base of the mountain are being forced to close due to lack of snow. I took this photo over a week ago - ski in ski out anyone?