HELENA — Montana is off to the slowest snowpack since 2017. By the way, that year ended up great. It's early still, but snow is low in Montana and across the west. The red is less than 50% of normal, and that's most of the West.
California is off to a very dry start. Colorado is less than 20% of normal. Open ski areas there are strictly because of snow making. Utah is very dry, and most resorts have had to push back opening day. Nevada is in a similar position where there has not been much moisture. New Mexico is very dry. Arizona had a good couple of storms for the Little Colorado Basin. A little farther north, the color is not all red across Wyoming and the Yellowstone area is not that far from average. Idaho is dry, but some areas in the Sawtooth are at and above average. Oregon is very dry, but just to the north in Washington, there has been some better precipitation. Finally to Montana, most of the state is below average, but the Flathead is pretty good at 110%.
Snowpack is clearly better the farther north you go, with much of British Columbia and Alberta having a great start to the snow year. The storm track has been mainly north of the western United States, but diving down across the eastern part of the country.
Many places in the northeast have had a lot of snow already, with the mountains looking like mid-winter. North Carolina has 2 open ski areas, that's more than Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Utah combined.
This pattern of dry and warm out west with snow and cold in the east has been persisted for the last 2-3 weeks, coinciding with the unofficial beginning of snow season.
It's early, and this pattern will not last.
