Colorado’s climate is changing. Most of the state has warmed one or two degrees (F) in the last century. Throughout the western United States, heat waves are becoming more common, snow is melting earlier in spring, and less water flows through the Colorado River. Rising temperatures and recent droughts in the region have killed many trees by drying out soils, increasing the risk of forest
fires, or enabling outbreaks of forest insects. In the coming decades, the changing climate is likely to decrease water availability and agricultural yields in Colorado, and further increase the risk of wildfires. Changes in temperature and precipitation are affecting snowpack—the amount of snow that accumulates on the ground. In most of the West, snowpack has decreased since the 1950s, due to earlier melting and less precipitation falling as snow. The amount of snowpack measured in April has declined by 20 to 60 percent at most monitoring sites in Colorado. Although the climate in Colorado is changing the snowfall in September is not an effect of climate change. It is rare for snow to fall this early but this is not an affect of a warming atmosphere. This snowfall is very beneficial for Colorado right now because of the various wildfires spread across the state. This snowfall will hopefully aid in containing these fires and aid in bettering the air quality in Colorado.
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