Colorado
Springtime Rain Crucial for Getting Wintertime Snowmelt to the Colorado River, Study Finds – Inside Climate News
The Never Summer Mountains tower almost 13,000 feet above sea level on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park, the regal headwaters of the Colorado River. Snowmelt and rainfall trickle southwest from the peaks through jumbles of scree and colorful deposits of silicic rock, formed some 27 to 29 million years ago, then plunge into Gore Canyon. There, the river gallops downstream, absorbing other tributaries from Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming on its way to California. More than 40 million people from seven states and Mexico depend on water from the Colorado River Basin to drink, irrigate crops, generate electricity and recreate, a demand that is greater than the river system can bear.
Historically, variations in snowpack would correlate with the amount of available water in the river come summertime. But since 2000, less and less snowmelt has been making its way into the Colorado River, and water levels in the river have not tracked as closely with variations in precipitation. A new study from the University of Washington, published today in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, offers a clue as to why this may be: increased evaporation and decreased springtime rainfall is leading parched plants and trees to suck up much of the snow melt before it ever reaches the river.
“These headwater areas provide around 70 to 80 percent of the Colorado River’s water,” said Daniel Hogan, a PhD student at the University of Washington who worked on the study. “Snowy peaks and all those high mountain rivers are really the linchpin of the system. So if less water is coming from there, then you can expect less water in the entire river.”
Explore the latest news about what’s at stake for the climate during this election season.
Hogan and a team of scientists used precipitation and streamflow data from 26 upper Colorado River basins—a large sample of the eventual river’s supply, accounting for about a quarter of the Colorado River’s streamflow—to study why there was a growing disparity between snowpack and water levels.
They found that the upper Colorado River basin had experienced a 9 percent decrease in annual spring rainfall compared with precipitation levels prior to 2000. Over half of the 26 basins they surveyed had “significant annual precipitation decreases,” they wrote. Spring had the most severe dropoff in rain, with a 14 percent decline compared to pre-2000 data. “Lower and middle elevation headwater basins were particularly affected,” with 12 of 17 showing “significant decreases,” they wrote.
This drop-off in spring precipitation appears to be especially detrimental to water levels in the summer. Though the researchers did find evidence of decreased rainfall in other seasons, spring rains accounted for 56 percent of the water-level variance.
“Spring precipitation decreases alone fall short of explaining observed streamflow deficits,” the team concluded, but when combined with other forms of water loss, like evaporation and nearby vegetation soaking up the moisture, that explained 67 percent of the variance.
Among the tens of millions of people the Colorado River is overpromised to are farmers irrigating about 5 million acres of agricultural land. But theirs aren’t the only plants impacting Colorado River levels. In their study, the research team worked under the assumption that trees and vegetation in forests ringing the Rockies need springtime precipitation to grow; in its absence, snowmelt becomes the plants’ primary source of water—and they have first dibs.
“It’s a very sound study,” said Tanya Petach, a climate science fellow with the Aspen Global Institute, which helps connect academics with outside organizations that can make use of their work. Petach, who was not involved in the University of Washington study, is a hydrologist who got her Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the University of Colorado. “It helps fill out part of the missing puzzle piece” as to why high levels of winter snowpack haven’t translated to large stream flow numbers in some recent years, she said.
The group’s findings read “like two knockout punches,” said Hogan. “You have less precipitation, so that leads to less streamflow, just inherently. And then, you also have a consequence of the trees and plants that still need their water,” which leads to “uncertainty in how much water we think we have.” He hopes this study helps water modelers understand the importance of using spring precipitation in addition to winter snowpack to predict how much water will be available in the river.
This study “puts a lot of momentum” behind improving spring forecasts for Colorado River stream flows, Petach said.
Hogan could not say for sure whether climate change has played a role in the decreasing springtime precipitation levels across the upper Colorado River basin as no part of their study was designed to investigate that possible connection. But other studies have already suggested climate change is driving droughts in the Colorado River’s upper basin.
Decreasing water levels across the Colorado River “could very well be linked to climate change directly,” Hogan said. “And if that is the case, then we can expect these declines to continue.”
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The pilot of a small plane that crashed Sunday in Eagle County walked away with minor injuries, according to the sheriff’s office.
Investigators believe the plane’s engine failed midflight, causing it to clip a tree and crash near Dotsero, in the 1200 block of Sweetwater Road, according to a news release from the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office.
Dotsero is roughly 18 miles northeast of Glenwood Springs and 43 miles west of Vail.
Vail Public Safety Communications was notified about the incident by a Garmin alert shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday, the release stated. Shortly after, someone called to report the plane crash.
Eagle County deputies responded to the crash site and found a 48-year-old man with a minor cut. He was the plane’s pilot, sheriff’s officials said.
The nearby plane had crashed onto its nose with its tail in the air, photos from the sheriff’s office show.
No one else was on board the plane at the time of the crash, and no other injuries were reported, according to the sheriff’s office.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — There was no elaborate celebration from Bennett Zmolek.
In fact, he didn’t even see it go in.
“I saw Resch coming at me,” Zmolek said of teammate Cole Reschny. “I was like, I guess it went in.”
Zmolek scored his first goal in nearly four years to help UND beat Colorado College 5-2 on Saturday night in Ed Robson Arena.
His last goal was Jan. 20, 2022, when he was a freshman at Minnesota State against St. Thomas. That was 1,450 days and three hip surgeries ago.
With the game tied 1-1 in the second period, Zmolek spotted open ice on the right side of the rink and pinched from his defensive spot. Reschny made a cross-ice pass and Zmolek one-timed it five-hole on Tiger goalie Kaidan Mbereko.
“I’d say huge props to Resch,” Zmolek said. “He set it all up. I just had to tap it in.”
Teammate Dylan James grabbed the puck for Zmolek to keep.
“So proud of him,” James said. “Obviously, he’s been through a lot these past couple years. He’s played minimal games the last two years and he was voted captain. That shows what kind of guy he is. He’s the rock of our team. It’s very special seeing him get his first in a UND jersey.”
Zmolek’s teammates celebrated the goal more than he did.
“We were all screaming on the bench,” forward Anthony Menghini said. “He’s such a great leader, such a great captain, does all the right things. For him to put it in the net was huge.”
Daryl Batt / Colorado College athletics
UND also received goals from James, Tyler Young, Abram Wiebe and Reschny. James and Reschny tallied assists and had two-point nights, while Menghini notched two assists.
UND (17-5) took four points from the weekend after losing Friday’s series opener 3-2 in overtime.
The Fighting Hawks finally got to Tiger goalie Kaidan Mbereko, who had won six in a row against UND. Mbereko gave up four goals on 24 shots before leaving with an apparent injury in the third period.
“I don’t believe our record is great against CC, but this team is different,” James said. “It feels great to bounce back from yesterday and get a win.”
The Fighting Hawks sit atop the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings, five points ahead of Denver. The Pioneers come to Ralph Engelstad Arena next weekend.
“Their coach. . . I have a lot of respect for Kris Mayotte,” UND coach Dane Jackson said. “He kind of mentioned that he really thought our North Dakota mentality was evident this weekend. That was pretty nice for him to say.”
Jan Špunar, starting on consecutive nights for the first time since Dec. 5-6 at St. Cloud State, stopped 19 of 21. He allowed a pair of goals to defenseman Mats Lindgren, a midseason pickup from the ECHL.
But the night belonged to Zmolek.
After the game, Zmolek was asked what he remembered about his last goal.
“St. Thomas, right?” he said. “Their old barn. Low blocker.”
That goal came at the end of the 2021-22 season. Zmolek missed nearly the entire 2022-23 season due to hip surgery.
He transferred to UND in the summer of 2023, and helped anchor UND’s defensive corps to a Penrose Cup in 2023-24. He missed all but one game last year with another hip surgery.
“I’m so happy for him,” Jackson said. “It was a great read, a great pass and he got a lot of wood on it. It was really a high-skill play. The guys are so happy for him. He’s such a leader for us in so many ways. Obviously, most of the time it’s with his defensive play and penalty killing and everything else. But to see him bring out the offense in a big moment, I was just so happy for him. He’s a warrior.”
Notes: UND wore its black jerseys. It is 4-1 in the black jerseys this season. Colorado College wore gold. . . UND played without Josh Zakreski (lower body) and Cody Croal (illness). The Fighting Hawks moved Jayden Jubenvill into the lineup for Sam Laurila. . . Colorado College played without forward Owen Beckner (upper), forward Brandon Lisowsky (lower), defenseman Max Burkholder (lower) and defenseman Colton Roberts (upper).
Schlossman has covered college hockey for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the top beat writer for the Herald’s circulation division four times and the North Dakota sportswriter of the year twice. He resides in Grand Forks. Reach him at bschlossman@gfherald.com.
Colorado
Colorado mom, 6-year-old son found dead in Canyonlands National Park in apparent murder-suicide
A Colorado woman and her 6-year-old son were found dead in Canyonlands National Park near Moab, Utah, this week in what appears to be a murder-suicide, law enforcement officials said.
Park rangers responded to a suspicious vehicle parked in a no-camping area near Shafer Trail in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands at 8:15 a.m. Thursday, the San Juan County, Utah, Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Park rangers found an unresponsive 6-year-old boy in the vehicle and started life-saving measures, but the boy was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital.
The woman was found dead outside of the vehicle.
Both were reported missing by family in Colorado on Wednesday, the sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff Lehi Lacy on Saturday confirmed to The Denver Post that the woman and her son were also from Colorado.
The sheriff’s office is not identifying the woman or boy out of respect and will release the names once the agency gets permission from the family, Lacy said.
The investigation is ongoing, but “based on all evidence so far, this case is being investigated as a homicide and suicide,” sheriff’s officials said.
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