Not Experiencing the Climate
A winter that never arrived. A snowpack collapsing below anything on record. We experience weather, not climate — until something breaks. And by then, it may already be too late.
The Colorado ski season never really started this year. The lack of snow could not be ignored, even by non-skiers. It was a dry, warm winter.
At first, it felt like a missed opportunity — a season that never quite materialized. For those of us who orient our lives around winter, it felt more like heartbreak. But at some point, you cut your losses and tell yourself that next year will be better.
This winter starts to look different when you look at the snowpack data published by the USDA.
The year began dangerously close to the lowest levels ever recorded. By January, it had already fallen below them. And then, in March, the snowpack collapsed — far below anything on record.
I shared this chart in a climate science group on Facebook. I thought I was looking at climate. Someone told me I was only looking at weather.
For a moment, I wondered if I had made a rookie mistake.