Co-director @TheWaterDesk at the University of Colorado Boulder and author of https://xitter.cf/t.co/IOhQIGYGpl @snownewsnow, a free newsletter on snow, climate, and water.
Durango, Colorado
Joined December 2008
- Tweets1.8K
- Following814
- Followers840
- Likes259
Disastrous flooding along the San Juan River in the Four Corners region. Here’s some of what I saw today in Shiprock, on the Navajo Nation in northwest New Mexico.
🎉 Happy New Water Year! 💧
New post explains why water wonks hit reset on October 1 and uses maps to visualize water year 2026.
I didn't stay up late last night to party, but I do toast to wiping the slate clean after 2026’s historic snow drought.
snow.news/p/welcome-to-water…
Low water levels in the Dolores River and McPhee Reservoir in southwest Colorado.
The Dolores begins high in the San Juan Mountains and flows through canyon country before joining the Colorado River northeast of Moab.
waterdesk.org/photos-dolores…
Mitch Tobin retweeted
Excited to join The High Route podcast to discuss last season’s historic snow drought and what it means for the West.
The show focuses on backcountry snow sports, so I was glad to share my perspective as both a skier and journalist covering the snowpack.
the-high-route.com/the-high-…
Climate change made the West’s snow drought 4.4 times more likely, according to a new study. But it was still a rare event—not the new normal.
My Q&A with the lead author explores how scientists measured warming’s influence and what the future may hold.
snow.news/p/climate-change-w…
The effects of last winter’s historic snow drought were easy to see—and feel—during my recent summer road trip through Colorado: smoky skies, depleted reservoirs, and virtually no snow left on a 14er.
New photo essay at snow.news:
snow.news/p/photo-essay-summ… #cowx
Mitch Tobin retweeted
Late-season storms brought much-needed moisture to parts of the West, but they didn’t come close to erasing the deficit.
New at snow.news: update on snow drought and remembering my dad, who helped inspire my love of journalism and weather.
snow.news/p/snow-drought-upd…
April 1 is a key milestone for the West’s snowpack.
This year’s data paint a disturbing portrait of the historic snow drought.
Eight states are at record lows for snow water equivalent.
My latest post at snow.news:
snow.news/p/snowpack-april-1…
Mitch Tobin retweeted
When the West’s snowpack is meager—or entirely missing—it underscores how much we depend on this seasonal accumulation of ice crystals, even during the summer and far beyond the region.
snow.news/p/missing-snowpack…
More grim news about the West's snow drought:
🛰️ Lowest Feb. 1 snow cover in the satellite record (since 2001)
📉 Record-low Feb. 1 snowpack in Oregon, Colorado, and Utah
⚠️ “A Dry, Warm January Leaves the West With the Worst Snowpack in Decades”
drought.gov/drought-status-u…
Mitch Tobin retweeted
The American West’s snowpack is valuable for many reasons, but can its worth be calculated in dollars and cents? And how is climate change affecting that value? #cawater mavensnotebook.com/2026/02/0…
I summarized 5 scientific studies that examine how climate change is reshaping the Winter Olympics.
New post at snow.news also includes an update on the West’s meager snowpack.
snow.news/p/winter-olympics-…
NASA: Western U.S. snow cover is tracking at record-low levels for January, based on satellite observations dating back to 2001.
science.nasa.gov/earth/earth…
A recent study argues for monitoring the West’s snowpack at strategic hotspots—rather than mapping entire basins—but it has sparked pushback from supporters of airborne snow monitoring.
My latest for The Water Desk unpacks the science and implications:
waterdesk.org/2025/12/scient…
Mitch Tobin retweeted
The American West could sure use some snow.
The snowpack in seven states is below 50% of normal.
It's still early in the season, but there's a lot of catching up to do.
More details at snow.news:
snow.news/p/grim-western-sno…
Mitch Tobin retweeted
#Snowpack in the west is key for downstream water sources, but the region's supply is vulnerable to #ClimateChange. Check out this visual explainer from @MitchTobin for @TheWaterDesk: waterdesk.org/2024/04/nation…
Mitch Tobin retweeted
“The changes to #snow and snowpack are changes that we have more confidence in than just about any other water parameter because of the direct effect of warming on snowpack and snow precipitation,” says WWA Water Resources Specialist, Liz Payton. #climate waterdesk.org/2024/04/nation…
ALT The Arkansas River and Sawatch Range near Leadville, Colorado, in March 2021. Photo by Mitch Tobin/The Water Desk.
Mitch Tobin retweeted
Snow water resources and water security are threatened by climate change. Check out this article by @TheWaterDesk, which summarizes and contextualizes the present-day and future climate impacts on Western US water from our Water Chapter in #NCA5.
waterdesk.org/2024/04/nation…
Mitch Tobin retweeted
New post at snow.news explores atmospheric rivers and explains why they can be both helpful and harmful.
Scientists expect climate change will intensify these far-reaching weather events.
snow.news/p/why-atmospheric-… #cawx #snowpack #flooding #AtmosphericRiver
