Diana Leonard

May Snow Drought Update West Braces for Critical Water Shortages After Unprecedented Snow Drought Record low water supplies are forecasted in many locations, reflecting the impacts of this year's snow drought, long-term drought, and record warmth. drought.gov/drought-status… @NOAA

Windy with elevated to brief critical #FireWx conditions this weekend: * W-NW winds gusting 35-50 MPH interior sections and western Santa Ynez Mountains * Min RH 8-15% interior sections except 20-30% SW #SantaBarbara county * High risk of fast-moving grass/shrub fires. #CAwx

Heat will be building across the West into early next week. Widespread high temperatures may near or break daily records Monday and Tuesday. Expect high temperatures in the low 100s across the Southwest into the California Valleys and 80s/90s into the upper Mountain West.

Still looking like a very warm #MothersDay weekend for #SoCal: - Highs 90-100 away from the coast Sun-Mon - Elevated #FireWx conditions Fri-Tue - Not just grass fire potential - Min RH 8-15% interior sections - SW-NW winds 10-20 MPH Gust 30 MPH

Most of the Lower 48 is in drought. Notable exception: a swath of that runs from Central TX, through the Midwest, to the Northeast. That area has seen 100-300% of normal precip in the last 60 days. Much of the Lower 48 has seen less than 50%. drought.gov @NOAA

Welcome rainfall is on the way for parched areas of the Southeastern U.S. through the rest of the week. More is needed to alleviate the drought, but any rain is welcome to help knock down multiple wildfires that have erupted across the region. weather.gov

Low humidity and dry conditions have increased fire risk levels again for parts of Georgia and Florida the next several days. Wednesday/Thursday areas here. Likely watching Friday/Saturday too before frontal line rains reduces chances. spaghettimodels.com

Here are our Key Messages for Sunday (4/26).

⚠️🔥 Strong gusty winds and low relative humidity values are forecast to create Critical fire weather conditions across the High Plains tomorrow (Wed 4/22). Be sure to follow local fire restrictions and avoid creating sparks.

56 #AtmosphericRivers made landfall along the U.S. West Coast during the first 6 months of Water Year 2026. Stark differences in AR activity between October-December (14 strong or greater ARs) and January-March (only 3 strong ARs) helped explain the anomalously wet/dry conditions during those periods. Read the full summary here: cw3e.ucsd.edu/the-atmospheri….

A Pacific storm system will bring low elevation rain and heavy high elevation mountain snow to California through early week, expanding into the Pacific Northwest, Great Basin, and southern California on Tuesday. The highest rain totals are expected to focus along the coastal ranges of northern/central California and upslope regions of the Sierra, where some isolated flooding could occur Monday-Tuesday. In addition to the rainfall, very heavy snow is forecast in the Sierra peaking on Tuesday, and totals could reach as high as 1-2 feet.

BREAKING: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is being sold to The Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, the same nonprofit that owns the Baltimore Banner, sources inside a Post-Gazette meeting tell me. The P-G was set to close May 3 but appears now to be preserved. More details tk

4/13/26 9:45am Update: 1-day ❄️: 21.1" (20 cm) 2-day ❄️: 34.6" (34.5 cm) 3-day ❄️: 42.5" (53.5 cm) This has been great to create a late-season snowpack. Unfortunately, record warm temps this winter means that we're still well below average for the water year. #CAwater #weather

Active weather continues through this weekend, with showers, strong to severe thunderstorms, gusty southerly winds, & heavy mountain snow. Our Winter Storm Warning goes into effect at 5pm tonight & continues through 11pm Sunday. Heaviest precip is expected Sat PM-Sun. #CAwx

April Snow Drought Update A March Meltdown: Historically Low Snowpack Melts Across the West, Signaling a Dire Water Supply Situation Many critical economic sectors like ag, energy, and recreation have been or will be impacted. See drought.gov/drought-status… @NOAA @WRCCclimate

DWR today conducted the critical April snow survey at Phillips Station and found no measurable snow, a stark indicator of how record hot March temperatures and high elevation rain have erased the Sierra Nevada snowpack months ahead of schedule. The combination of warm storms and unusually hot temperatures rapidly melted what remained of this year’s already sparse snowpack. Statewide, the snowpack is now just 18 percent of average for this date, according to the automated snow sensor network. Today’s results are the second lowest April measurement on record for Phillips Station. The April measurement is a critical marker for water managers across the state, as it is typically when the snowpack reaches its maximum volume and begins to melt. However, warm storms and high-elevation rain accelerated melt months ahead of schedule, impacting water supply for the remainder of the year. #california #snow #water #cawater #SnowSurvey2026

Here’s another way of looking at March 2026 from climatologist Brian Brettschneider. The dark red is where the region experienced its warmest March on record. A big portion of the West concurrent with the extreme #heatwave Much of that area was 12-16°F above normal!!

🌡️Every single weather station we have recorded the warmest March on record. Most would have been the warmest April too. More sites below🧵

March 2026 finished with an average temperature of 73.0°F here in Las Vegas. Not only does this demolish the old March record of 66.7°F (2015), it is also warmer than any April on record here... #nvwx #VegasWeather

Unseasonably warm temperatures continue today through the weekend across the Southwest and southern U.S., with more than 100 record or near record maximum temperatures forecast through the rest of the week and over the weekend. Elevated to critical fire weather conditions will persist across the southern Plains today, moving into the central Plains and Southeast U.S on Saturday. Check weather.gov for your local forecast.