Winter storms blanket the East, while the U.S. West is wondering: Where’s the snow?

Ski season is here, but while the eastern half of the U.S. digs out from winter storms , the western U.S. snow season has been off to a very slow start.

The snowpack was far below normal across most of the West on Dec. 1, 2025. Denver didn’t see its first measurable snowfall until Nov. 29 – more than a month past normal, and its latest first-snow date on record .

But a late start to snow season isn’t necessarily reason to worry about the season ahead.

Adrienne Marshall, a hydrologist in Colorado who studies how snowfall is changing in the West, explains what forecasters are watching and how rising temperatures are affecting the future of the West’s beloved snow.

World