Extra snowfall this year means happy Colorado trees

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - This year has been an exceptional year in terms of snowfall.

Warmer have temperatures have brought some melting, and the soil and the trees are singing its praise.

It’s a slow melt, too, which makes the moisture even more beneficial.

At this point, the melting is only happening at the lower elevations. The time-lapse in the video above is from a satellite over the last few days.

It’s resulted in a major reduction to Colorado’s drought – only 36% of the state is now in drought conditions, down from 88% last February.

Assistant state climatologist Becky Bolinger says mountain snowpack is a huge part of that formula. Some basins in northwest Colorado have already reached 90% of their peak for an entire snow season.

“That gives me confidence that the season is very likely to end up near or above average for most locations west of the Continental Divide,” said Bolinger. “If we have one above average year, we could really make some huge strides in drought relief and drought recovery for a lot of the water supply issues that we’ve been experiencing.”

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