Snow Will Finally Return To California and Colorado, but Patience Is Required

Skiers across the West have spent this winter refreshing webcams, squinting at brown trails, and settling for thin-cover tactics. The numbers match the feeling.

In California, the mountain snowpack sat around 59% of average in late January 2026, and the long-running Phillips Station reading near Lake Tahoe was roughly 46% of average.

In Colorado, SNOTEL basin indices on February 2, 2026, hovered in the 40s and 50s, with the Arkansas basin near 48% and the Upper Rio Grande near 51%.