Are You Missing Snow? Plenty Still Out West

Looks like January, but this is a frozen high elevation lake in
California's Sierra Nevada mountains in mid-May 

The last of the snow on top of Mount Mansfield has (IS) finally disappeared.

The snow was unusually deep up there during the late winter and spring, and a cool April and May meant that it melted slowly.  As of Saturday, there was still one inch of snow at the stake near the top of Mount Mansfield.

So it's just about gone. I imagine it wil disappear in today's warmth.

Of course, if you get even more snow than Mount Mansfield, the white covering lasts a lot longer.

Which, if you're already missing snow,  takes us to the mountains in the western United States. The water content of the snow lingering in the Colorado mountains is more than six times the average for early June, says the Weather Channel.

Only three other years since 1979 had a higher snowpack in the upper Colorado and South Platte River basins, says the National Weather Service in Boulder, Colorado.

The Sierra Nevada range in California still has two to four times the early June average snow pack.  As of June 5 or so, a measuring station at Leavitt Lake still had 141 inches of snow on the ground.

An estimated 150 lakes above the elevation of 7,000 feet are still frozen.  At least three ski areas, Mammoth Mountain, Squaw Valley and Donnor Ski Ranch are still open. Mammoth Mountain expects to stay open into early August.

Some new snow managed to fall in some areas of the Northwest and in Canada last week. Snow dusted high elevations of Idaho, Montana and Oregon Thursday, with snow reported at elevations as low as 4,800 feet in Oregon.

As much as four inches of snow fell near Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The West is warming up dramatically this week, so snow melt will also ramp up big time.  Excessive heat alerts are in effect Monday and Tuesday for lower elevations of California and parts of Oregon Monday and Tuesday.

That of course means it will be pretty toasty up in the Sierra Nevada, too. People are being warmed that streams and rivers coming out of the Sierra will rise dramatically each night as runoff reaches lower elevations.  Campers and hikers are being told to stay on high ground, away from any potential flooding.

These rivers will also be flowing wildly, and have very cold water. After all, it's coming from melting snow. People are being told to stay away from these rivers and creeks, as the cold water will kill them quickly if they fall in.

Similar warnings due to mountain snowmelt are in effect in Colorado, Utah and Montana.