Snowpack

The Southwest is the hottest and driest region in the United States. Climate changes pose challenges for an already parched region that is expected to get hotter and, in its southern half, significantly drier. Increased heat and changes to rain and snowpack will send ripple effects throughout the region and its critical agriculture sector.

The melted snowpack seeps down to fill mountainside indentations to form glacial lakes.

But, unlike other weather data about rainfall and storms — gathered from orbiting satellites — the dazzling, reflective nature of snow makes it hard to measure the depth of a snowpack from space.

In dry northern regions, the melting from winter snowpack is crucial for filling reservoirs, irrigating crops and providing drinking water.

Alpinist Herman Stelling reportedly noted Thursday that the first few seconds of being swept up in a cataclysmic avalanche was actually pretty fun. “Weeeeeeeee! Yay!” said the visibly overjoyed Stelling, stressing that he felt like a kid again as he was pulled downhill in the 200-mph rush of hardened, detached snowpack.