FORT COLLINS, Colo. — When it comes to snow in the mountains, the more, the better, right?
It's certainly what we're seeing this year.
"We have more snow than average this year," said Steven Fassnacht, a professor of snow hydrology at Colorado State University.
Fassnacht has long been monitoring our Colorado's snow. This year, he's seeing something different.
"I was at Rabbit Ears a week and a half ago and saw a very pronounced dusty layer," Fassnacht said.
While dust is common in Colorado's southern mountains where it's blown in from the dry Four Corners area, finding it that far north is not normal, according to Fassnacht. He said he hasn't seen that much dust on snow in nearly two decades.
"We're seeing dust all across the state," he said.
Fassnacht believes stronger winds this year were able to carry that Four Corners dust a lot farther.
The concern is that blanket of dust acts like a heating blanket. Instead of reflecting the sun as clean snow does, the dusty snow absorbs the solar radiation and it heats up.
"You add a layer of dust on top of that snow and that really allows the snowpack to absorb more of that sun and melt much, much quicker," explained Fassnacht.
Accelerated snowmelt, plus a lot of snow, equals a lot of water coming down in a short amount of time.
"That means that we have a good possibility of seeing more flooding than we normally see from snowmelt," he said.
And while it's an anomaly this year, Fassnacht worries that it won't be in the future. Scientists predict with our changing climate, the weather will become more extreme, winds stronger, and droughts more severe.
"We have the drying part that is going to provide the dust and then we have the wind part that is going to blow that dust onto the snowpack," he said.
Communities will need to prepare for the rapid snowmelt, the potential flooding, and mitigate any damage as much as possible. And while most communities have flood plans in place, it's those that have not prepared for flooding that could be most impacted.
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