Outside magazine had an interesting article about the snow drought in the West. In spite of recent rains that have caused fatal mudslides in parts of California, the mountains out west overall have received only 29% of their normal snowfall. This could bode poorly for water supplies in spring and into next summer, when irrigators need the water from snowmelt to grow their crops. There is quite a bit of winter left, so farmers and others are hoping for a late season increase in the snow. You can read the article here.