The snow that does melt off joins the Colorado River, which supplies people from Wyoming to Mexico. The clues they find have big consequences. But that's a necessary sacrifice for this team of snow detectives. HAGER: At this site, full of towering scientific measuring devices, we're getting pelted by heavy, wet flakes. SCHWAT: It's like the rebel base on Hoth.

Eli Schwat is one of the researchers.ĮLI SCHWAT: What's the snow moon in 'Star Wars Chapter V' (ph)? It looks like Hoth.

This line of bundled-up skiers is breathing heavy and trudging alongside flags that mark the route into the whiteout up ahead. HAGER: The journey through these Colorado mountains feels like a polar expedition. HAGER: But the region's water managers need certainty, so Lundquist's grad students are in the mountains looking for clues almost 10,000 feet above sea level.

LUNDQUIST: The amounts that disappear range in models from 10% to 90% of the snowpack, so the uncertainty is huge. Some of it is vanishing, evaporating or getting soaked up by the ground. HAGER: But it's really hard to figure out exactly how much snow will make it into streams, rivers and reservoirs. LUNDQUIST: And so if you're off by the number of drops of water you're promising to somebody, they're not happy. HAGER: That's Jessica Lundquist, an engineering professor with the University of Washington. Every drop of water is wanted by multiple people. JESSICA LUNDQUIST: We know the Colorado River is oversubscribed. There's more demand than there is supply. Alex Hager with KUNC has this report.ĪLEX HAGER, BYLINE: Here's the problem with the Colorado River. So scientists are looking for ways to let people downstream know how much water to expect. But it's surprisingly hard to say exactly how much water trapped in that snow will actually reach the river in a given year. Snow in the Rocky Mountains is vital to the farmers, cities, and electric utilities that rely on the Colorado River.

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