Scientists Are Tracking a New Kind of Heat Wave Called "Snow Eaters" That Can Make Mountain Snow Vanish Twice as Fast

Scientists Are Tracking a New Kind of Heat Wave Called "Snow Eaters" That Can Make Mountain Snow Vanish Twice as Fast

Unseasonably warm weather that rapidly melts snowpack is becoming more widespread in the U.S. West and happening earlier in the year.

Scientists Define a New Category of Heat Wave: “Snow Eaters”

This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here. Matthew LaPlante doesn’t have to go to a lab to see his research in action. On some mornings, he can just look out his own window in the mountains high above Salt Lake City. After a warm night when the temperature stays above freezing, he’ll wake up and see that the snow level has dropped by inches, revealing more of the aspens he taps for syrup. “It feels …

Scientists define a new category of heat wave: ‘Snow eaters’

The downtown Salt Lake City skyline is backdropped by fresh snow on the Wasatch Mountains on Monday, January 15, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)This story was originally published by Grist.  Matthew LaPlante doesn’t have to go to a lab to see his research in action. On some mornings, he can just look out his own window in the mountains high above Salt Lake City. After a warm night when the temperature stays above freezing, …

Scientists have created a new category of heat waves: "snow eaters"

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Matthew LaPlante doesn’t have to go to a lab to see his research in action. On some mornings, he can just look out his own window in the mountains high above Salt Lake City. After a warm night when the temperature […]

Climate Change Has Unleashed an Entirely New Type of Heatwave: The 'Snow Eater'

"Snow-eater" heatwaves decimate the snowpack that western states depend on.

Climate Change Has Unleashed an Entirely New Type of Heatwave: The ‘Snow Eater’

In mid-March, a record-shattering heat dome engulfed the western United States, sending summer-like temperatures high into the mountains. What little snowpack remained after an unusually warm, dry winter melted out early, setting the stage for drought and wildfire this summer. This event represents a new kind of heatwave made possible only by climate change. In the western U.S., heatwaves that occur in the spring and early summer have nearly dou…