Colorado Snowpack Remains Well Below Average

DENVER (AP) -- Colorado's snowpack is quickly melting, as warm, dry conditions persist.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service says the statewide snowpack was 19 percent of average as of May 1, with more than half of all snow survey locations in the state reporting no snow. The statewide snowpack was listed at 22 percent of average Thursday.

State conservationist Phyllis Ann Philipps of the Natural Resources Conservation Service says the statewide snowpack looks to have peaked around March 12, which is a month ahead of average. Current conditions match those recorded during the record-setting drought of 2002 in Colorado.

The state's water storage volumes in reservoirs are above average, thanks partly to a wet winter last year, but there's still a potential for water shortages late in the summer.

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