#drought-risk

#drought-risk

Roughly half of the state's monitoring sites are now in what forecasters describe as "uncharted territory," meaning current snow water equivalent levels are lower than anything previously observed at those locations. To put the situation in historical context, meteorologists have pointed to long-running individual sites such as the Alta Guard House, where snow records date back to 1944. By February 1 of this season, Alta had recorded 126 inches of snow.

The Met Office has said that for Autumn, the UK recorded 20% more rainfall than the long-term meteorological average, but of the four nations, it was Northern Ireland and Wales that saw the most rainfall, with 39% and 37% above average respectively. Only 2000 and 2011 have seen wetter autumns in Northern Ireland since 1836. England saw a clear north/south divide, with northern England recording 45% above average (its fifth wettest Autumn since 1836) and southern England 17% more than average.