The West is experiencing a historic snow drought that experts have warned could bring water shortages and wildfires in the months ahead. Colorado's state climatologist, Russ Schumacher, said that Colorado hasn't experienced such a severe snow drought in over 40 years and Utah's climatologists, and New Mexico and Arizona are also dealing with record-low snowpack. NASA imagery showed sparse snow cover on the Rocky Mountains and Cascades, the lowest extent recorded since satellite monitoring began in 2001. The drought could disrupt fundamental aspects of life in the West, where the population relies on snowpack for roughly 75% of its water supply. The consequences are already being felt across the Colorado River Basin, a critical watershed that supports roughly 40 million people.