Changing Climate and Traffic impacts on Colorado snow
Traffic on I-70 WB, Genesee Park
There are two major factors that keep the outdoor recreation industry running in Colorado—those being snow and mountains. With this, imagine receiving the news that the mountains were going to become taller in Colorado. Unfortunately, this is not possible on human time scales. But the same may not be true for snow fall in the state.
For those who enjoy skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing or other forms of winter outdoor recreation in Colorado, the prediction that future snowfall in the Colorado Rockies could increase is very important. With climate change noticeably making the state warmer and drier in the summers in recent years, many worry about their abilities to enjoy the snow in the winters. However, in the last few years there have been scientific studies, such as one conducted by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, that allude to the fact that some parts of Colorado may experience an increase in precipitation amounts in the winter time, even while precipitation rates decrease in the other seasons of the year.
As these maps from the 2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment show, the northern section of the state is projected to see a 10 to 20% increase in precipitation during the winter. This information is surprising, as most focus on yearly overall precipitation rates to highlight increased drying in the state with climate change. Now, mentioning the possibility of heightened precipitation levels in Colorado is not meant to disrepute the fact that the state is drying with less precipitation and higher temperatures. But the fact that Colorado may see more winter precipitation, and thus snow, in the coming years is something that an avid skier cannot pass up speaking on.
The assessment also qualifies the fact that this increase in precipitation may be coming more so in the form of rain for parts of the western U.S. However, this projection may be more applicable to the more low lying areas of the west, rather than the areas around Colorado ski resorts, many of which are well above 7,000 ft in elevation. So, when this increased precipitation does fall in the coming decades, places like Arapahoe Basin, Copper, Aspen, and Breckenridge will likely be spared the rain, with precipitation coming in the form of increased snow amounts. This is a consequence of climate change, which generally garners more negative attention than anything else. However, this information may be one area that people who recreate in the Colorado snow may be able to rejoice in, for the time being.
Finally! Some alterations from climate change are not completely disparaging, but there is more to this than just an increase in precipitation. The Global Change Research Program states that this weather can come about in more extreme waves, rather than a steady layering of snow throughout the winter. With the same optimistic tone, this can mean more events of large snowfalls happening at one time. So, really, this can mean more heavy powder days to come for skiers, snowboarders and anyone who loves the snow!
However, there are negative side effects that come with the heavy snowstorms. This isn’t coming from climate change or weather patterns. This is from the increase in pollution coming from commuters in the Colorado Rockies driving to enjoy the fresh and fluffy powder.
For those who reside in Colorado, you know what comes with a heavy snowstorm. The exodus of people commuting from the front range up to the mountains. This type of mass commute by outdoor recreators can come with downsides that many already see during a normal Colorado winter, such as high amounts of traffic and accidents on the road, more days where the traction laws are in effect, and of course, more pollution coming from the numerous vehicles maneuvering through the snow laden highways and streets.
Excessive vehicular pollution can be a limiting factor to the possible increases in snow coming from climate change, especially around times of heavy snowfall. Once a major powder day comes up and everyone drives to the mountains to go enjoy it, the resulting pollution leads to particulate matter falling around heavily trafficked areas. This pollution can cause many maladies to snowpack and the precious powder. As a study done by Careceda-Baic et al. around Chilean ski resorts states, “Local emissions from vehicles in the surroundings of ski resorts not only reduce the whiteness of the snowy landscape affecting the attractiveness to visitors, but also modify the onset of snowmelt and thus the environmental equilibrium of the local area and of the surrounding region.” This occurs as the darker matter resulting from pollution absorbs more light and energy from the sun, resulting in faster rates of melting. Imagine seeing rapidly melting snow due to pollution from vehicles in the middle of winter. For a skier or boarder, this would be their worst nightmare, as no one wants to think about the early end of a season in the middle of January.
Overall, with more traffic and pollution can come earlier snowmelt and less time being able to recreate in the snow during the Colorado winter and spring months. So, with all this in mind, the resulting issue that may come from increases to winter precipitation in Colorado is the traffic following the snow. It is ultimately very important to limit the commutes done to the mountains so that everyone in the state can recreate and enjoy the snow for as long as they can. However, managing this commute will become more difficult in the coming years.
There will most likely be more people recreating outdoors in the Colorado Rockies in the coming years already, without accounting for the influence of increased snow. This is happening from numerous factors, including the increase in Colorado’s population. Nonetheless, resorts across the U.S. are seeing more and more visitors coming to enjoy the snow, scenery, and runs. In fact, the National Ski Areas Association reported that the 2021/2022 season was the most active season recorded since the association started reporting this statistic back in 1979. With 61 million visitors to ski areas across the country last year, compounding the steady increase in ski resort visitors in the nation in the last 40 years. Add this to the fact that Colorado already exhibits very high amounts of people moving to the state in the last decade, it is easy to see that there will be more people recreating outdoors in the future, with or without increases to snowfall.
In total, with more snow and more people, it will be imperative that new sources of commuting will be needed to manage busy highways and crowded parking lots around ski resorts. Thus, using services like TreadShare or public transportation will be increasingly important in the coming years and decades. Hopefully, we can manage the pollution falling onto Colorado mountains so that people can reduce the environmental damage as well as mitigate the early melting of snow from this pollution. But even more importantly, let’s wish for that rise in snow fall in Colorado and maybe even a few degrees cooler in the summer too!
Sources:
https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/2/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165232X17302070
