February 2026 snow summary
- Snow-covered area across the western United States was 38 percent of average for February, ranking last in the 26-year satellite record. On February 21, snow-covered area likely reached a maximum for the season.
- Snow cover duration was 63 percent below the 26-year satellite record average at the end of the month.
- Snow albedo, also known as snow brightness, moderated by snow age and dust contamination, varied over the month. Albedo was at a minimum on February 7, then peaked on February 20 after widespread snowstorms.
- Snow water equivalent (SWE) increased up to 40 centimeters (16 inches) in some areas during the month but remained below average across most of the West.
Snow Today expands coverage in March 2026
As of March 1, Snow Today has begun processing data for the midwestern United States region. The expansion brings full data coverage for Colorado, South Dakota, and Montana, which previously only had partial coverage. Added states—fully or partially covered—include Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, North Dakota, Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Daily map data can be viewed on the Daily Snow Viewer (see Figures 3 and 4, right side). The analysis graphs that show current conditions alongside historical conditions will be updated at some point in March (see Figures 3 and 4, left side). Also, as part of Snow Today’s data expansion, near real-time and historical data for Alaska, where snow information has been sparse, will be added to support water supply forecasts and warnings of river ice breakup. An announcement will be made once data is added to the ftp and when it is live on the site.
Overview of conditions
Snow-covered area in February across the western United States was 62 percent below average, at 387,000 square kilometers (149,000 square miles), ranking last in the 26-year satellite record (Table 1). Snow-covered area for February was 1,242,000 square kilometers (480,000 square miles) below 2019, the highest year, and 91,000 square kilometers (35,000 square miles) below 2015, the second lowest February on record.
Table 1. February 2026 Snow Cover in the Western United States (Relative to the 26-Year Satellite Record)
| Snow-Covered Area | Square Kilometers | Square Miles | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 2026, Lowest | 387,000 | 149,000 | 26 |
2001 to 2025, Average | 1,010,000 | 390,000 | -- |
2019, Highest | 1,629,000 | 629,000 | 1 |
2025, Previous year | 998,000 | 385,000 | 14 |
2015, Previous lowest | 478,000 | 185,000 | 25 |
In last month’s article, we reported the maximum snow cover date as January 12, 2026. However, as of February 28, 2026, the likely maximum snow cover date moved to Feb 21, 2026, because of snowstorms in early to mid-February (Figure 1). This is the fourth latest maximum snow cover date since 2001. Snow extent will likely decrease moving forward except for brief periods after storms.
As in January, snow cover across all western states was far below average. Once again, California was the closest to average with 67 percent of average snow-covered area for the month. Idaho was the next highest at 48 percent of average, followed by Washington at 41 percent of average and Colorado at 37 percent of average. The southwestern United States was extremely dry with 22 percent of average snow cover in Arizona, 18 percent in Nevada, and 13 percent in New Mexico. In Utah and Wyoming, snow-covered area was roughly one-third of the 26-year average with 32 and 31 percent of average, respectively. Oregon had 24 percent of average snow cover, and South Dakota experienced extreme low snow cover at only 2 percent of average.
Only the California HUC2 basin, at 56 percent of average, had snow cover above 50 percent of average during February. The next highest HUC2 basins were the Pacific Northwest at 46 percent of average, containing Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, followed by the Upper Colorado basin covering portions of the four-corners states at 39 percent of average. Snow-covered area in both the Great Basin and Rio Grande basins was only 28 percent of average for February and less than 20 percent of average in the Arkansas-White-Red (15 percent of average), Lower Colorado (18 percent of average), and Missouri (17 percent of average) basins.
Conditions in context: Snow cover
Despite snowstorms sweeping across the West in the third week of February, snow-covered area remained far below average and was the lowest ever in the 26-year satellite record as it has been throughout the season (Figure 3, upper left). Snow cover steadily decreased at the start of February before storms at mid-month increased snow-covered area to its highest value of the 2026 water year. On February 21, snow-covered area was 60 percent of average; by February 28, it had decreased to 45 percent of average.
Northeast California and northwest Nevada had above-average snow cover during February (Figure 3, upper right), caused by large storms with atmospheric rivers in the third week of the month. Between February 15 and 20, the Central Sierra Snow Lab at Donner Summit, CA, recorded 111 inches of new snow. Above-average snow cover was also observed in central Montana and scattered areas in the Pacific Northwest. Snow-covered area was 80 to 100 percent below average across large areas of the rest of the western United States, with the highest elevations having smaller areas between 0 and 20 percent below average.
Snow cover duration, measured in days summed from October 1, 2025, to February 28, 2026, increased throughout January but remained roughly 60 percent below average (Figure 3, bottom left). Snow cover duration was particularly low across Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho (Figure 3, bottom right), with 60 to 100 fewer snow-covered days than average. Only some low elevation areas of the California Sierra Nevada (Kern River basin, the White Mountains, and eastern slope) and smaller areas in the Washington Cascades had above average snow-covered days. Snow Today’s new mid-west data show that Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and Minnesota had large areas of above-average snow cover duration, but these states are not yet included in the analysis graph (Figure 3, bottom left).
Average snow brightness, known as snow albedo, was below average at the start of February, before rapidly increasing during the second and third weeks of the month following widespread snowfall (Figure 4, left). On February 20, snow albedo reached its highest value of the 2026 water year across the study area. Albedo decreased for the rest of the month as the new snow darkened, finishing below the twenty-fifth percentile on February 28.
Compared to snow-covered area and duration, albedo varied strongly by state in February (Figure 4, right). Snow albedo was below average across most of Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, and central Idaho in February. Albedo was also below average in the north midwestern states of North Dakota and Minnesota. Above average values were observed across most of Arizona and Nevada, and the northern and southern Sierra Nevada in California. Most of Pacific northwest also had above average albedo, including in the Idaho panhandle.
Conditions in context: Snow water equivalent (SWE)
Snow water equivalent (SWE) at the beginning of February varied by state, with below average values throughout most of the region (Figure 5, left). Nevertheless, several stations in northwest Wyoming, central Idaho, and western Montana had above average SWE. Above average SWE was also measured at some stations in central Sierra Nevada in California. By the end of the month (Figure 5, right), most stations remained the same relative to average except in the central and southern Sierra Nevada, where more stations recorded above average SWE at the end of the month. Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado were all extremely dry during February with zero above average SWE measurements at either the start or end of the month.
Although SWE remained relatively unchanged compared to average during February, most stations across all states had increases by the end of the month (Figure 6). California had the highest average increase at about 10 centimeters (4 inches), and many stations in the state recorded increases of 20 to 40 centimeters (8 to 16 inches). Stations in Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado averaged greater than 5-centimeter (2-inch) increases during February. New Mexico was the only state to record a net loss, although the average changes in New Mexico, South Dakota, and Arizona were close to zero.
