Kirk Sigler
speaker
510 appearances
72 recordings
2 series
first heard Jul 2025
last heard 9 Sep
Kirk Sigler’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
Trend
recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 59 in all, peaking in Jun 2026 with 14.
Appearances
And up here where I am in the Pacific Northwest, we get a lot of our power from hydro, and so low river flows are very concerning along the Columbia River.
But I think the possibility of a smoky summer is pretty tops on everyone's minds.
I was on a reporting trip up in Montana this past week, and I met Andy Liedberg,
who owns a brewery next to the Big Sky Ski Resort.
It's been a tough winter for the ski industry, and Liedberg told me they're facing some tough economic headwinds now going into spring, like low rivers mean not much whitewater rafting or fishing and the likelihood of a lot of wildfire smoke.
So, Aisha, the winter that wasn't, as we're all calling it out here, is now causing a lot of concerns for what's coming ahead in spring and summer.
You're welcome.
March is typically the snowiest month of the year in Colorado, but this year the state is reporting its lowest snow totals on record.
The Cascades in Oregon and Washington are in a similar dire state.
According to new data from NOAA's Drought Monitor, in California, warm temperatures have already caused rapid snowmelt and an early spring runoff.
Every single river basin in the West has experienced its warmest or second warmest winter on record.
Snow is the West's primary water storage, and tens of millions of people rely on it for drinking water, food, and power.
The Federal Bureau of Reclamation now predicts the water level in Lake Powell may drop so low that the Glen Canyon Dam will cease producing power by December.
Kirk Sigler, NPR News, Bozeman, Montana.
The western states that are in the worst shape are Colorado, Utah, and Oregon.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, statewide snowpack there is only about 50% of average, and that's only at high altitudes.
Some ski areas have closed prematurely, but in the west, where the snowpack acts as the main water storage reservoir, cities and farmers are even more on edge.
If things don't turn around, especially at lower altitudes, NOAA says the wildfire risk will be even more severe going into spring.
Climate scientists point to a warm-weather blob stuck in the Pacific Ocean, possibly related to rapid melting in the Arctic, that's caused it to be unseasonably warm from Montana to California for weeks now.
Kirk Sigler, NPR News, Los Angeles.
Showing 321–340 of 510 · page 17 of 26
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