Backwards claim: Slower snowmelt in a warming world

So let me get this right: the warmer the earth gets, the slower that snow melts? 

You can’t make this stuff up! 

Slower snowmelt in a warming world

When snowpack melts earlier, it also melts more slowly, new study finds

As the world warms, mountain snowpack will not only melt earlier, it will also melt more slowly, according to a new study by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

The counterintuitive finding, published today in the journal Nature Climate Change, could have widespread implications for water supplies, ecosystem health, and flood risk.

“When snowmelt shifts earlier in the year, the snow is no longer melting under the high sun angles of late spring and early summer,” said NCAR postdoctoral researcher Keith Musselman, lead author of the paper. “The Sun just isn’t providing enough energy at that time of year to drive high snowmelt rates.”

The study was funded by the National Science Foundation, NCAR’s sponsor.