COLORADO, USA — All the recent snow is putting a solid dent in our drought.
In the last 12 months, Colorado's drought situation has improved markedly. In February 2022 (map below), almost all of Colorado was under at least a moderate drought, and about two-thirds of the state was under a severe or worse drought.
Fast forward 12 months, and only about 55% of Colorado is under any drought, while only about 10% of the state is under severe or worse drought conditions.
That's a remarkable improvement, and it traces back to a consistent run of moisture that started with an active summer of monsoon moisture. That gradually chipped away at the drought situation across the western part of the state in particular, although it didn't eliminate it.
But a remarkably consistent winter-to-date of snow has continued to improve the drought situation across virtually all of Colorado.
With the notable exception of the Arkansas River basin in southeastern Colorado, statewide snowpack levels are generally sitting well above their average season-to-date levels. Plus, recent storms have brought parts of southern and eastern Colorado needed moisture.
In all, it adds up to a remarkably improved drought situation across the entire state. The Pueblo area and the far eastern plains are the only two areas with severe or worse drought conditions, after this week's update.
On top of that, this week's drought monitor update only accounts for a sliver of the snow that fell from our most recent storm. While the drought monitor is released every Thursday, it only accounts for precipitation that falls through Tuesday. Since the majority of this week's storm came on Wednesday, the most recent drought update doesn't account for most of this week's storm.
And on top of that, more mountain snowfall is likely on Friday and early next week, with some potential snow for eastern Colorado for the middle of next week as well.
That'll hopefully help keep Colorado trending in the right direction in terms of drought.
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