COLORADO, USA — Colorado's drought isn't over by any stretch of the imagination, but it did slightly improve, according to this week's official drought monitor update.
Small improvements in the drought became official with Thursday's drought monitor update, including the first drought-free part of the state in six months.
A small area in the northern Colorado mountains is completely drought-free, according to the drought monitor, making it the first drought-free speck of Colorado land since November.
Elsewhere, gradual improvements were visible in central and northern parts of the state. As of this week, 87% of Colorado is considered to be under severe or worse drought conditions, a small decrease from about 90% the week prior.
A run of recent rain and mountain snowstorms helped reduce drought conditions, including a significant rain and snowstorm across central and northern Colorado earlier this week.
This week's drought monitor update, however, does not include all of the recent rain and snow that lashed the state earlier this week. The update includes all precipitation through Tuesday evening, and a good chunk of the rain and snow fell overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.
Unfortunately, while big improvements are visible in northern and central parts of the state, southern Colorado continues to miss out on most of the moisture. Drought conditions mostly stayed the same in southern and western parts of Colorado.
The forecast has more hit-or-miss rain chances over the next few days, with Friday and early next week looking like the best chances for beneficial rainfall.
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