Unfortunately, those drought-free conditions didn’t last all that long in Colorado.
Only a few months removed from a rare and mostly drought-less summer, more than a quarter of Colorado (27.5%) is officially in a drought, according to the United States Drought Monitor’s weekly update, released on Thursday. In addition to the drought conditions, about 70% of the state is now also considered to be “abnormally dry”, as a recent summer dry spell continues. Abnormally dry conditions are the step just below an official drought.
In Denver, August, September and October (so far) have each seen below average precipitation. Since Aug. 1, Denver’s total rainfall of just 1.08 inches is less than half of the average 2.19 inches for that time period. Similar numbers were observed throughout the Front Range, as a dominating ridge of high pressure suppressed and reduced rain chances, and boosted September temperatures. A lackluster monsoon season is also contributing to the growing drought.
It’s also the lack of a monsoon season that has mainly Southern Colorado feeling the greatest pinch of drought. And it’s not just Colorado; drought conditions are worse in neighboring New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. Pockets of severe drought are now in place in parts of Arizona and New Mexico, based on this week’s drought monitor update.
In southwestern Colorado, precipitation deficits are greater here than those along the Front Range and the rest of the state. Since Sept. 1, Cortez, Grand Junction, Montrose and Aspen have all received less than a quarter of their typical precipitation for that time period.
The current drought level of D1 — the first and lowest level of drought on a scale of one-to-four — in Colorado means that there could be “some damage to crops, pastures” and “some water shortages developing”, according to the drought monitor’s classification system. Colorado currently doesn’t have any areas of D2 (severe) or higher drought conditions, although there are pockets of D2 drought in far northwestern New Mexico.
The recent dry stretch has likely also contributed to the recent flaring of wildfires across the state, including the growing Decker fire near Salida. Other wildfires have popped up in recent days, primarily fueled by the short-term drought and hot and windy weather.
Cooler weather, though, should reduce the overall fire risk this weekend, with the possibility for snow in the northern mountains — and perhaps a little along the Front Range — next week.
