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Drought

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Current Drought Conditions

Please see the U.S. Drought Monitor for current Colorado drought conditions

Follow current conditions and climate outlooks by tuning into the monthly Water Conditions Monitoring Committee (WCMC) meetings. 

This is an open, public meeting that provides regular condition monitoring of snowpack, precipitation, reservoir storage, streamflow and weather forecasts with reports from the Colorado Climate Center and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Monthly drought summaries are provided by the CWCB to recap meeting highlights.

Water Year 2023 Review: This water year (October 2022 - September 2023) was the 31st wettest year on the 128-year record. Portions of the Front Range and northeastern Colorado experienced record wet conditions, however, drier than normal conditions persisted in the San Luis Valley. The northeastern quadrant of the state experienced cooler than average temperatures and pockets of the San Luis valley, along with areas around Grand Junction, experienced warmer than average temperatures. Globally, the 2023 calendar year was the hottest year on record. However, Colorado and the western US were one of the few cooler exceptions. 

For a more in depth look at Water Year 2023, take a look at Colorado Climate Center's Water Year 2023 Review.  

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Drought Planning Resources

State

Regional

National

Drought Funding Resources
Helpful Reports, Tools, and Trainings
  • These StoryMap case studies (May 2020) review how drought impacts Colorado's outdoor recreation and agriculture industries.
  • The Future Avoided Cost Explorer (May 2020) quantifies direct impacts of current and future droughts on select sectors of the Colorado economy.
  • The Drought Vulnerability Tool (March 2019) takes users through visual summaries of Colorado drought risk by sectors, based on Colorado’s 2018 Drought Plan.
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Historic Drought Conditions (2000 - 2024)

Historic Drought in Colorado since 2000

Source: US Drought Monitor

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Seasonal Drought Outlook 

US Seasonal Drought Outlook

Source: US Drought Monitor

Point of Contact

Kat Weismiller