Precipitation and snowpack are above average, but midway through winter, meteorologists are cautiously optimistic about how much moisture Colorado could see this year
U.S. Drought Monitor
Posted inEnvironment
Billion-dollar climate disasters rise with drought in Colorado, the American West
NOAA report details growing total of weather and climate chaos biting deep into U.S. economy
Posted inClimate
The Colorado River Basin’s water forecast looked good in January. Now everything has changed.
Data collected from Colorado River Basin sensors recorded near- or record-low snowfall in the last three weeks of January
Posted inClimate, Environment, News, Outdoors, Water
Yes, it hasn’t snowed yet in Denver. But it’s Colorado’s meager snowpack that should worry you.
Snowflakes began falling in Denver on Dec. 1, 1913, and didn’t stop for four days, leaving the city blanketed under 45 inches of snow. Some mountain towns saw even more snowfall, with 86 inches recorded in Georgetown, 53 in Estes Park and about 44 in Boulder. The anniversary of Denver’s biggest blizzard comes amid a […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News, Water
Colorado heads into snowpack season with low reservoirs — but a twinge of hope
Drought conditions have eased up a bit from this time last year, but as the calendar turns on Colorado’s water year, worries about a dry winter still loom, the state’s assistant climatologist says. That’s not to say Colorado isn’t parched. Most of the state remains in drought, including the Eastern Plains, which spent much of […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News, Outdoors, Water, Wildfire
Northwest Colorado under “extremely critical” fire warning for first time in 15 years as Western Slope drought worsens
As drought conditions worsened on the Western Slope, the National Weather Service has issued its first “extremely critical” fire danger warning in 15 years for northwest Colorado. The warning, in effect through midnight, covers parts of Moffat and Rio Blanco counties that also are in a state of “exceptional drought,” according to the weekly U.S. […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Wildfire
Nearly half of Colorado emerges from drought conditions while Western Slope remains dry and at risk for fire
Recent rainfall has been a boon for eastern Colorado. The Front Range has enjoyed abundant precipitation and nearly half of the state’s geographic area has shed drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. But the Western Slope hasn’t been blessed with the same precipitation levels, leaving a brutal drought and a high risk for […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News
Colorado’s major snowstorm only made a dent in the drought. These maps and graphs explain what’s going on.
Despite what multiple feet of snow on the ground might suggest to many Coloradans, the state’s long-term drought remains persistent. And water forecasters are worried that even if the state receives decent spring moisture, Colorado and the greater American Southwest will need lots more to emerge from this drought. The record-breaking storms that buried Front […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News
Recent snowstorms are barely scratching the surface of Colorado’s ongoing drought
Colorado is no longer technically 100% in drought. And conditions in some areas of the state have slightly improved as recent spring snows have left deeper-than-forecast drifts. But don’t get too excited just yet. Last week’s snowstorms across the Front Range were enough to downgrade some areas from “extreme” drought to “severe,” according to the […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, Growth, News, Outdoors, Wildfire
Climate change ravaged Colorado and the West with heat and drought in 2020. This year may be worse.
If there were any doubts that the climate is changing in the Colorado River Basin, 2020 went a long way toward dispelling them. Unprecedented wildfires, deadly heat waves, withering drought — the many indicators of the climate mayhem that scientists have been warning about for years — ravaged the landscape, claiming dozens of lives and […]