For The First Time In 6 Weeks, Colorado Drought Stops Worsening!
DENVER (CBS4) - Considering how bad the drought situation in Colorado had become, the fact it didn't get worse after the recent snow is probably the best possible outcome.
Drought takes a very long time to develop - usually many months. It can take even longer to be eradicated.
The current drought in Colorado has been getting progressively worse since April. A week ago, 97% of the state was experiencing severe drought, 78% of the state had extreme drought, and 22% of Colorado reported the worse possible drought category which is exceptional drought.
A week later, none of those numbers changed, which strongly suggests the recent snow has stifled the drought. It was the first time in 6 weeks at least one drought category had not seen an increase.
It's still a very troubling situation in Colorado particularly in the areas with exceptional drought including parts of Summit and Eagle Counties. In the Denver metro area, all counties are experiencing at least severe drought and most of the area has at extreme drought. Precipitation (including melted snow) is below normal for the month, the season, and for the year by well over 5 inches.
And without any significant additional moisture in the forecast for the foreseeable future, we may see the drought numbers start trending up again soon. But at least for now, we can celebrate a week without the drought getting even worse.