Colorado Weather: Drought Expands As State Braces For Hottest Weather In 6 Months

DENVER (CBS4) - The weekly drought monitor released Thursday morning did not show good news when it comes to drought in the state. Severe drought expanded 15% at a time when Colorado is about to experience a long stretch of dry and very warm weather.

About 67% of Colorado is currently classified as "abnormally dry" which is the precursor to drought. And as of this week, about 54% of the state was officially drought stricken. No part of the Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins areas is currently experiencing any stage of drought. The worst situation is in far southern Colorado including cities such as Durango, Telluride, Alamosa, Walsenburg, Trinidad and Lamar.

A week ago about 13% of Colorado was experiencing severe drought. This week it's about 28%. And unfortunately, the forecast for Colorado is mainly dry looking at the next 7-10 days. The exception is the next 24-48 hours when rain and snow showers will be found in some parts of the state.

For the Denver metro area, there is a 20% chance for rain during the day on Thursday followed by at least a 40% chance in the evening and overnight. Then a 60% chance for showers on Friday followed by a slight chance on Saturday. A large ridge of high pressure will starting building over Colorado on Sunday which will bring a prolonged period of dry and unusually warm weather through at least Saturday, May 2.

The CBS4 Weather Team is expecting 80 degrees in Denver on Monday and even warmer weather is possible later in the week. The warmest temperature so far this year was back on February 2 (Groundhog Day) when Denver reached 74 degrees.