Drought is now almost nonexistent in Colorado, more rain still needed on the plains

The weekly drought monitor released Thursday morning showed the percentage of Colorado now experiencing drought dropped again to just 8%. Just a month ago, during the final week of April, about 44% of the state was experiencing drought, so recent moisture has made a significant difference.

What was left of the drought along the Front Range disappeared last week. And what remained on the Eastern Plains has shrunk in the last 7 days but there are still a handful of areas with at least moderate drought on the plains.

The few communities that still need more water include Julesburg, Holyoke, Holly, and Campo. Only a sliver of extreme and exceptional drought (the two worst drought categories) remains near the state line with Oklahoma.

These areas have a daily chance for rain every day through at least Memorial Day including the possibly for more than 1 inch of precipitation. That could help eliminate drought in these few remaining areas in the coming weeks.

A daily chance for showers and thunderstorms will also continue in the Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins areas through the holiday weekend.