Drought — Southwestern San Juan Mountains, Colorado

2025-04-01 to 2025-04-30 · Southwestern San Juan Mountains, Colorado

Event narrative

A sliver of Extreme (D3) drought conditions appeared in far eastern Archuleta County, along the southern San Juan Mountains. This amounted to less than 0.5% of the entire CWA. This area of D3 remained unchanged through the month, with Moderate (D1) and Severe (D2) conditions filling in the remainder of the zone.

Wider weather episode

An unusually dry winter and underperforming snowpack combined with a lack of precipitation across the lower elevations during the spring months to reintroduce drought to Western Colorado. By late April, the first widespread drought conditions of Extreme (D3) or greater category appeared.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1257802. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.