Drought — Lower Yampa River Basin, Colorado

2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Lower Yampa River Basin, Colorado

Event narrative

At the beginning of the month of September, the US Drought Monitor analyzed an around 10% area of Exceptional (D4) Drought in Colorado Zone 001 - Lower Yampa River Basin, with the remainder of the zone under Extreme (D3) Drought conditions. With the 9/3 Drought Monitor update, the area of Exception (D4) Drought was removed, with the entire zone now under Extreme (D3) conditions. With the 9/17 update, there was significant improvement, with the area of Extreme (D3) Drought conditions reduced to covering only 1/3 of the zone. The 9/24 update saw yet more improvement, with Extreme (D3) conditions reduced to covering just 25% of the zone. There was no change from that point to the end of the month.

Wider weather episode

The month of September continued to run above normal in terms of temperatures, and below normal in terms of precipitation. However, there were a few periods of heavy rain across the region, particularly around September 12th, and again at the end of the month, which helped to improve drought conditions across the region. A dry end to the month did allow for some worsening drought around the Four Corners.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1295007. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.