Drought in Grand Valley, Colorado

At the beginning of the month of September, the US Drought Monitor analyzed an area of Exceptional (D4) Drought as covering less than 10% of Colorado Zone 006 - Grand Valley. The remainder of the zone was under Extreme (D3) Drought conditions. With the 9/3 Drought Monitor update, the area of Exceptional (D4) Drought was removed, with 100% of the zone now under Extreme (D3) Drought conditions. With the 9/10 update, the coverage of Extreme (D3) Drought was reduced to 90%. There was significant improvement with the 9/17 update, as the coverage of Extreme (D3) Drought conditions was reduced to just 15%. These conditions remained unchanged from this point until the end of the month.

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.