Drought — Central Colorado River Basin, Colorado

2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Central Colorado River Basin, Colorado

Event narrative

At the beginning of the month of September, the US Drought Monitor analyzed an area of Exceptional (D4) Drought conditions as covering roughly 75% of Colorado Zone 008- Central Colorado River Basin, with the remaining 25% of the zone under Extreme (D3) Drought conditions. The area of Exceptional (D4) Drought was removed with the 9/3 Drought Monitor update, with 100% of the zone now under Extreme (D3) Drought conditions. There was no substantial change to drought conditions from this point through 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 1295042. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.