Drought — Northwestern San Juan Mountains, Colorado

2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Northwestern San Juan Mountains, Colorado

Event narrative

At the beginning of the month of September, the US Drought Monitor analyzed an area of Extreme (D3) Drought conditions that covered roughly 1/3 of Colorado Zone 018 - Northwestern San Juan Mountains, with the remainder of the zone under Severe (D2) Drought conditions. With the 9/10 Drought Monitor update, the area of Extreme (D3) Drought conditions was reduced to 15%. With the 9/17 update, the coverage of Extreme (D3) Drought conditions was further reduced to just 10% of the zone. From this point to the end of the month, drought conditions did not substantially change.

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 1295054. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.