Drought — San Juan River Basin, Colorado

2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · San Juan River Basin, Colorado

Event narrative

At the beginning of the month of September, the US Drought Monitor analyzed an area of Extreme (D3) Drought that covered roughly 50% of Colorado Zone 023 - San Juan River Basin, with the remainder of the zone under Severe (D2) Drought conditions. With the 9/17 Drought Monitor update, the area of Extreme (D3) Drought coverage was reduced to less than 10% of the zone. Then with the 9/24 update, the area of Extreme (D3) Drought coverage was reduced further to just 5% of the zone. From this point to the end of the month, there were no substantial changes to drought conditions.

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 1295058. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.