Drought in Lower Yampa River Basin, Colorado

At the beginning of the month of October, the US Drought Monitor analyzed an area of Extreme (D3) Drought that covered roughly 30% of Colorado Zone 001 - Lower Yampa River Basin, with the remainder of the zone under Severe (D2) conditions. With the 10/14 Drought Monitor update, significant improvements were noted. Coverage of Extreme (D3) Drought was reduced to 10%, with Severe (D2) Drought covering roughly 40% of the zone, and the introduction of Moderate (D1) conditions that now covered roughly 50% of the zone. With the 10/21 update, there was no change to the coverage of Extreme (D3) conditions, but the coverage of Severe (D2) Drought was reduced to 30%, with 60% of the zone now under Moderate (D1) Drought conditions. There was no change from this point through the end of the month.

A dry end to September and a dry start to October kept drought conditions consistent across much of eastern Utah and western Colorado at the start of the month. However, the arrival of deep tropical moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storms Priscilla and Raymond helped to substantially improve drought conditions, especially across southwest Colorado. In this region, drought was completely eradicated. Only portions of northeast Utah and northwest Colorado, where the deep tropical moisture did not reach, saw drought conditions persist more or less unchanged.