Drought — Lower Yampa River Basin, Colorado

2025-12-01 to 2025-12-31 · Lower Yampa River Basin, Colorado

Event narrative

At the beginning of the month of December, the US Drought Monitor analyzed an area of Extreme (D3) Drought conditions in Colorado Zone 001 - Lower Yampa River Basin. This area comprised around 3% of the zone, with 27% of the zone under Severe (D2) Drought conditions, and the remainder under Moderate (D1) Drought conditions. These drought conditions did not change through the end of the month.

Wider weather episode

The month of December was generally uneventful as far as drought was concerned. Most locations remained below the Extreme (D3) Drought threshold, with only areas of the central and northern Divide mountains seeing conditions worsen. Throughout the winter season, and even back into the Fall, this area has received significantly below normal precipitation, resulting in the worsening drought.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1306898. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.