Drought — Lower Yampa River Basin, Colorado

2026-01-01 to 2026-01-07 · Lower Yampa River Basin, Colorado

Event narrative

At the beginning of the month of January, the US Drought Monitor analyzed an area of Extreme (D3) Drought covering approximately 3% of Colorado Zone 001 - Lower Yampa River Basin. The remainder of the zone saw 27% Severe (D2) Drought and 70% Moderate (D1) Drought. With the 1/7 US Drought Monitor update, the area of extreme (D3) Drought was removed from the zone, with drought now 30% Severe (D2) and 70% Moderate (D1) in the zone. No reports of damages or impacts from this drought have been received.

Wider weather episode

The winter of 2025-2026 has been, overall, a dry and warm one. And as such, drought has clung on across eastern Utah and western Colorado, especially across the Central Divide Mountains. Areas in the eastern Uinta mountains have also seen drought linger.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1310604. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.