Drought — Elkhead and Park Mountains, Colorado

2026-01-21 to 2026-01-31 · Elkhead and Park Mountains, Colorado

Event narrative

With the 1/21 update of the US Drought Monitor, Extreme (D3) Drought had developed in Colorado Zone 004 - Elkhead and Park Mountains. This area of Extreme (D3) Drought covered 25% of the zone, with 40% of the zone under Severe (D2) Drought conditions, and the remaining 35% of the zone under Moderate (D1) Drought conditions. These conditions remained unchanged through the end of the month. No reports of impacts or damages related to the drought in this zone have been received.

Wider weather episode

As the month of January continued to be generally drier and warmer than normal, drought began to expand outward from the core of Exceptional (D4) Drought in the central Colorado Divide.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1310609. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.