Drought in Southwestern San Juan Mountains, Colorado

At the beginning of the month of April, the US Drought Monitor analyzed an area of Exceptional (D4) Drought as covering 20% of Colorado Zone 019 - Southwestern San Juan Mountains, with 78% under Extreme (D3) Drought conditions, and 2% under Severe (D2) Drought conditions. With the 4/8 US Drought Monitor update, Exceptional (D4) Drought remained at 20% coverage, but Extreme (D3) Drought coverage increased to 80% and Severe (D2) Drought coverage was reduced to 0%. With the 4/29 update, the area of Exceptional (D4) Drought was reduced to 0%, with Extreme (D3) Drought now at 40% coverage. Severe (D2) Drought was reintroduced, now covering 60% of the zone. Drought impacts are mainly felt in the loss of winter tourism due to the poor snowpack conditions, labelled as historically bad by the Colorado State Climatologist. There is also increasing concerns over the impact of the drought on the coming summer wildfire season.

The month of April saw weather closer to that expected for the time of year. While temperatures did end up being, on average, warmer than normal, the departures were significantly less compared to the month of March. The mountains saw a few solid snowfalls during the month, as well as some precipitation across the lower elevations. Areas north of I-70 generally fared the best. Locations in this region did see some improvement in drought conditions. Areas south of I-70 generally remained the same or worsened slightly.