Drought in Upper Gunnison River Valley, Colorado

The status of the drought remained largely unchanged across the zone through the month of August. Abnormally dry to moderate (D0 to D1) drought continued over the eastern portion of the zone with severe (D2) drought over the central portions. The extreme (D3) drought improved to the severe category over the far northwest portion of the zone by the end of the month.

Monsoon moisture advected into the region during the month of August. This led to cooler and unsettled conditions and brought some much needed precipitation to the Western Slope. As a result, drought conditions improved by one or more categories across some zones by the end of the month.