The spring season began Wednesday, March 20 at 5:02 a.m. MDT. Unless the season brings significant spring showers, Colorado’s drought conditions will persist.
Winter storms did little this year to improve drought conditions across Colorado. State Climatologist Nolan Doesken says, as a result, the state is drier than average for this time of year.
“All along we’ve said we’ve only had a 10 percent chance of recovering to a near normal year and a 90 percent chance that we would end up below average,” said Doesken in a statement.
Colorado’s drought statistics as of the week of March 18:
- 89 percent of the state in severe or worse drought
- 48 percent of the state in extreme or worse drought
- 21 percent of the state listed as exceptional drought
“Even with a couple of decent late winter storms, mountain snowpack remains low and we haven’t come close to replenishing our depleted soil moisture," said Doesken.
The month of March has been cooler than last year though. Doesken says temperatures in March 2012 were in the 70's at lower elevations and in the 50's and 60's in the mountains.
