Colorado drought persists despite forecast of a Super El Niño

State climatologist Russ Schumacher says Colorado is heading into one of its strongest El Niño summers, which should bring above‑average monsoon moisture but is not enough to lift the state out of drought. The Water Conditions Monitoring Committee warned that while the monsoon could be wetter, the dry conditions and record‑high temperatures driven by climate change will likely continue.

The state declared a drought emergency on June 4. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows 99.4 % of Colorado in drought, with nearly 9 % in exceptional status, especially in the northwest. Snowpack is the lowest on record, and reservoirs are hovering around 75‑81 % of median capacity, with some local systems near 96 %.

Colorado supplies water to 19 downstream states and Mexico; about 60 % of the water that originates in the Rockies flows out of state. Water use is dominated by agriculture (≈90 % of withdrawals), while municipal use is only about 7 %. The state relies on more than 27 trans‑mountain diversions to move water from the western slope to the Front Range.