Drought intensifies across Colorado and Oklahoma

Severe drought conditions are intensifying across parts of the central and south-central United States. In Colorado, exceptional drought—the most severe category—has expanded to cover 13 percent of the state, primarily anchored in the central mountains. Combined extreme and exceptional drought now affects 47 percent of Colorado, the highest level recorded for the current water year.

Colorado’s SNOTEL network indicates that water-year-to-date precipitation is averaging only 75 percent of the 1991-2020 median. Some specific sites reported levels as low as 43 percent of the median.

In Oklahoma, exceptional drought has expanded to cover 13.13 percent of the state, with moderate to extreme drought conditions affecting 100 percent of the area. While some rain provided minor relief in central Oklahoma, the state remains entirely within drought conditions.

Broadly, flash drought conditions have continued to move from Texas northeast toward the Mississippi River Valley, supported by warmer-than-normal temperatures in the Great Plains and Corn Belt.