COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Nearly 98% of Colorado is experiencing moderate or worse drought conditions, leading to intense fire threats and the potential for the earliest full snowpack melt on record.
Colorado's snowpack continues to decline, driving an extreme fire threat and intense warnings across the state's mountain zones.
Nearly 98% of Colorado's land area is currently in a moderate or worse drought.
The only areas avoiding these conditions are southern El Paso County, northern Pueblo County, and a small sliver of land on the plains.
The lack of snowpack is a major reason for the intense fire threats, including 'Particularly Dangerous Situation' warnings.
While snow last Friday temporarily slowed the decline, well-above-average temperatures this week are rapidly depleting the snowpack.
This rapid depletion could lead to Colorado's earliest-ever full snowpack melt.
Last week, the Arkansas basin was at 11% of average. This week, every basin in the state is down yet again. These percentages are relative to the average snowpack for the date, meaning the snowpack is dropping faster than it would in an average year.
A La Niña weather pattern drove much of the dry weather, but that pattern has now fully eroded. The Climate Prediction Center shows above-average precipitation is possible around the end of April into the beginning of May.
However, rain and snow do not have the same impacts on drought.
While beneficial rainfall is helpful, the state would need a significant amount of moisture to escape the current dangerous situation.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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