It's no secret that drought conditions continue to worsen for Colorado, especially in the mountains. 100% of the state is now under some kind of drought. 21% of the state is experiencing exceptional conditions, which is the worst kind of conditions that we can see for drought.
Closer to southern Colorado, Colorado Springs is actually right at normal for the yearly precipitation amount. This can be a little deceiving with ongoing drought conditions. This is thanks to a winter storm that brought 9.4 inches of snowfall in a single day to the area. This gave the Springs a big boost to kick off the year. Since then, precipitation has been few and far between.
Place like Pueblo are now below average for their yearly precipitation at only 1.78". They normally have 1.95", which means they are down by 0.17" of precipitation.
Now, let's look at a place like Leadville where conditions are concerning. Normally, April has the third most precipitation for Leadville. This has not been the case and this month, they have only picked up 0.22". By the end of the month, they normally have 4.28 inches, but they only have 2.08". That means Leadville would need over two inches of precipitation to catch up.
Even though rain is in the forecast, the Climate Prediction Center's outlook shows dry conditions lasting throughout the rest of the month.
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