Colorado is experiencing increasingly severe drought conditions according to the latest data released Thursday by the National Drought Mitigation Center, with approximately 45 percent of the state now in D1 (Moderate Drought) or higher classifications. A comparison to last week’s Drought Monitor reveals an escalation in severity along the northern tier of the state, and parts of the central mountains.

Data Insights & Last Week's Comparison

This week’s data, valid as of May 6, shows a significant shift compared to the previous week. Here’s how the categories stack up:

• None: Decreased from 38.54 percent last week to 25.43 percent this week as more areas shifted into drought conditions
• D0 (Abnormally Dry): Increased from 17.73 percent last week to 29.87 percent this week – a notable rise of 12.14 percentage points.
• D1 (Moderate Drought): Increased to 28.22 percent from 26.47 percent from the previous week.
• D2 (Severe Drought): Decreased slightly from 13.46 percent last week to 12.67 percent this week – a decrease of 0.79 percentage points.
• D3 (Extreme Drought): Remained at 3.81 percent - no change from the previous week.
• D4 (Exceptional Drought): None

Abnormally dry conditions expanded to nearly all of northwest Colorado, particularly in Rio Blanco, Moffat, Routt, and Jackson counties. Northeast Colorado, including Phillips, Sedgwick, Yuma, and portions of northern Washington County, experienced a similar shift from drought-free to abnormally dry conditions.

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Moderate drought expanded in central Colorado, including portions of Park, Fremont, and Teller counties. Logan and northwest Weld counties also sawn and expansion in moderate drought.

An estimated 850,000 people in Colorado live in drought-impacted areas.

One year ago, conditions in the state were much more favorable. Nearly 56 percent of the area was drought-free, with another 33 percent in abnormally dry conditions. Just over ten percent of the state was experiencing moderate or severe drought – the worst levels at the time.

Editor’s note: Portions of this article have been augmented with the assistance of Large Language Models for analysis, with human review, editing, and original material.