Colorado Climate Center

@climate.colostate.edu

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Climate monitoring, climate research, and climate services for Colorado. Based at the Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University. https://climate.colostate.edu

June 2026 Colorado Monthly Climate Summary Maximum daily precipitation (5.43" at Akron) Minimum daily temperature (21°F at Jefferson and Hebron) Flooding in Evergreen on June 24th 109 mph wind gust reported in Akron Multiple 2"+ hail reports, including near Fort Morgan and Colorado Springs Multiple major wildfires ignite throughout CO Maximum daily temperature (106°F at Pueblo, La Junta, and Ordway) US Drought Monitor for June 30, 2026 Statewide Temperature and Precipitation Ranks for June 2026 (based on 1895-2026 data) 10th warmest (above average) 17th driest (below average)
Screenshot of the interactive map of wildfires at https://climate.colostate.edu/large_wildfires.php. It shows only the fires larger than 50,000 acres, with the currently active Aspen Acres fire highlighted.
May 2026 Colorado Monthly Climate Summary Over 2ft of snow falls near Estes Park Minimum daily temperature (1°F at Long Draw Reservoir) Maximum daily precipitation (2.57" at Kirk) Maximum daily snowfall (23.1" near Allenspark) 4.5" hailstone reported near Last Chance Maximum daily temperature (97°F at Walsh, Springfield and Lamar) Sharpe Fire burns 18,000 acres and prompts evacuations in Baca County US Drought Monitor for May 26, 2026 Statewide Temperature and Precipitation Ranks for May 2026 (based on 1895-2026 data) 36th warmest (above average) 50th driest (near average) COLORADO CLIMATE CENTER
Critical Fire Weather Today through Tuesday 1. What: Critical fire weather Low relative humidity and gusty winds are expected 2. When: Today through Tuesday Each afternoon and early evening 3. Where: Western Colorado and Eastern Utah Where fuels are critical, which is most locations below 8,000 feet What's Changed Graphics have been updated to include the latest forecast. Humidity and wind graphics for Tuesday have been included. Centered Area: NWS Grand Junction, Co Fire Weather Conditions [3] Extremely Critical Critical Elevated Dry Thunderstorm Coverage 2] Scattered 1 Isolated OUTDOOR FIRES COULD QUICKLY SPREAD National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce AVOID OUTDOOR BURNING REPORT FIRES TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES For more information go to www.weather.gov/git National Weather Service Grand Junction, CO
8-14 day precipitation outlook from the NOAA Climate Prediction Center, showing increased odds for above-normal precipitation across CO.
Infographic illustrating Colorado's drought status per the US Drought Monitor. ~96% of the state is currently experiencing drought.
April 2026 Colorado Monthly Climate Summary Hard freeze causes major damage to West Slope fruit crops 70+ car pileup on I-70 during April 14 snow Maximum daily temperature (94°F at Burlington) Maximum daily snowfall (12" near Crested Butte) Flash drought conditions impact the Eastern Plains Minimum daily temperature (-1°F at Park Reservoir and Lake George) Maximum daily precipitation (2.9" at Columbine Pass) Record-low snowpack persists Statewide Temperature and Precipitation Ranks for April 2026 (based on 1895-2026 data) 13th warmest (above average) 36th driest (below average)
US Drought Monitor for March 31, 2026 for Colorado. The entire state has at least D0 (abnormally dry) conditions, with extreme to exceptional drought in most of western Colorado. From https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/.
Map showing the percent of the previous record-low April 1 SWE that was observed on April 1, 2026. Most sites have less than 50% of the previous record low. Locations where the previous record low was zero not shown. Data obtained from USDA/NRCS.
Map showing the water year with the lowest April 1 snow water equivalent at snow course sites with more than 50 years of records. Nearly all of them say "2026". Asterisks indicate years where 2026 was tied with one or more other years for record low. Data obtained from USDA/NRCS. Shaded map background is elevation.
Colorado statewide snowpack graphic, illustrating the 2026 snowpack relative to historical data. The 2026 data shows a steep drop in snow water equivalent over the past week.
Map of current CoAgMET temperatures on the afternoon of March 19, 2026. They are far above average for mid-March across the entire state. From https://coagmet.colostate.edu/
NWS graphic "Dry and Windy Thursday", showing peak gusts over 80mph in the Front Range foothills, and humidity below 20% across the eastern plains.
Quadrant chart showing temperature on the vertical axis and precipitation on the horizontal axis, with each October through February period shown for Colorado. 2026 is shown with a star, far above all the other symbols, indicating it was much warmer than any previous October through February period.
Graph showing the number of days with high temperature >= 60F at Akron, Colorado. The previous high was 20; this year had 37.
February 2026 Colorado Monthly Climate Summary statewide departure from 1901-2000 avg: +9.2°F statewide departure from 1991-2020 avg: +7.6°F statewide rank: 1st warmest/132nd coldest Warmest February on record statewide Snowpack remains lowest in over 40 years Several locations, including Denver, Fort Collins, Akron, and Colorado Springs shatter records for most 60°F+ days Multiple grass fires, including ones near Boulder, Thornton, Matheson, and Wiggins Maximum daily precipitation (1.8" at Spud Mountain) Minimum daily temperature (-27°F in Taylor Park) Maximum daily temperature (85°F in Pueblo and Campo) Maximum daily snowfall 12.5" near Bayfield) February 2026 Temperature Rank (from NCEI nclimgrid) Statewide Temperature and Precipitation Ranks for February 2026 (based on 1895-2026 data) 1st warmest (record warmest) 37th driest (below average)
US Drought Monitor for Colorado for March 3, 2026, showing over 56% of the state in drought, and over 10% in extreme drought or worse.
Graphic from National Weather Service in Boulder showing maximum wind gusts for Friday, December 19 with accompanying text: Particularly Dangerous Situation!!! Key Messages Foothills & along CO Highway 93 westward! Gusts of 85-100 mph possible from Hwy 93 corridor westward Sustained winds, in the same corridor, of 45-55 MPH. Relative humidity: 8 to 20 percent Uncertainty: If the strongest winds make it past Hwy 93/US 36
Map of maximum wind gusts from the ASOS, CoAgMET, and Northern Water networks on 17-18 December 2025.
High Impact Wind Event Increasing confidence in eastward spread of downslope winds Key Messages ● High confidence in wind gusts 80-90 mph for the mountains and foothills above 9,000’ (85% chance). ● Medium confidence in wind gusts over 75 mph for portions of the lower foothills and favored lower elevations west of I-25 (60% chance). ● Medium-low confidence in wind gusts up to 60 mph across the northern plains Wednesday evening (50% chance). ● Critical fire weather conditions expected Wednesday afternoon for the urban corridor ○ Winds can easily overcome marginal RH values ● Lull in the stronger winds on Thursday, still gusty 35-50 MPH across much of the region and cooler ● Medium confidence for another significant downslope wind event (50-60% chance) Friday with drier atmospheric conditions ● Heavier snows expected Wednesday North Park
Cover page of the November 2025 Colorado Monthly Climate Summary. It shows the extremes around the state, and that it was the 3rd-warmest and 42nd-driest November out of 131 years of records.
Map of high temperatures across Colorado on November 19, 2025, from CoAgMET and the Northern Water weather network. Highs on the eastern plains were in the 60s, and in western Colorado mainly in the 50s. From https://coagmet.colostate.edu
A classroom full of people watching a presenter, who is discussing a slide showing a CoAgMET weather station
Front page of the October 2025 Colorado Monthly Climate Summary, with a map of the monthly extremes and notable events. It was the 10th warmest and 46th wettest October.
A vivid aurora borealis
Map of daily high temperature records set on November 11, 2025 across Colorado.
Summary graphic titled "October has brought major drought improvements to Colorado". It shows the current US Drought Monitor for Colorado, the US Drought Monitor for Colorado from two weeks ago, and change in the current US Drought Monitor for Colorado over the past two weeks. There are also bullet points on the graphic reading: Recap of the last two weeks: -21.3% decrease in area experiencing severe drought (D2) or worse conditions -Three-category drought improvements across parts of the San Juans -29.2% of the state is still experiencing drought
Summary graphic titled "Colorado Drought Update". It shows the current US Drought Monitor for Colorado, change in the current US Drought Monitor for Colorado since last week, and percent area of Colorado experiencing drought.
map of CoAgMET precipitation through 10:50am MT on October 10, with stations near Durango nearing 1"
screenshot from https://climate.colostate.edu/normals_stn_select_freeze.html, showing the interactive map of the median date of the first fall freeze across Colorado.
A hydrograph showing 7-day average discharge (or streamflow) at a streamgauge site on the Colorado River near Cameo during the water year (Oct-Sep). The lines on the graph generally show gradually increasing streamflow in the spring, peak streamflow in the summer, and then decreasing streamflow in the fall. There is a line for each year of data (1934-2025), and key percentiles are highlighted. POR = period of record (92 years at this site). Data from USGS and NRCS.
A graph showing historical snow water equivalent (SWE) from Oct-Sep at Fremont Pass. There are several lines on the graph (such as historical maximum and minimum SWE at that site). All lines generally show increasing SWE from Oct to May, followed by a steep decrease in May-June during the spring melt. Data from NRCS.
View looking towards Emerald Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park in early November 2019. There is deep snow on the ground. Pine trees are scattered across the foreground and there are snow-capped peaks in the background. The sky is mostly clear and sunny.
A river with blocks of snow and ice. There are steep hills with trees on each side of the river, and the sky is partly cloudy.
Map of precipitation from CoAgMET on September 23, 2025. It shows over 1" of rain across all of northeast Colorado, with a maximum of 2.33" at Akron.
Summary graphic titled "Colorado Drought Update". It shows the current US Drought Monitor for Colorado, change in the current US Drought Monitor for Colorado since last week, and percent area of Colorado experiencing drought.
A summary flier showing a map of Colorado with the US Drought Monitor overlaid with notable climate statistics August 2025. There is a photo of a waterfall with trees behind the map and text.
US Drought Monitor for Colorado on September 2, 2025. It shows all of western Colorado in drought, with widespread D3 (extreme) drought. Eastern Colorado is nearly drought-free.
Photo of a display table with weather instruments and a mountain landscape in the background
Forecast plume of precipitable water at Grand Junction from the ECWMF ensemble prediction system. Each member is in a colored line, the mean in black, and the climatological mean and 10th/90th percentile in dashed gray. PW will be very low for the next few days before steadily increasing this weekend and through next week.
US Drought Monitor map for Colorado for August 12, 2025. There is now D4 (exceptional) drought in northwest Colorado, covering 7% of the state.
graph of the streamflow on the White River near Meeker, Colorado, showing this water year in black, and past years and percentiles in other colors. This year's value is record-low for the date, and near the all-time record low.
US Drought Monitor for Colorado for August 5, 2025. The entire northwest corner of the state is in D3 (extreme) drought. Most of eastern Colorado is drought-free.
map of monthly precipitation totals zoomed in on the Denver metro area for July 2025. There are some pale greenish dots that indicate much less than 1 inch of rain, and some dark blue ones indicating 3 or more inches around the area.
US Drought Monitor for Colorado for July 15, 2025. It shows nearly all of western Colorado in drought, including a large region of D3 (extreme) drought.
US Drought Monitor for July 1, 2025 for Colorado, showing drought across all of western Colorado, and a broad swath of D3 (extreme drought) from the western border up into northwest Colorado.
Graphs of the average number of tornado, severe hail, and severe wind reports per day in Colorado from 1955-2024. In the graph of severe wind reports at the bottom, there is a notable spike, and it is from the June 6, 2020 derecho. Graph from https://climate.colostate.edu/severe_wx_climatology.html
NOAA Weather Prediction Center 72-hour precipitation forecast through Thursday morning. It shows widespread >0.75" across Colorado, with some localized areas in southern Colorado >2".
map showing preliminary severe weather reports in Colorado for 2025 through May 15. There are many severe wind reports in northeastern Colorado from the event on May 14.
Map of precipitation in Colorado over the two days ending Wednesday morning, 7 May 2025. The gridded analysis and CoCoRaHS observations show over 1.5" across southeastern Colorado, and higher amounts west of Colorado Springs, near Cañon City, and the southern Sangre de Cristo range.
7-day precipitation forecast for Colorado from NOAA's Weather Prediction Center. Most of southern Colorado has >2" in the forecast, with over 5" on Pikes Peak. From https://climate.colostate.edu/drought/#outlook
US Drought Monitor for Colorado for April 29, 2025. Much of southern Colorado is in drought, with a new area of D3 on the western slope. There are also pockets of drought in southeastern Colorado and the northern Front Range.
Screenshot of the map at https://climate.colostate.edu/normals_stn_select_freeze.html showing the median last date of 32F or lower in Colorado. It tends to be in late April at lower elevations, and May or even June in the mountains.