Weather

Metro Denver Drought Conditions, Summer Forecast: Update

The recent rainfall along the Front Range has improved drought conditions, weather officials said.

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Frequent rainfall over the past few weeks has eased drought conditions in Denver's metro area, weather officials said.
Frequent rainfall over the past few weeks has eased drought conditions in Denver's metro area, weather officials said. (Amber Fisher/Patch)

DENVER, CO — Drought conditions in Denver's metro area have eased over the past few weeks after the recent rainfall, according to a U.S. Drought Monitor report published Thursday.

Earlier this spring, conditions fueled dangerous fire weather and red flag warnings, but now our region is classified as 'abnormally dry' — an improvement from 'moderate drought' and 'severe drought' classifications.

U.S. Drought Monitor Scale:

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  • D0: Abnormally Dry
  • D1: Moderate Drought
  • D2: Severe Drought
  • D3: Extreme Drought
  • D4: Exceptional Drought

Southern Colorado, however, continues to face extreme drought conditions, weather officials said.

Most of Denver's metro area is now under 'abnormally dry' drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Classifications: Orange means 'severe drought,' beige means 'moderate drought' and yellow means 'abnormally dry.' (U.S. Drought Monitor/NOAA)

The drought monitor is published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Drought Mitigation Center.

Find out what's happening in Denverfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The rainy weather in the Denver area isn't expected to last — Coloradans can get ready for a hotter than normal summer, with a higher than normal drought intensity and greater than normal cooling demands, according to AccuWeather's 2022 summer forecast.

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