Littleton Drought Monitor, Long-Range Weather Forecast

LITTLETON, CO — Littleton remains drought free, according to the latest data from the National Drought Mitigation Center.

It's another story for western Colorado, which continues to face extreme drought conditions — counties such as Moffat, Rio Blanco, Garfield and Delta are busy dealing with wildfires and water restrictions.

Mother Nature has a range of weather in store for Littleton in September, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which recently released its latest long range forecast for our region.

The almanac predicts that the Front Range and High Plains regions — Littleton included — will continue to get hot, dry weather during the last week of August. The high country, however, is expected to get many showers.

Here's the long range almanac forecast for Littleton:

• Sept. 1-3: Sunny, cool
• Sept. 4-11: A few thunderstorms, turning hot
• Sept. 12-16: Sunny; warm north, cool south
• Sept. 17-24: Thunderstorms, then sunny; cool, then warm
• Sept. 25-30: Rainy periods, turning cool

The latest forecasts for Colorado predict hot and dry weather, and above-normal wildfire potential for the final few days of August.

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Planning to travel outside Colorado at the end of August? Across the nation, Mother Nature will continue to bring the heat, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac forecast.

Temperatures are predicted to be hotter than normal in the Atlantic Corridor, the eastern Great Lakes region and the Upper Midwest, south to parts of the Intermountain region in August. Parts of the Pacific Northwest, coastal California and Alaska will also continue to see warmer temperatures.

Rainfall is also expected to be greater than normal in Northeast states, the eastern Great Lakes region and much of the West Coast.

The Almanac’s weather forecast methodology comes from a secret formula that was created by its founder, Robert Thomas, in 1792. The exact prediction process remains a secret, but the periodical discloses that it uses solar science, climatology and meteorology to make its forecasts.

End-of summer temperatures are expected to rise above normal for about two-thirds of the country, especially in the south and east. Typically, the hottest summer weather occurs in late July or early August; this year's hottest temperatures could happen in late August and early September.