Parts of the Mountain West have been tangled up in long-term drought and it doesn’t look like it’s lifting anytime soon.
Nearly all of Utah and two-thirds of Colorado are in some form of drought, according to the latest numbers from the federal U.S. Drought Monitor.
David Simeral is a climatologist with the Western Regional Climate Center in Reno. Simeral says hot temperatures increased evaporation reducing the amount of moisture that might have soaked into the ground from summer rains.
“We had a warm winter last year and temperatures were above normal in the summertime as well, so the soil columns were very dry,” Simeral says.
The National Weather Service’s three-month forecast shows a chance for above-average precipitation for Colorado and southern Utah. But Simeral says it’ll likely be warmer than normal as well.
“We’re looking at above normal temperatures across the winter in general,” he says.
About a quarter of Idaho is in some form of drought, while Wyoming is just starting to see dry conditions creep in.
Clarification: High temperatures helped evaporate some rain that fell in our region over the past year, but other factors, like low humidity, played a role, too.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUER in Salt Lake City and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.
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