Colorado drought

Share of state area in drought (D1-D4) or worse, week over week

Data through Oct 13, 2026 · source last checked Oct 17, 2026 · page revised Oct 16, 2026

Cite

Colorado: 71% of area in drought (D1-D4) or worse as of Oct 13, 2026 (US Drought Monitor). The Waterline. https://the-waterline.com/drought/colorado

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<p style="font-size:12px;margin:4px 0 0">Source: <a href="https://the-waterline.com/drought/colorado?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=credit">The Waterline</a> · updates automatically</p>
<p style="font-size:11px;color:#6b6b6b;margin:2px 0 0">About this data: US Drought Monitor (National Drought Mitigation Center, USDA, NOAA) · Share of area in moderate drought (D1) or worse · Colorado · % · Conditions as of the prior Tuesday · through Oct 13, 2026</p>

Free to republish with attribution. The chart updates automatically as new data lands.

About this data

Source: US Drought Monitor (National Drought Mitigation Center, USDA, NOAA)
Series: Share of area in moderate drought (D1) or worse
Geography: Colorado
Unit: %
Calculation: Conditions as of the prior Tuesday
Last observation: Oct 13, 2026
Update frequency: Weekly, released Thursdays

Drought eased week over week (now 71%).

Colorado drought stands at 71% of state area in D1-D4 or worse, easing 17 pts over the month but sitting 30 pts above the 5-year median. Year-over-year, conditions are 35 pts worse than a year ago.

The numbers
Period	Current	Prior	Change
Week over week	71%	71%	-1 pts
Month over month	71%	88%	-17 pts
Year over year	71%	36%	+35 pts
vs 5-yr median	71%	41%	+30 pts

Drought categories on the Oct 13, 2026 map
Category	Share of area in this category	At this level or worse
D0 abnormally dry	13.6%	84.4%
D1 moderate drought	16.8%	70.8%
D2 severe drought	27.9%	54%
D3 extreme drought	17.7%	26.2%
D4 exceptional drought	8.5%	8.5%

Previous weeks

Week of Oct 6, 2026

71% of Colorado is in drought (D1-D4 or worse), down 11 percentage points on the week and down 16 points from a month ago. Against the 5-year median, the state sits 28 points above normal. Year over year, drought has grown 26 points per the US Drought Monitor.

Week of Sep 29, 2026

Colorado drought reached 82% of the state, down 3 percentage points week over week per the US Drought Monitor. The state remains 37 percentage points above its 5-year median and has worsened 37 percentage points year over year.

Week of Sep 22, 2026

Drought covered 86% of Colorado as of September 22, down 2 percentage points from the prior week. The state sits 45 percentage points above its 5-year median of 41% and 40 points above year-ago levels.

Week of Sep 8, 2026

Drought coverage in Colorado eased to 88% of the state, down 1 percentage point week over week. Coverage sits 51 points above the 5-year median and has worsened 38 points year over year.

Colorado drought conditions

Colorado has 70.8% of its area in drought (D1 or worse) on the US Drought Monitor map dated Oct 13, 2026, and 84.4% at least abnormally dry (D0 or worse). The most severe category present is D4, exceptional drought, covering 8.5% of the state.

Over the last 52 weekly maps the share in drought ranged from 29.2% (Oct 21, 2025) to 100% (Apr 28, 2026), and every one of them showed at least some drought.

This site tracks two reservoirs in Colorado: Navajo Reservoir's water level stood at 6,019.79 feet above sea level on Oct 15, 2026, with 864,313 acre-feet in storage (51% of capacity); and Blue Mesa Reservoir's water level stood at 7,412.06 feet above sea level on Oct 15, 2026, with 139,818 acre-feet in storage (15% of capacity). The drought map scores conditions on the land week by week, while a large reservoir carries water over from earlier years, so the two can tell different stories for a season or longer.

The Monitor sorts land into five categories, from D0, abnormally dry and not yet drought, to D4, exceptional drought, and this page counts D1 through D4 as drought. The guide to what D0 to D4 mean explains each class, who draws the weekly map and why it lags a fast-moving storm.