How Did Colorado Get Here? Understanding the Drought Emergency in the Headwaters State

How did Colorado get here? Understanding the drought emergency in the headwaters state

Despite May bringing near normal precipitation and temperatures to the state, June has gotten off to a hot and dry start, spiraling Colorado into drought conditions.  Understanding more about Colorado’s hydrology is critical to understanding how the drought developed — and got bad enough that the state declared it an emergency on June 4 — and why not even a “super El Nino” can revive conditions this summer.  How and where the headwaters state ge…

Colorado Drought Officially Declared as Statewide Emergency

Dillon Reservoir, Summit County, 2026 low water year. | Image: CBS News It’s no secret that it’s been dry across the West. Colorado, in particular, had a record-breaking low snowpack year, causing Gov. Polis to activate a Phase 1 Drought Task Force in March. Ongoing drought conditions into summer have prompted Gov. Polis to declare a statewide emergency. At the beginning of June, Phase 3 of Colorado’s Drought Response Plan was launched by the Go…