The state of Colorado has jumped to a score of 323 on the drought severity and coverage index, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, significantly higher than a week prior when the score was 254. Headed into 2026, that number was at 127 – still high, but significantly lower compared to now.

While the entirety of the state is now ‘abnormally dry’ as of data published on March 31, roughly 89 percent of the state is dry enough to be considered in drought – the highest share of the state since May of 2022 and an area that’s home to an estimated 4.157 million Coloradans. The previous week, drought encompassed 74 percent of the state.

Also concerning is that much of the state is experiencing higher tiers of drought – about 22 percent of the state is at the fourth and worst tier, ‘exceptional drought,’ while about 27 percent of the state is at tier three (‘extreme drought’) and 16 percent of the state is at tier two (‘severe drought’). As far as stage four drought goes, just six percent of the state was at this most-severe stage of drought the previous week – roughly a 269% week-over-week uptick.

The worst drought is present in the northwest quadrant of the state, including key outdoor recreation counties of Pitkin, Summit, Eagle, Routt, Grand, and Garfield. Multiple counties in this region are entirely at stage four ‘exceptional’ drought. One key exception in terms of drought is the heavily-populated El Paso County, home to Colorado Springs, which is still considered ‘abnormally dry.’

While a bit more April snow might be on the way, the current snowpack situation remains at a record-setting low in Colorado – at about 24 percent of what’s typical for the date on the statewide level and more on par with what tends to be expected by May 29.

One thing to be hopeful about is that the NOAA is largely calling for Colorado to have relatively normal levels of precipitation through May 1 – above-norm in some select regions, too. While that won’t mean much for snowpack, any moisture comes much needed at this point.

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