It’s been another dry week in much of Colorado, bringing some good news and some bad news.

Week-over-week, the state’s Drought Severity and Coverage Index (DSCI) score remained the same – 325, but don’t let that fool you into thinking drought didn’t get worse in some aspects. While the portion of the state that’s experiencing no abnormal dryness did rise from 1.68 percent to 2.86 percent, more of the state slipped into stage four (of four) drought, with the portion of the state at this most severe level of drought rising from 10.03 percent to 12.17 percent.

In the northeastern plains, dryness is improving, though it’s important to keep in mind that this isn’t where Colorado’s largest fires tend to take place. The state’s largest fires tend to grow in rugged mountain terrain where fighting a fire can be complicated by lack of accessibility, and that’s where drought severity increased, expanding southward down the western slope.

Drought severity had a notable uptick in Chaffee County (home to Buena Vista and Salida), with roughly 78 percent of this county now experiencing stage four drought. Meanwhile, Saguache, Mineral, and Hinsdale counties all had terrain slip into the stage four tier while previously the worst drought in this area was stage three.

Looking ahead, the National Weather Service is calling for a chance of above-norm precipitation in Colorado through August 7, so that’s good news. That said, above-norm temperatures are likely through the month of July.

Explore more drought data here.

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