Colorado’s drought situation has again worsened with 98 percent of the state now experiencing drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

While this is a slight uptick above the 95 percent of the state that was experiencing drought the week prior, what’s more concerning is the portion of the state that’s now experiencing ‘drought stage two’ or worse. As of an April 16 report, the portion of the state at ‘drought stage two’ or worse is 83 percent. This is a jump from 67 percent that was reported the week prior. Even more concerning is that 22 percent of the state is experiencing the most severe stage of drought – drought stage four, which was the same week-over-week, but has climbed from one percent over the past three months.

The U.S. Drought Monitor uses a ‘drought severity and coverage index’ score to depict the overall situation, with this score now at a 357 at the statewide level. The last time the state’s DSCI score was that high was March 2021, though a decline started around mid-March during that year. By April 2021, the score had dropped to 301 and by May 2021, it was at 271. At the end of December 2025, Colorado’s DSCI score was 127, showing how much worse it has gotten over the dry winter.

While the drought situation is grim, there’s a chance some improvement could be seen in upcoming weeks, with the National Weather Service expecting a likelihood of wetter-than-normal conditions in Colorado through March 15.

As has been the case for the entirety of spring, the worst widespread drought has been present in the northwest quadrant of the state, with many counties in this region being fully in drought stage four including popular spots for outdoor recreation like Pitkin, Eagle, Routt, and Summit counties. Grand County is close to being fully at drought stage four, as well.

Explore more drought data here.

STAY INFORMED: Get free Colorado news with our daily newsletter (Click here)