While some of Colorado saw some drought relief over the past week, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the state’s drought severity and coverage index (DSCI) score increased.

According to the weekly drought report, 1.68 percent of the state has escaped conditions described as ‘abnormally dry’ or in drought – the highest portion of the state since March 24 when 8.97 percent of the state was experiencing similar conditions. The area of relief is located on the far northeastern plains in counties of Yuma, Kit Carson, and Washington.

While that’s a bit of good news for that area, the portion of the state that falls into drought stage two to drought stage four has increased week-over-week from 79.52 percent to 81.56 percent. As of data that was collected on July 7, 10 percent of the state is now in the worst tier of drought (stage four) with about 34 percent of the state in the second-worst tier (stage three).

The worst drought is present in the state’s central mountains, including in counties of Eagle, Pitkin, Lake, and beyond, with comparable drought also present in some parts of southeast Colorado and southern Colorado.

Long story short, drought remains problematic in Colorado with hot conditions expected to persist.

The current DSCI score for Colorado is 325 on a scale that climbs to 500. Last week, it was 321 and it was at 329 the week prior.

Explore additional drought information here.

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