Tag: Colorado Climate Center
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Colorado weather a ‘magnitude worse’ than historic Waldo, Black Forest fire seasons, official says
Colorado’s blistering, dry and breezy conditions have fire officials on edge as the state braces for a wildfire season forecast to be worse than during the Waldo Canyon fire in 2012. Officials warn that wildfires are becoming more frequent, more destructive and larger. “We are not looking good for fire this year,” Colorado Springs Fire…
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After ‘winter of defeat,’ Colorado hopes for wetter summer
With snowpack melt already peaking in some parts of the state and drought conditions worsening compared to last year, Colorado’s water watchers are hoping for a wetter summer, though they anticipate the situation deteriorating before getting better. Meanwhile, the governor has convened a drought task force, which was last constituted six years ago. There was…
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Eagle County leads the way in fire mitigation as winter drought deepens
In 2011, Eagle County had what it considered a robust Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), which it developed and then discussed with community leaders. But after the devastation wrought by the 2020 fire season, in which three fires — Cameron Peak, East Troublesome, and Pine Gulch — consumed nearly half a million acres, Eric Lovgren,…
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Summer monsoons improve Colorado’s drought conditions, represent ‘drops in the bucket’
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The best summer for precipitation since 2014 produced rare optimism among one of the state’s water watchers, but it is tempered with concerns about a third straight La Niña fall, which is likely to bring hotter and drier conditions. And that isn’t good for winter snowmelt,…
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Colorado’s drought situation improves, but snowfall still below normal
Colorado’s drought situation vastly improved this month compared to over a year ago, but experts worry about wildfire potential if the state doesn’t get good snow and rain in the spring, according to presentations at Thursday’s state Water Availability Task Force meeting. Last year’s poor precipitation has had a dramatic effect on reservoir storage across…
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High and Dry: Colorado in Drought — 5th generation El Paso County rancher hit with disaster
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save In the second part of our series, we follow the trials of a 5th generation cattle rancher in El Paso County facing down a near impossible plight in 2020 due to drought. (Video by Skyler Ballard) Check back Friday, March 5, 2021 for part three…
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Summer of discontent: pandemic, record heat, fires, protests and racial reckoning
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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save This was weeks before the heat. May 28, a night of American unrest. Another tumultuous moment in this time of sickness and social and political reckoning. Apryl Alexander, a leader with Black Lives Matter 5280,…
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Drought plan for 40 Colorado counties activated by Gov. Polis
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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday activated the state’s drought plan for 40 of Colorado’s 64 counties, in response to a warmer-than-average spring and far less precipitation than normal. It comes just one year after a wetter-than-average 2019 when Colorado, for the first time since tracking…