Weekly High Plains Drought Update - February 1, 2018

This past week was dry in the High Plains, as most of the region received less than 5% of normal precipitation. With the dry conditions and continued above-normal temperatures, drought conditions persisted and worsened in the High Plains. Moderate drought (D1) conditions in northern North Dakota expanded slightly to the east, while extreme drought (D3) conditions in southern Kansas expanded westward. The severe drought (D2) and D1 conditions, also in Kansas, expanded eastward and the USDM reported that springs, wells, and ponds in the area were drying up with similar levels to the drought of 2012.

Colorado’s snowpack continued to be below normal, with the statewide average at 61% of median. The Upper Rio Grande and San Miguel/Dolores/Animas/San Juan basins remained below 50% of median. The Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) in the rest of the Colorado basins remained between 50% and 85% of median. Several basins in southern Wyoming remained below normal, but SWE was at 104% of normal for the state as a whole.

The Climate Prediction Center's 6-10 day outlook favors below-normal temperatures in parts of Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota while portions of Colorado and Wyoming have a greater likelihood of above-normal temperatures. Below-normal precipitation is also favored for Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, southern South Dakota, and most of Wyoming, while parts of North Dakota have a greater likelihood of above-normal precipitation. According to the 7-day Quantitative Precipitation Forecast, precipitation is predicted across the majority of the High Plains, while the greatest amounts of precipitation are expected in northern Colorado, western North Dakota, and northern Wyoming.