Weekly High Plains Drought Update - March 15, 2018

The High Plains had another dry week, leading to an expansion of extreme drought (D3) conditions from southwestern Kansas westward into Colorado, while severe drought (D2) conditions in eastern Kansas expanded as well. The D2 conditions in western North Dakota expanded in areal coverage, as well as the moderate drought (D1) conditions in northern Kansas, which expanded northward into Nuckolls County, Nebraska. Reports of strong winds, enhanced wildfire potential, and erosion led the Governor of Kansas to make an official drought declaration for the state.

Wyoming snowpack remained above 100% median this week, but due to a continued lack of precipitation, Colorado’s snowpack conditions degraded slightly. As of March 15th, the statewide Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) percentage was 67% of median. The following includes specific updates on SWE by basin in Colorado: Arkansas (57%), Upper Colorado (77%), Gunnison (56%), North Platte and Laramie (86%), San Miguel, Dolores, Animas, and San Juan (48%), South Platte (81%), Upper Rio Grande (51%), and Yampa and White (77%). 

The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center’s 6 - 10 day outlook favors cooler than normal temperatures in the northern High Plains, with the likelihood of above-normal temperatures in the southwestern High Plains. Southern Kansas and eastern Colorado are also favored to receive below-normal precipitation, while above-normal precipitation is favored for much of the rest of the High Plains. The 7-day Quantitative Precipitation Forecast is also predicting precipitation across a majority of the High Plains, with the highest amounts expected in northern Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and eastern Wyoming.