Denver area in severe drought for the first time since 2022

DENVER ( KDVR ) — Thanks to particularly dry conditions for Denver’s weather lately, the entire metro area is in severe drought conditions for the first time in nearly two years.

This year, Denver has got significantly less precipitation than in 2023. In fact, last June was nearly 17 times wetter than this June .

The lack of rainfall has resulted in dry conditions fueling multiple wildfires across the Front Range in August and now severe drought conditions in Denver.

In the last week, drought conditions have improved in some areas and gotten worse in others. Near Boulder, conditions went from extreme to severe , and conditions improved in the high county and part of the plains. Denver, on the other hand, has gone from moderate to severe, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The areas with moderate drought conditions and dry conditions have gotten smaller for the most part, though a new patch of moderate conditions popped up near Otero and Bent counties.

Use the slider below to compare last week’s drought conditions to this week’s.

According to drought monitor data, Denver County has not seen severe drought conditions since the end of September 2022.

Summer 2023 was wetter than usual in Denver, which helped sustain improved drought conditions up until the middle of June 2024 when moderate drought conditions returned to the metro area.

Pinpoint Weather Meteorologist Travis Michels said the worsening drought conditions in the Denver metro area is simply due to a lack of rain and an “exceptionally dry” summer.

“We got some storms like, a week and a half ago, which helped out Boulder because there were some big storms up there, but we haven’t had really the rain in the metro area,” Michels said. “We’ve had some storms but not really anything significant.”

Severe drought conditions have historically indicated fire danger, low water levels and reduced planting for farmers, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Michels added that the drought conditions increase fire danger. The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control recommends always checking local county resources before burning anything. You can find information specific to your area on your county’s website.

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