Is Colorado in a drought?
This week's U.S. Drought Monitor for Colorado, and the category in each of its 64 counties, from the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Yes, in part: 70.82% of Colorado is in drought (D1 to D4).
84.38% is at least abnormally dry (D0 to D4), 54.04% in severe drought or worse (D2 to D4), 26.16% extreme or worse (D3 to D4) and 8.47% in D4 Exceptional Drought.
Next map: released Thursday 22 October 2026.
On the map valid 13 October 2026, 57 of 64 counties had some drought (D1 or worse); 6 more were abnormally dry (D0) only. D4 Exceptional Drought somewhere in 19. D3 Extreme Drought somewhere in 20. D2 Severe Drought somewhere in 11.
Every county, map valid 13 October 2026
The category is the most severe one covering any part of the county; the share says how much of it. "Weeks" counts the weekly maps in a row with that category or worse somewhere in it.
| County | Category this week | Share in it | In drought (D1–D4) | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 2.13% | 62.18% | 4 weeks |
| Alamosa County | D3 Extreme Drought | 14.09% | 100% | 21 weeks |
| Arapahoe County | D2 Severe Drought | 24.91% | 36.93% | 46 weeks |
| Archuleta County | D1 Moderate Drought | 99.74% | 99.74% | 39 weeks |
| Baca County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 80.54% | 0% | 35 weeks |
| Bent County | None | 0% | 2 weeks | |
| Boulder County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 24.07% | 100% | 4 weeks |
| Broomfield County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 100% | 100% | 4 weeks |
| Chaffee County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 75.31% | 100% | 29 weeks |
| Cheyenne County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 5.23% | 0% | 30 weeks |
| Clear Creek County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 0.01% | 100% | 30 weeks |
| Conejos County | D2 Severe Drought | 88.64% | 100% | 31 weeks |
| Costilla County | D3 Extreme Drought | 1.66% | 100% | 31 weeks |
| Crowley County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 99.99% | 0% | at least 54 weeks |
| Custer County | D3 Extreme Drought | 30.83% | 100% | 29 weeks |
| Delta County | D3 Extreme Drought | 11.24% | 99.99% | 30 weeks |
| Denver County | D3 Extreme Drought | 0.15% | 100% | 2 weeks |
| Dolores County | D2 Severe Drought | 64.65% | 95.97% | 36 weeks |
| Douglas County | D3 Extreme Drought | 39.08% | 99.99% | 15 weeks |
| Eagle County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 99.7% | 100% | 43 weeks |
| El Paso County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 11.16% | 87.82% | 5 weeks |
| Elbert County | D2 Severe Drought | 1% | 9.42% | 18 weeks |
| Fremont County | D3 Extreme Drought | 86.6% | 100% | 18 weeks |
| Garfield County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 3.99% | 100% | 43 weeks |
| Gilpin County | D3 Extreme Drought | 38.86% | 100% | 30 weeks |
| Grand County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 53.8% | 100% | 30 weeks |
| Gunnison County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 21.72% | 99.99% | 29 weeks |
| Hinsdale County | D3 Extreme Drought | 8.21% | 99.8% | 30 weeks |
| Huerfano County | D3 Extreme Drought | 1.12% | 100% | 31 weeks |
| Jackson County | D3 Extreme Drought | 10.9% | 100% | 41 weeks |
| Jefferson County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 2.03% | 100% | 4 weeks |
| Kiowa County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 34.78% | 0% | 30 weeks |
| Kit Carson County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 37.49% | 0% | 42 weeks |
| La Plata County | D2 Severe Drought | 5.91% | 69.15% | 36 weeks |
| Lake County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 100% | 100% | 41 weeks |
| Larimer County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 25.92% | 100% | 2 weeks |
| Las Animas County | D3 Extreme Drought | 1.83% | 54.01% | 31 weeks |
| Lincoln County | D1 Moderate Drought | 1.5% | 1.5% | 29 weeks |
| Logan County | D1 Moderate Drought | 11.19% | 11.19% | 41 weeks |
| Mesa County | D3 Extreme Drought | 47.82% | 97.03% | 30 weeks |
| Mineral County | D3 Extreme Drought | 1.31% | 99.99% | 30 weeks |
| Moffat County | D3 Extreme Drought | 6.49% | 100% | 37 weeks |
| Montezuma County | D2 Severe Drought | 89.8% | 99.76% | 30 weeks |
| Montrose County | D3 Extreme Drought | 2.11% | 85.83% | 15 weeks |
| Morgan County | D2 Severe Drought | 17.65% | 98.75% | 2 weeks |
| Otero County | D1 Moderate Drought | 3.75% | 3.75% | 31 weeks |
| Ouray County | D2 Severe Drought | 2.02% | 99.72% | 30 weeks |
| Park County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 33.49% | 100% | 41 weeks |
| Phillips County | D1 Moderate Drought | 32.21% | 32.21% | 41 weeks |
| Pitkin County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 80.25% | 100% | 43 weeks |
| Prowers County | D0 Abnormally Dry | 9.57% | 0% | 34 weeks |
| Pueblo County | D3 Extreme Drought | 4.44% | 74.67% | 16 weeks |
| Rio Blanco County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 0.11% | 100% | 30 weeks |
| Rio Grande County | D3 Extreme Drought | 1.38% | 100% | 30 weeks |
| Routt County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 26.44% | 99.99% | 30 weeks |
| Saguache County | D3 Extreme Drought | 98.37% | 100% | 30 weeks |
| San Juan County | D2 Severe Drought | 2.76% | 22.99% | 36 weeks |
| San Miguel County | D2 Severe Drought | 38.21% | 98.02% | 36 weeks |
| Sedgwick County | D2 Severe Drought | 8.74% | 60.75% | 39 weeks |
| Summit County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 87.85% | 100% | 41 weeks |
| Teller County | D3 Extreme Drought | 13.6% | 100% | 14 weeks |
| Washington County | D1 Moderate Drought | 8.81% | 8.81% | 3 weeks |
| Weld County | D4 Exceptional Drought | 7.04% | 83.79% | 4 weeks |
| Yuma County | D1 Moderate Drought | 13.8% | 13.8% | 5 weeks |
Natural disaster risk in Colorado by county · Drought in every state
The categories
| Category | Name |
|---|---|
| D0 | Abnormally Dry (not drought: going into or coming out of drought) |
| D1 | Moderate Drought |
| D2 | Severe Drought |
| D3 | Extreme Drought |
| D4 | Exceptional Drought |
What each category means on the ground is described on the Drought Monitor's classification page.
How this page reads the Drought Monitor
- The figures are the U.S. Drought Monitor's own statistics (share of area in each category), read from its data service. The categories are theirs, unchanged. This site does not make its own drought assessment.
- The Drought Monitor gives each county a share in each category. A county's category here is the most severe one covering any part of it, with the share it covers. "Weeks" counts the weekly maps in a row, newest first, on which some of the county was at that category or worse.
- A new map is released every Thursday, valid for the Tuesday before. Every figure here carries that valid date. This site reads the new week once, after the Thursday release, and keeps it.
- Counties are matched to the Drought Monitor by their five-digit FIPS code. Connecticut is shown by its nine planning regions, which replaced its eight counties in 2022; the Drought Monitor's county statistics use the same planning regions.
The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC.
Source: U.S. Drought Monitor, droughtmonitor.unl.edu · The official map for Colorado · Drought Monitor data tables · drought.gov current conditions · NOAA seasonal drought outlook
Questions
Is Colorado in a drought right now?
On the U.S. Drought Monitor valid 13 October 2026, 70.82% of Colorado is in drought (D1 to D4) and 84.38% is at least abnormally dry (D0 to D4). 54.04% is in D2 Severe Drought or worse.
Which counties in Colorado are in the worst drought?
This week the most severe category in Colorado is D4 Exceptional Drought, in Adams County, Boulder County, Broomfield County, Chaffee County, Clear Creek County, Eagle County, El Paso County, Garfield County and 11 more.
How is a county's category chosen on this page?
The U.S. Drought Monitor gives the share of each county in each category. This page names the most severe category covering any part of the county, and always says how much of the county it covers.