Intermountain West Climate Dashboard
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The Intermountain West Climate Dashboard provides situational awareness of climate, drought, and water resources for Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.
Click the question mark icon above each graphic to see the description of that graphic.
Weekly or monthly summaries of evolving climate, drought, and water conditions for the Intermountain West are also available from these providers:
- Colorado Climate Center/NIDIS Intermountain West Drought Status Briefings
- NOAA CBRFC Water Supply Briefings for the Colorado River Basin and Great Basin - monthly, January through May
- NRCS Water Supply Outlook Reports for Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming - monthly, January through May/June
Temperature, Precipitation and Snowpack
Drought Conditions
Current Streamflow, Forecasted Streamflow
Soil Moisture
Reservoir Storage
Precipitation Forecast
Seasonal Climate Outlooks
ENSO Conditions and Forecasts
Latest Briefing
April 8, 2025 - CO, UT, WY
With the snow accumulation portion of the 2025 water year drawing to a close, snowpack in much of the region was near average, except for southern Colorado, southern Utah and northeastern Wyoming where snowpack ranged from 50-80% of average. Above average precipitation in northern Utah and much of Wyoming added to snowpack during March and caused the removal of drought conditions from the Wasatch Front and northern and central Wyoming. A late-March rain/snow event produced record precipitation along the northern Front Range and Eastern Plains and alleviated drought. Seasonal streamflow volume forecasts vary from much below average in southern Utah and southwestern Colorado to near average forecasts for more northerly river basins such as the Colorado headwaters, Yampa, North Platte and Bighorn River Basins. The streamflow volume for Lake Powell’s inflow is forecasted at 67% of average.
March precipitation was near-to-above average in Wyoming and much of Utah. Below average March precipitation fell across much of Colorado and southeastern Utah. In northern Utah, March precipitation was 130-200% of average and large areas of Wyoming received 130-300% of average March precipitation. Parts of southern Colorado and southeastern Utah received less than 50% of average March precipitation, further worsening drought conditions. Six long-term weather monitoring sites in eastern Colorado received record-low March precipitation.
March temperatures were mostly above average. In Utah and southwestern Colorado, March temperatures were within two degrees of average. March temperatures in other parts of Colorado and Wyoming were two to six degrees above average.
April 1 snow water equivalent (SWE) was near average for much of Wyoming, northern Colorado and northern Utah, ranging from 90% in the Lower Green to 110% in the Upper Snake River Basins. In southern Colorado and southern Utah, April 1 SWE was below to much below average, ranging from 44% in the Virgin to 80% in the Gunnison River Basins. On a statewide basis, SWE was near average in Utah (92%) and Wyoming (100%), but below average in Colorado (84%). In southwestern Utah, eight Snotel sites at elevations ranging from 6,000-8,900 feet have completely melted, which is 14 to 34 days earlier than average.
Spatial estimates of SWE on March 31, provided by INSTAAR at the University of Colorado, show lower estimates of SWE relative to average for all river basins except Wyoming’s Bighorn, Snake and Yellowstone Basins. The lower percent average SWE from spatial SWE estimates compared to Snotel-derived SWE is largely due to the inclusion of low elevation snowpack in the spatial SWE estimates which is not well-represented in the Snotel network. Snowpack at elevations below Snotel sites was generally low in 2025 due to higher snow levels and periods of warm sunny weather in March. The entire Spatial SWE report for 3/31/25 can be downloaded here.
April 1 seasonal (April-July) streamflow volume forecasts were near-to-below average across the region. In general, seasonal streamflow volume forecasts were near average in the North and below or much below average in the South. In the Upper Colorado River Basin, near average streamflow volumes are forecasted for the Colorado Headwaters (90%) and the Yampa (94%); below average streamflow volumes for the Upper Green (80%), Lower Green (80%) and Gunnison (85%); and much below average streamflow volume for the Dolores (55%) and San Juan (48%). Seasonal streamflow is forecasted at 67% of average for Lake Powell. In the Missouri River Basin, near average seasonal streamflow volumes are forecasted for the Bighorn and North Platte River Basins, and below average streamflow is forecasted for the Arkansas, Cheyenne, Powder, South Platte and Tongue River Basins. Note: both NRCS and the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC) provide seasonal streamflow forecasts for the Upper Colorado River Basin and these forecasts occasionally differ due to differences in streamflow forecasting models. For example, the April 1, 2025 seasonal streamflow forecast for the Upper Green River at Flaming Gorge is 80% from the CBRFC and 94% from the NRCS.
On April 1, drought conditions covered 54% of the region, a 2% regional decline from February 25. Significant expansion of drought in Colorado during March was offset by the removal of drought conditions along the Wasatch Front in northern Utah and in northern and central Wyoming. Extreme drought conditions were removed from the Snake and Powder River Basins and the area of severe drought contracted during March. Drought conditions expanded and became more severe in western Colorado and drought conditions emerged in both central and southeastern Colorado during March.
Pacific Ocean temperatures were near average in March, ENSO is currently in a neutral phase, and there is a greater than 50% probability of ENSO-neutral conditions continuing through early fall. The NOAA monthly outlook for April suggests an increased probability of below average precipitation and above average temperatures across most of Colorado and Utah. The NOAA Seasonal Precipitation Outlook (April-June) indicates an increased probability of below average precipitation for the entire region, especially in Utah and western Colorado. There is also an increased probability of above average temperatures for Colorado, Utah and southwestern Wyoming during April-June.
Significant weather event: Record Front Range precipitation. After a dry January-March, record precipitation fell across the northern Front Range and Eastern Plains of Colorado on March 29-30. Rain fell for most of the event at lower elevations with wet snow accumulating in the foothills. Daily precipitation records were set on March 29 in Boulder (1.41”), Brighton (0.46”), Eastonville (0.70”), Greeley (0.60”), Longmont (0.66”) and Winter Park (0.76”) and two-day precipitation records were set on March 29-30 at 11 locations with more than 50 years of data. Notably, more rain fell on March 29-30 than in all of 2025 at 18 locations. The late March rain and snow event caused a one-category improvement in drought conditions, including the removal of all drought and abnormally dry conditions across a large swath of northeastern Colorado. An area of extreme drought was also removed from Larimer County.
March 7, 2025 - CO, UT, WY
Northern Colorado, northern Utah and western Wyoming received above average February precipitation resulting in near average SWE conditions on March 1 for those regions. High temperatures and low precipitation in February led to below average SWE conditions in southern Colorado, southern Utah and northeastern Wyoming. Seasonal streamflow volume forecasts are below to much below average for all Colorado and Great Basin rivers except the headwaters of the Colorado and Yampa Rivers. Regional drought coverage in late February remained at 56% of the region with extreme drought persisting in southwestern Utah, and parts of Wyoming.
February precipitation was near to above average in northern Utah, western Wyoming and the northern Colorado mountains. The remainder of the region experienced below to much-below average February precipitation with much of central and southern Utah, central Wyoming and parts of southern Colorado seeing less than 50% of average monthly precipitation. Portions of northern Utah and western Wyoming received greater than 150% of average precipitation. Interestingly, isolated areas of northern Wyoming, separated by a mere hundred miles, experienced record wet and record dry February conditions.
February temperatures were above average in the western portion of the region and below average over the Eastern Plains of Colorado and Wyoming. February temperatures were generally 3-6 degrees above average in Utah and record hot February temperatures were observed in Bullfrog Basin near Lake Powell and in Provo. In Colorado, West Slope February temperatures were 3-9 degrees above average and Alamosa experienced a record hot February. Eastern Colorado temperatures were up to 6 degrees below average. In Wyoming, the southwestern portion of the state experienced temperatures up to 9 degrees above average and northern Wyoming was extremely cold with temperatures 9 to 15 degrees below average. In Afton, Riverton and Shoshoni, February average maximum temperatures were the coldest on record.
Strong storms in early and mid-February led to increases in snow water equivalent (SWE) in Wyoming, northern Colorado and northern Utah where March 1 SWE was near average. Below average February snowfall caused decreases in SWE relative to average in southern Colorado, southern Utah and northeastern Wyoming, further reducing SWE relative to March 1 averages. The largest February increases in SWE relative to average occurred in the Bear, Upper Green, Jordan, Snake and Weber River Basins. The largest February decreases in SWE relative to average occurred in the Arkansas, Belle Fouche and Cheyenne River Basins. SWE conditions remain extremely low in southern Utah and southwestern Colorado. Record low March 1 SWE was observed at 9 Snotel sites in southern Utah and 2 Snotel sites in southern Colorado.
(Left figure: The +/- numbers represent March 1 SWE relative to average and the change since February 1.)
Seasonal streamflow volume forecasts are near average in the headwaters of the Colorado and Yampa Rivers. Below to much below seasonal streamflow volumes are forecasted for all other Colorado and Great Basin rivers. Below average (70-90%) seasonal streamflow volumes are forecasted for the Animas, Bear, Gunnison, Lower Green, Price, Provo and Six Creeks River Basins. Much below average (<70%) seasonal streamflow volumes are forecasted for the Dolores, Duchesne, Upper Green, San Juan and Virgin Rivers. Near record-low streamflow volume is forecasted for the Sevier River.
As of February 26, the region was 56% covered by drought, unchanged in total area from early February. During February, there was a reduction in the area covered by moderate, severe and extreme drought in northern and central Wyoming. In central Utah, there was also a reduction in the coverage of moderate drought conditions. In Colorado, moderate drought conditions expanded upstream along the Colorado River and extreme drought conditions developed in the Rio Grande headwaters.
Weak La Niña conditions persisted in February as Pacific Ocean temperatures remained slightly below normal. There is a 50% probability of neutral or La Niña conditions for February-April and a greater than 60% chance of neutral ENSO conditions developing through early summer. NOAA seasonal forecasts suggest equal chances of above or below average precipitation and temperatures for March. In March-May, NOAA seasonal forecasts suggest an increased probability for below average precipitation for the entire region except northern Wyoming with the greatest chance of reduced precipitation in the Four Corners. The NOAA seasonal temperature outlook for March-May suggests an increased probability of above average temperatures for Utah and southwestern Colorado and an increased probability of below average temperatures in northern Wyoming.
The Experimental Winter Forecast predicts a December-March precipitation pattern typical for a weak La Niña with forecasted above average precipitation forecasted in the Great Basin and the Upper Colorado River Basin and below average precipitation for areas east of the Continental Divide. The current Experimental Winter Precipitation Forecast uses ocean temperatures from November-January.
