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 5, 2024 - CO, UT, WY
Precipitation was generally above average and temperatures were near-average in the Intermountain West during March; large areas of Colorado, Utah and southwestern Wyoming received greater than 150% of average March precipitation. April 1st snow water equivalent (SWE) was above average in Colorado (112%) and Utah (131%) and average in Wyoming. Seasonal streamflow volume forecasts are near-average in much of the Upper Colorado River Basin and above average in northern Utah. El Niño conditions are expected to end soon with neutral ENSO conditions likely during summer and there is at least a 60% chance of La Niña conditions emerging by fall.
Regional precipitation during March was generally near-to-above average except in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Colorado where precipitation was below average. Large areas of Colorado, central Utah and southwestern Wyoming saw greater than 150% of average March precipitation. Areas of greater than 200% of average precipitation along the Front Range and east of the Continental Divide in Colorado were driven by a large upslope snowstorm mid-month. The March 13-15 snowstorm contributed to record wet March conditions in Custer, Fremont, Park, Pueblo and Teller Counties.
Temperatures during March were within 2 degrees of average for most of the region with the warmest conditions occurring in eastern Colorado and eastern Wyoming. March temperatures were 2-4 degrees below average in the Wasatch Mountains and in isolated Colorado mountain locations.
April 1st snow water equivalent was near-to-above average for all regional river basins except in northeastern Wyoming where SWE was below-to-much-below average. As a statewide average, SWE conditions are 112% of average in Colorado, 131% of average in Utah and 100% of average in Wyoming. Across the entire Upper Colorado River Basin, April 1st SWE is 114% of average. While the 2024 snowpack is not nearly as impressive as the 2023 snowpack, the 2023 water year ends with the second year in a row of above average snowpack for most of the region. Snowpack in northeastern Wyoming’s Powder and Tongue River Basins was around 70% of average and SWE in the Belle Fourche and Cheyenne River Basins was less than 40% of average. A significant dust storm deposited dust on snowpacks across much of Colorado and the Wasatch Mountains in Utah. A particularly thick layer of dust was deposited in the Roaring Fork Basin and San Juan Mountains. The dust layer is currently buried under several feet of snow at many locations, but will likely speed snowmelt later in the spring.
Seasonal streamflow forecasts for large areas of the Upper Colorado River and Great Basins are near-average. Seasonal streamflow forecasts are highest in the Great Basin (Bear, Provo, Six Creeks and Provo) and in the Yampa River Basin. The San Juan and Dolores River Basins are forecasted to have below average seasonal streamflow volumes despite near-average SWE conditions. Seasonal streamflow volume for Lake Powell is forecasted to be 89% of average, an inefficient runoff considering April 1st SWE in the Upper Colorado River Basin is 114% of median.
Above average March precipitation caused a slight decrease in regional drought coverage and D1-D2 drought now covers 12% of the region. Drought conditions were entirely removed from northern Colorado and southern Wyoming and severe drought conditions (D2) were removed from south-central Colorado and the Yellowstone Plateau. Severe (D2) drought conditions expanded in coverage in northeastern Wyoming. Since the start of the water year, total regional coverage of drought increased from 9% to 12% of the region. Since October, drought conditions have improved in western Colorado and eastern Utah and D1-D2 drought has developed in northern Wyoming.
As of mid-March, El Niño conditions continue in the eastern Pacific Ocean, but the trend in cooling ocean temperatures is expected to continue and will likely soon lead to neutral ENSO conditions. There is a 50-75% probability that neutral ENSO conditions will prevail through the summer, but by early fall, there is greater than a 60% chance of La Niña conditions developing. The NOAA monthly outlook suggests an increased probability of above average precipitation during April for Utah, Wyoming and western Colorado; there are equal chances of above or below normal temperatures during April. The NOAA Seasonal Outlook for April-June suggests an increased probability of above average precipitation for Wyoming and northeastern Colorado and an increased probability of above average temperature for Utah and most of Colorado.
Significant March weather event: Front Range snowstorm. On March 13-15, a significant upslope storm impacted the Front Range of Colorado from Fort Collins to Pueblo. One to five feet of snow fell from Boulder south to Pueblo with the most significant snowfall occurring in the foothills east of the Continental Divide. Amongst sites with at least 50 years of weather data, 28 sites broke daily snowfall records and 31 sites broke daily precipitation records during the March 13-15 storm. Daily snowfall records were broken in Canon City (12.2”), Colorado Springs (10”), Estes Park (23.3”), Evergreen (22”), Gross Reservoir (19”) and Ruxton Park (20”). In Boulder, the daily precipitation record was broken on March 14th (2.33”) and the snowstorm was the 12th largest on record with 21.9”. The highest three-day snowfall totals were in Aspen Springs (61.5”), Evergreen (61”), Idaho Springs (53.7”) and Nederland (53”). A strong east-west gradient in snowfall totals occurred with this storm as precipitation was slow to change over to snow along the Interstate 25 corridor. For example, nearly 30” of snow fell in Golden, 12” in Denver and only 5.7” at Denver International Airport.
Snow in Broomfield, CO. March 14, 2024. Credit: NWS Boulder.
March 11, 2024 - CO, UT, WY
February was warmer and much wetter than normal across the majority of the region. Snowpack conditions improved and are above normal in Utah (119%), near-normal in Colorado (97%), and slightly-below normal in Wyoming (88%). Seasonal streamflow volume forecasts are below normal to near-normal for the majority of the region, except for northern Utah in the Great Salt Lake region where forecasts are above normal. Regional drought coverage slightly improved and now covers 13% of the region. There is a 70% chance of ENSO-neutral conditions starting in April-June. The NOAA precipitation outlook for the region in March suggests an increased probability of above normal precipitation.
February precipitation was above to much-above normal for the majority of the region, with pockets of below normal conditions on the West Slope of Colorado, southern Utah, and northeastern Wyoming. Areas of 200% or more of normal precipitation occurred throughout the majority of the Front Range, eastern and northwestern Colorado, western Wyoming, and northern Utah in the Great Salt Lake region with pockets scattered throughout the state. Areas of 400% or more of normal precipitation occurred in El Paso and Pueblo Counties in Colorado, Box Elder and Tooele Counties in Utah, and Sweetwater County in Wyoming. Record-wet conditions occurred in each state, with particularly large record-wet areas in Larimer, Weld, and Pueblo Counties in Colorado, and Box Elder County in Utah.
Regional temperatures were slightly-above to above normal in February. The majority of the region experienced 0-3°F or 3-6°F above normal temperatures with large areas of 6-9°F above normal temperatures in northeastern Colorado and northeastern Wyoming. Pockets of 6-9°F above normal temperatures occurred in southeastern and northwestern Colorado, northeastern and northwestern Utah, and southeastern and western Wyoming. Temperature percentile rankings for February were above normal (top 33%) to much-above normal (top 10%) throughout almost the entirety of the region.
Regional snowpack ranged from below normal conditions in northern Wyoming to above normal conditions in Utah with near-normal conditions prevalent in southern Wyoming, southern Utah, and most of Colorado. As of March 1st, statewide percent median snow-water equivalent (SWE) was 97% in Colorado, 119% in Utah, and 88% in Wyoming. The Belle Fourche Basin in Wyoming had the lowest percent median SWE (57%) and the Lower San Juan Basin in Utah and Colorado had the highest percent median SWE (128%) by the end of the day on February 29th.
Regional April-July streamflow volume forecasts are mostly below normal (70-90%) to near-normal (90-110%), with much-below normal (<50-70%) forecasts for the Escalante Desert-Sevier Lake River Basin in Utah and the Cheyenne River Basin in Wyoming. However, there are above normal (110-130%) streamflow forecasts for basins surrounding the Great Salt Lake, including the Great Salt Lake, Lower Bear, Jordan, and Weber River Basins. In most locations, forecasted streamflow volume increased compared to the February 1st forecast. The forecast for the inflow to Lake Powell is 78% of average, up 4% from the February 1st forecast and up 12% from the January 1st forecast.
Regional drought conditions improved in February and now cover 13% of the region, a 5% decrease in drought coverage since the end of January. Severe (D2) drought developed in north-central and northeastern Wyoming while extreme (D3) drought improved in south-central Colorado and moderate (D1) drought improved in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah.
El Niño conditions continued during February and there is an 80% chance of these conditions continuing during March. However, there is a 70% chance of El Niño conditions transitioning to ENSO-neutral conditions during April-June. The NOAA precipitation outlook for March suggests an increased probability of above normal precipitation for the entire region with likely above normal precipitation (50-60% chance) throughout most of Colorado, Utah, and southern Wyoming. The NOAA temperature outlook for March suggests an increased probability of above normal temperatures in northeastern Wyoming and below normal temperatures throughout the majority of Utah, particularly in the southwest. The NOAA seasonal temperature outlook for March-May suggests an increased probability of above normal temperatures throughout the northern, central, and western regions of Wyoming and the northern and western regions of Utah.
February significant weather event: Record-wet snowstorm in the Front Range. From February 2-3, the Front Range experienced an intense 18-hour precipitation deluge, with some areas receiving over 2 inches of liquid equivalent (rain and melted snow water), surpassing the total precipitation of the previous two months. A southern-track low-pressure system originating in southeastern Colorado was responsible for this substantial moisture. The storm brought heavy upslope precipitation—rain and heavy snow—to northern Colorado. Boulder received a record-breaking 1.74 inches of precipitation, making it the all-time wettest February storm since recordkeeping began in 1897 and surpassing the previous record of 1.41 inches from February 3-4, 2012. Boulder received 9.1 inches of snow, Denver received 5.5 inches, and the lower foothills received a maximum of 20.3 inches. The storm's unique characteristics, including the lack of a cold air mass and the presence of a large-scale low-pressure system that pulled in moisture and warmth from a Pacific Ocean atmospheric river and from the Gulf of Mexico, made the storm one of rain instead of snow to start. The warmer air caused snowflakes falling from a sub-freezing cloud layer to melt and turn to rain before they hit the ground, which eventually cooled the air to the point of freezing, finally allowing for snowfall and accumulation. These factors and many more created significant forecasting uncertainty as to how much snow, or precipitation in general, would fall across northern Colorado. Weather models were highly volatile days in advance to hours before the storm due to the many different atmospheric variables in this storm’s setup. This weather event highlights the evolving nature of warmer winter storms in a warming climate.
