Intermountain West Dashboard
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The Intermountain West Dashboard provides situational awareness of weather, 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 weather, drought, and water conditions for the Intermountain West are also available from these providers:
- Colorado CC/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
Experimental Winter Precipitation Forecast
( This tool is out of date. A new version will be available soon. )
ENSO Conditions and Forecasts
Latest Briefing
April 9, 2026 - CO, UT, WY
March weather conditions promoted rapid intensification of snow drought. Snowpack peaked three to nine weeks early and sits at record low levels at most locations in Colorado, Utah and much of Wyoming. Record low snowpack was driven by low March precipitation and record hot March temperatures. Consequently, drought conditions expanded to cover 93% of the region, and annual streamflow volume forecasts are much below normal with 22% of normal inflow forecasted for Lake Powell.
March precipitation was below average for nearly the entire region. Large areas of less than 50% of average March precipitation were observed in all three states with the least precipitation falling in eastern Colorado and eastern Wyoming. Record low March precipitation was observed in Baca, Bent, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Las Animas, Prowers, and San Juan Counties in Colorado. Water year precipitation varied with above average precipitation in northwestern Wyoming, southern Colorado and southern Utah, while much of the remainder of the region received 50-90% of average water year precipitation.
An extreme and widespread heat wave hit the region during March, and temperatures were 9-12 degrees above average for much of the region. Record high March temperatures were observed at the majority of locations in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. All-time maximum March temperatures were set across the region with many locations recording higher temperatures than all-time April records.
April 1 SWE conditions were record-low for all regional river basins, except those in northwestern Wyoming. On a statewide basis, record-low snowpack was observed in Colorado (24% median), Utah (22% median), and Wyoming (47% median). Snowpack in many southern Colorado and southern Utah watersheds has melted up to 65 days early, including the Upper Arkansas, Upper Dolores, and Upper Gunnison River basins in Colorado and the Dirty Devil, Escalante, Price, and San Pitch River basins in Utah. Record heat and low precipitation in March caused regional snowpack to peak nearly one month early. Typically, on April 1, only three of 213 Snotel sites in Colorado and two of 179 sites in Utah are melted out completely. On April 1, 2026, 36% of Snotel sites in Colorado, 60% of sites in Utah, and 28% of 196 sites in Wyoming were melted out. The snowpack in the Upper Colorado River basin peaked at a record low percent of median peak SWE and was 27% of median on April 1.
After low and early peak snowpack, annual streamflow volume forecasts were much below average on April 1. Annual streamflow volume forecasts ranged from 25-45% of average in Colorado, 20-55% of average in Utah and 25-100% of average in Wyoming. The inflow to Lake Powell is forecasted at 22% of average (1.4 million acre-feet). Regional streamflow forecasts were highest in the Snake and Missouri River basins of northern Wyoming where streamflow volume forecasts ranged from 65-100% of average.
Regional drought intensified during March, and 93% of the region is experiencing severe drought conditions. Extreme drought conditions developed across a broad swath of Utah, western Colorado and southeastern Wyoming, and now cover 45% of the region. Drought in western Colorado worsened by two to three categories, and exceptional drought developed in northwestern Colorado where exceptional drought conditions coincided with the 137,000-acre Lee Fire in August 2025.
Pacific Ocean temperatures have warmed, and ENSO-neutral conditions (ocean temperatures are within 0.5ºC of average) now exist. Warming sea surface temperatures prompt an 80% probability of ENSO-neutral conditions during April-June, and NOAA issuing an El Niño Watch. ENSO forecasts predict a 60% chance of El Niño conditions developing by May-July and continuing through the end of 2026. There is a 25% chance of a very strong El Niño developing during the beginning of the 2027 water year. NOAA seasonal forecasts for April-June suggest an increased probability for below average precipitation and up to a 70% probability for above average temperatures.
Significant weather event: March heat wave. The heat wave during March 2026 was unprecedented in the western U.S. climate records since 1895. March 2026 average temperatures shattered records in Colorado (by 4.3ºF), Utah (by 5.5ºF), and Wyoming (by 2ºF). Amongst weather monitoring sites with at least 50 years of data, new March temperature records were set at 85% of sites in Colorado, 82% of sites in Utah and 60% of sites in Wyoming. In Utah, previous March temperature records were exceeded by 9.7ºF in Alta and 8.9ºF in Escalante. New all-time maximum March temperature records were set at 80-90% of weather sites in Colorado and Utah, and at 70% of sites in Wyoming. At many locations in Colorado and Utah, new March temperature records exceeded April maximum temperature records. Maximum March 2026 temperatures along the Front Range of Colorado reached the 90s with Burlington, CO recording 99ºF on March 26. Extremely high March temperatures were present across the majority of the West, and record statewide March temperatures were set in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Oklahoma, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. A new record March temperature was also set for the contiguous U.S.
March 12, 2025 - CO, UT, WY
Much of the region experienced its warmest February on record, and Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming ended the season with the warmest December-February on record. As temperatures were much above average throughout the region, precipitation was below to much below average for much of the region, with record-dry conditions along the Front Range, as well as pockets in southeastern Colorado and southern Wyoming. As of March 1, snow drought continues to persist as below to much below normal snow-water equivalent (SWE) was observed for Colorado, Utah, and eastern Wyoming. Seasonal streamflow volume forecasts for regional river basins are below to much below average, except in northern Wyoming where there are near to above average forecasts. Regional drought coverage increased to 76% by early March. The NOAA Seasonal Outlooks for March-May suggest below average precipitation and above average temperatures.
Regional precipitation was below to much below average in February, particularly in northeastern Colorado, with a large pocket of less than 2% of average conditions in Denver, Arapahoe, Adams, Washington, and Weld Counties. Another large pocket of less than 2% of average conditions occurred in southeastern Colorado in Baca County. In contrast, scattered pockets of above average precipitation occurred in each state, with two large pockets of 150-200% of average precipitation in southeastern Colorado and western Wyoming. One small pocket of 200-400% of average precipitation occurred in southeastern Colorado in Kiowa and Bent Counties, and a pocket of 400-800% of average precipitation occurred in western Wyoming in Fremont County. Record-dry February precipitation occurred in many counties along the Front Range in Colorado, including Denver, Boulder, Larimer, Jefferson, Douglas, Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, El Paso, Weld, and Park Counties, as well as Baca County in southeastern Colorado. Record-dry conditions also occurred in Carbon and Albany Counties in southern Wyoming, and Tooele County in western Utah.
Regional temperatures were much above average to record-warm in February. Large swaths of 9 to 12°F above average temperatures occurred in each state, particularly in Wyoming and Colorado, and a large pocket of 12-15°F above average temperatures occurred in southwestern Wyoming. Colorado and Wyoming experienced the warmest February on record, and Utah experienced the third warmest February on record. All three states experienced the warmest meteorological winter (December-February) on record. These records are ranked by NOAA NCEI from 1895-2026.
Below to much below normal snow-water equivalent (SWE) continues in Colorado, Utah, and eastern Wyoming as of March 1. River basins with 50% or less of normal SWE include the Upper Arkansas (45%) in Colorado, and the Lower Colorado-Lake Mead (50%), Upper Colorado-Dirty Devil (47%), Escalante Desert-Sevier Lake (46%), and Lower San Juan (23%) in Utah. In contrast, western Wyoming river basins have near normal SWE, including the Snake Headwaters (96%), Upper Yellowstone (95%), Big Horn (94%), and the Upper Green (91%). Due to record-warm temperatures and below average precipitation for most of the region this winter, snow drought continues to persist.
Seasonal streamflow volume forecasts for river basins in Colorado, Utah, and southeastern Wyoming are below to much below average. Near to above average seasonal streamflow volumes are forecasted for northern Wyoming. In Colorado, seasonal streamflow forecasts suggest 45-60% of average runoff for all major river basins. Runoff in most major Utah river basins is forecasted at 35-55% of average, except for the Bear River Basin (72%). Wyoming has a mix of streamflow forecasts, with below average forecasts in the Little Snake (46%), North Platte (52%), Cheyenne (57%), Upper Green (64%), and Laramie (69%) River Basins, near average forecasts in the Tongue (93%), Wind (93%), Powder (95%), and Yellowstone (108%) River Basins, and above average forecasts in the Shoshone (113%) and Big Horn (123%) River Basins. Below average inflow is forecasted for many regional reservoirs, including Lake Powell (36%), Navajo (44%), McPhee (47%), Blue Mesa (50%), Guernsey (52%), Deer Creek (53%), Scofield (56%), Deerfield (57%), and Flaming Gorge (64%) Reservoirs.
Dry and warm conditions during February caused regional drought coverage to increase to 76% by March 3 (drought covered 63% of the region on February 3). Drought conditions especially deteriorated in Wyoming, where moderate (D1) drought coverage increased by 33%, severe (D2) drought coverage increased by 14%, and extreme (D3) drought emerged in southwestern and southeastern Wyoming. In Colorado, D2 drought coverage increased by 11%, and D3 drought coverage increased by 3%, emerging in the Denver Metro region and northwestern Colorado. Utah drought coverage remained the same, with an emergence of D3 drought in northeastern Utah.
As of mid-February, La Niña conditions are declining and there is a 90% probability of transitioning to ENSO-neutral conditions during March-May. The NOAA March Precipitation Outlook suggests equal chances while the March Temperature Outlook suggests an increased probability of above average temperatures throughout the region. The NOAA Seasonal Precipitation Outlook for March-May suggests an increased probability of below average precipitation in Colorado, Utah, and southern Wyoming, and particularly in the Four Corners region. The NOAA Seasonal Temperature Outlook for March-May suggests an increased probability of above average temperatures in Colorado, Utah, and southern and western Wyoming, and particularly in southern Utah and southwestern Colorado.
Significant weather event: Extremely warm and dry winter for the Front Range. Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming experienced the warmest meteorological winter (December-February) on record, and Colorado and Wyoming experienced the warmest February on record. Colorado’s statewide average temperature for December-February was 33.6°F, surpassing the previous record of 32.0°F during the 1980-1981 winter season. Colorado’s Front Range had a particularly warm and dry February, causing extreme (D3) drought to emerge in the Denver Metro region. Denver, Adams, and Arapahoe Counties experienced their driest February on record. Denver experienced its second warmest winter on record, with an average temperature of 39.6°F, just short of the 40.1°F record from the 1933-1934 winter season. For context, the average winter temperature for Denver is 31.9°F, which this winter season significantly exceeds. Denver also experienced its driest winter, with only 13.4 inches of snow recorded by the end of February, well below the average of about 35 inches of snow for December-February. These warm and dry conditions were due to many factors, but the persistent high-pressure ridge that stayed over the western U.S. coupled with La Niña conditions was particularly notable in keeping moisture and cold temperatures out of the region.