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
February 11, 2025 - CO, UT, WY
In January, precipitation varied across the region, from much below average conditions in Utah and western Colorado to much above average conditions in eastern Colorado and southeastern Wyoming. January temperatures were colder than usual, especially in Colorado and Wyoming where temperatures were 6 to 10°F below average. Snow-water equivalent (SWE) was generally below normal, particularly in southern Utah and southwestern Colorado. Seasonal streamflow forecasts for February 1st indicate below average runoff for much of the region, with the worst forecasts for Utah. Drought coverage increased across the region, affecting 56% of the region as of February 4th. La Niña conditions emerged in the Pacific Ocean but are expected to transition back to ENSO-neutral by spring 2025. NOAA seasonal forecasts for February-April suggest an increased probability of below average precipitation for the majority of the region.
January precipitation was below to much below average in Utah, western Colorado, and southwestern Wyoming, and above to much above average in eastern Colorado and central to southeastern Wyoming. Large areas of 200-400% of average precipitation occurred from Laramie County in southeastern Wyoming down to Pueblo County in southeastern Colorado, with small pockets of 200-400% of average precipitation in Natrona County in central Wyoming and Uintah County in northeastern Utah. Large areas of less than 2% of average precipitation occurred in southern Utah. Record-dry conditions occurred across Utah and in the West Slope of Colorado.
January temperatures were near to below average in Utah and below to much below average in Colorado and Wyoming. Temperatures of 6 to 8°F below average occurred throughout most of Colorado and Wyoming with scattered pockets of 8 to 10°F below average. One pocket of lower than 10°F below average temperatures occurred in Carbon County in southern Wyoming.
Snow-water equivalent (SWE) was near to below normal for the majority of the region, with much below normal conditions in southern Utah and southwestern Colorado. The majority of river basins in Colorado and Utah saw a significant decrease in SWE conditions relative to median during January, whereas many Wyoming river basins saw a significant increase, particularly the Belle Fourche, Cheyenne, Tongue, Bighorn, and Powder River Basins. On a statewide basis, February 1st SWE conditions in Colorado were near normal (90%) and below normal in Wyoming (85%) and Utah (76%). Southern Utah is still experiencing the worst snow drought conditions with the Virgin River Basin at 26% of normal and the Escalante River Basin at 40% of normal. According to the Real-Time Spatial Estimates of Snow-Water Equivalent (SWE) tool, all major river basins in the region have below average February 1 SWE except for the Tongue and Powder River Basins in Wyoming which are slightly above average at 113% and 108%, respectively. The Lower Colorado and Lower San Juan River Basins in southern Utah are experiencing the lowest average SWE at 4% and 1%, respectively.
February 1st seasonal streamflow forecasts suggest below average runoff throughout much of the region, with much below average runoff in Utah, and near average runoff in eastern Colorado and northeastern Wyoming. In Colorado, seasonal streamflow forecasts for the Animas, Upper Colorado, and Gunnison are below average (70-89%), and the Dolores and San Juan River Basins are much below average (50-69%). In Utah, seasonal streamflow forecasts for the Lower Green, Price, Provo, and Six Creeks are below average and the Bear, Colorado, and Weber are much below average, with exceptionally below average forecasts for the Duchesne, Sevier, and Virgin River Basins (<50%). In Wyoming, seasonal streamflow forecasts for the North Platte and Snake are below average and the Bighorn, Upper Green, Shoshone, and Wind River Basins are much below average.
Regional drought coverage increased in January and now, as of February 4th, covers 56% of the region, compared to 39% in early January. Drought coverage nearly quadrupled in Utah and doubled in Colorado, while Wyoming saw a slight decrease in drought coverage. In Colorado, moderate (D1) drought expanded in the West Slope and severe (D2) drought developed in the southwest. In Utah, D1 drought expanded across the state, D2 drought expanded in the southwest, and extreme (D3) drought developed in the southwest. Despite Wyoming still experiencing over 80% drought coverage, there was a slight improvement in drought conditions across the state in January.
After many months of ENSO-neutral conditions, La Niña conditions emerged during January. These conditions will most likely be short-lived as there is a 60-70% probability of ENSO-neutral conditions emerging by spring 2025. NOAA monthly forecasts for February suggest an increased probability of above average precipitation for northern Utah and western Wyoming, above average temperatures for southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado, and below average temperatures for northeastern Wyoming. NOAA seasonal forecasts for February-April suggest an increased probability of below average precipitation for the majority of the region, below average temperatures for northern and eastern Wyoming, and above average temperatures for southern Utah and southwestern Colorado.
The new Experimental Winter Forecast predicts December-March precipitation in the western United States using Pacific and Atlantic Ocean temperatures. The most current forecast uses October-December ocean temperatures and indicates slightly above average winter precipitation for much of the region. The regional pattern of precipitation reflects average Pacific Ocean and warm Atlantic Ocean temperatures. Slightly above average winter precipitation is forecasted for most of the region with the highest precipitation relative to average in southern Utah and the lowest in central Wyoming and eastern Colorado.
Significant weather event: Polar vortex descends on Intermountain West. A severe cold wave impacted the Intermountain West on January 19-23. Winter cold waves in temperate latitudes are sometimes referred to as a polar vortex. A polar vortex is an area of low pressure and cold temperatures that always occurs around the North and South Poles. During winter, the polar vortex periodically expands in size and covers more temperate latitudes; this is the source of a cold wave, or Arctic blast in the United States. The severity of the cold wave peaked on 1/20 and 1/21 in Wyoming and Colorado, with slightly warmer temperatures in Utah. Considering weather sites with at least 50 years of data, daily minimum temperature records were set at 9% and 17% of Colorado sites and 21% and 5% of Wyoming sites on 1/20 and 1/21. Daily minimum high-temperature records were set at 17% of Colorado sites on 1/20 and 30% of Colorado sites on 1/21. Temperatures were particularly cold in the lower Arkansas River valley with record daily minimum temperatures of -19ºF in Pueblo and -22ºF in Tacony, CO on 1/21. In Colorado, -40ºF was the coldest temperature of the event, observed at Harbison Meadow near Grand Lake. In Crested Butte, -36ºF was the coldest temperature recorded since 2011. The coldest temperature observed in Wyoming, while not a daily record, was a frigid -40ºF at Old Faithful in Yellowstone, the site’s coldest temperature since 2016. The cold wave was not as severe in Utah as a whole, but a unique site at Peter’s Sink in northern Utah bottomed out at -56.1ºF. In case you were wondering, the coldest recorded temperature in the Lower 48 was -69.7ºF at Rodger’s Pass Montana; the second coldest temperature recorded was at Utah’s Peter’s Sink where temperatures dipped to -69.3ºF in 1985. For the week surrounding the cold wave, average temperatures were 15ºF to 20ºF below normal for large parts of Colorado and Wyoming with small areas up to 25ºF below normal.
January 10, 2025 - CO, UT, WY
Despite below average precipitation and warm temperatures during December, snow water equivalent (SWE) is near-normal for about half the region. Below average SWE conditions exist in northern Wyoming, southwestern Colorado and southern Utah, especially in the Escalante and Virgin River Basins where SWE is less than 45% of average. The first seasonal streamflow forecasts suggest near-average runoff in Colorado (90-100%), below average runoff in Utah (80-90%) and much below average runoff in Wyoming (50-80%). Drought conditions were relatively stable during December and cover 39% of the region. Previous forecasts of emerging La Niña conditions did not prove correct; Pacific Ocean temperatures remain near-average (ENSO-neutral) and are expected to remain so through spring. NOAA seasonal forecasts suggest the possibility of above average precipitation in northern Colorado, northern Utah and Wyoming during January and in Wyoming for January-March.
December precipitation in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming was below to much below average except for portions of northern Utah and western Wyoming that saw slightly above average precipitation. Large areas of southern Utah, southern Colorado and central to southeastern Wyoming received less than 50% of December precipitation. In eastern Colorado, many locations received record-low December precipitation. Central Colorado, central Utah and western Wyoming received slightly below average December precipitation.
Regional temperatures were at least 3 degrees above average across all locations. Large areas of Colorado and Utah experienced temperatures that were 6-9 degrees above average. In Wyoming, nearly all locations were 6-9 degrees above average during December and central Wyoming average temperatures were 9-12 degrees above average. Record hot December temperatures were recorded in northern Wyoming.
Snow water equivalent was near-normal (median) for about half of the region on January 1, including most of the Upper Colorado River and Great Basins. Below normal January 1st SWE conditions prevailed in southern Utah, southwestern Colorado and northern Wyoming. The majority of river basins in Colorado and Utah saw a significant decrease in SWE conditions relative to median during December. On a statewide basis, January 1st SWE conditions in Colorado and Utah were near normal (95%) and below normal in Wyoming (83%). Southern Utah is currently experiencing the worst snow drought conditions with the Virgin River Basin at 39% normal and the Escalante River Basin at 43% normal. Six snotel sites in southwestern Utah had no snow on January 1st which set or tied the lowest SWE totals on record. An additional 3 snotel sites in Wyoming had their lowest January 1st SWE conditions on record and an additional 4 sites in Wyoming had the second lowest January 1st SWE value.
The first seasonal streamflow forecasts of the 2025 water year suggest near-average runoff in Colorado river basins and below average runoff in all other regional river basins. In Colorado, seasonal streamflow forecasts suggest between 90-100% of average runoff for all river basins. Runoff in most Utah river basins is forecasted at 80-90% of average except for the Upper Bear (94%), Lower Bear (77%), Escalante (60%) and Virgin (50%). In Wyoming, the seasonal streamflow forecast for the Upper Green, North Platte, Snake and Yellowstone is 70-80% while streamflow forecasts for the Bighorn, Cheyenne, Powder and Tongue River Basins range from 50-60% of average. Except for Blue Mesa Reservoir, below average inflow is forecasted for all other major Upper Colorado River Reservoirs including Lake Powell (81%), Flaming Gorge (69%), McPhee (76%) and Navajo (78%).
Regional drought coverage continued a decreasing trend in December and now covers 39% of the region, compared to 42% of the region in early December. Wyoming remains the epicenter of regional drought with 88% of the state experiencing drought conditions and 26% of the state in extreme drought. The area of extreme drought in the Snake River basin expanded in December. In Colorado, abnormal dry (D0) conditions emerged in the San Juan Mountains and D1 drought conditions were removed near the headwaters of the Arkansas and Colorado Rivers. Drought conditions in Utah were relatively unchanged during December.
Despite previous forecasts indicating the formation of La Niña conditions in the Pacific Ocean, December Pacific Ocean sea-surface temperatures were consistent with ENSO-neutral conditions and there is a 60-80% probability of ENSO-neutral conditions persisting through spring 2025. NOAA monthly forecasts for January suggest an increased probability of above average precipitation for Wyoming, northern Colorado and northern Utah. There is an increased probability of below average precipitation for southern Utah and southwestern Colorado. NOAA forecasts also suggest an increased probability for above average temperatures for the entire region during January. On the three-month timescale, there is an increased probability of above average precipitation for Wyoming and below average precipitation for southern Utah and southern Colorado. The NOAA seasonal forecast for January-March indicates an increased probability of below average temperatures in Wyoming and above average temperatures for southern Utah and southern Colorado.
The New Experimental Winter Forecast is a tool that projects December-March precipitation in the western United States using Pacific and Atlantic Ocean temperatures. The most current forecast uses October - November ocean temperatures and indicates slightly above average winter precipitation for much of the region. The regional pattern of precipitation reflects average Pacific Ocean and warm Atlantic Ocean temperatures. Slightly above average winter precipitation is forecasted for most of the region with the highest precipitation relative to average in southern Utah and the lowest in central Wyoming and eastern Colorado.
December Climate Almanac. Much above average to record hot December temperatures in Wyoming are reflected in the temperature extremes. The highest daily maximum, the minimum maximum and minimum temperatures in the region were observed in Wyoming where temperatures are typically colder than Colorado and Utah.
