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
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.
Water Year 2024 Summary
Regional water year precipitation for 2024 was near normal. In Colorado, statewide 2024 water year precipitation was 101% of median, 99% of median in Utah and 94% of median in Wyoming. The two largest basins in our region also experienced near normal water year precipitation with the Upper Colorado River Basin receiving 99% of median precipitation and the Great Salt Lake receiving 105% of median precipitation. On a smaller geographic scale, 2024 brought near to above normal precipitation to northern Utah, central Colorado and northern Wyoming. Areas that were notably dry in 2024 include northeastern Colorado, southern Utah and eastern Wyoming.
Average temperatures during the 2024 water year were much above average for the entire region. The majority of the region experienced average temperatures that were up to 2ºF above average. Water year average temperature was 2-4ºF above average for several areas including southwestern Utah, eastern Utah, western Colorado and eastern Wyoming. Record high average temperatures during the last 9 months of the water year (January 2024-September 2024 were observed in Fillmore, UT and Laramie, WY. Several other small areas of record hot temperatures were observed throughout the region).
Snowpack in 2024 was near to above average for the entire region except for northeastern Wyoming where snowpack was much below average. Statewide April 1st snow water equivalent (SWE) was near or above average across the region with Colorado receiving 112% of average SWE, Utah with 132% of average SWE and Wyoming with 100% of average SWE. Snowpacks were deepest in the lower San Juan (288% average SWE) and the Dirty Devil River (152% average SWE) Basins and shallowest in the Belle Fouche (38% average SWE) and Cheyenne River (35% average SWE) Basins in northeastern Wyoming. Much of Colorado and Wyoming received near to slightly above average SWE. April 1st SWE was above average for all Utah river basins.
Despite near to above average snowpack throughout most of the region, April-July observed runoff volume ranged from slightly below average in the Wyoming river basins (Big Horn, Upper Green and Powder) and southern river basins (Dirty Devil, Dolores, Rio Grande and San Juan) to above average in the Great Basin (Bear, Great Salt Lake, Jordan and Weber) and Escalante River Basin. Much below average seasonal runoff was observed in northeastern Wyoming’s Cheyenne River Basin. The Weber River Basin observed the highest relative runoff at 132% of average seasonal runoff volume. A rough measure of runoff efficiency, or the proportion of snowpack that makes its way into runoff, was calculated as percent average of observed April-July runoff volume divided by percent average of April 1st SWE. Overall, regional runoff efficiency was relatively high with more than 90% of seasonal snowpack making its way into runoff in the Arkansas, South Platte, Yampa, Bear, Jordan, Price, Weber, Bighorn, Powder, Tongue and Yellowstone Rivers. Low runoff efficiency was observed in the Dolores, Rio Grande and Virgin River Basins. Low runoff efficiency in southwestern Colorado is likely attributed to continued long-term impacts of the drought that began in 2000.
The 2024 water year began with only 9% of the region in drought, largely due to the much above average 2023 water year. By the end of the water year, 36% of the region was in drought. Coverage of drought in Colorado and Utah remained relatively unchanged from the beginning to the end of the 2024 water year. Wyoming, however, experienced a sharp increase in coverage of drought; Wyoming was drought-free at the start of the 2024 water year, but 71% of the state was in drought by October 2024. Development of drought across Wyoming was driven by below normal water year precipitation across most of the state, especially eastern Wyoming, despite average April 1 snowpack conditions. Slightly above average water year temperatures likely exacerbated drought and the water year ended with July-September temperatures that were 2-4 degrees above average.
After a very wet 2023 water year, much of the region began the 2024 water year with soil surface moisture above the 80th percentile of NASA GRACE satellite observations, particularly in Utah, western Wyoming and southern Colorado. Areas with notably dry soil moisture to begin the 2024 water year included most of the Colorado Rockies, northeastern Colorado, southwestern Wyoming, and the Bighorn, Uinta and Wind River Mountains. By the end of the 2024 water year, surface soil moisture across most of the region was very low with most locations in the 5th percentile of all years of observation. Only south-central and northeastern Colorado has near average soil moisture conditions. Observations of near surface soil moisture (2” depth) from the NRCS SCAN network indicate similar patterns of wet soils to begin the 2024 water year, especially in the western portion of the region and very dry soils by September 2024. SCAN soil moisture observations indicated much below average soil moisture at the end of the 2024 water year for all river basins except for the Arkansas, Gunnison, Upper Rio Grande and Upper San Juan River Basins. Particularly troubling for the 2025 water year is extremely low soil moisture in the Upper Colorado (33% of median) and Upper Green River (28% of median) Basins.
Regional reservoir storage declined slightly from the beginning of the 2024 water year, but remains near median capacity. Reservoir storage is greatest in Utah where reservoirs are at 114% of median capacity, only slightly lower than in October 2023. Despite the onset of drought in Wyoming, reservoir storage is currently at 94% of median capacity, down from 103% in October 2023. The greatest declines in reservoir capacity were found in eastern Wyoming, especially in the Belle Fouche, Bighorn and North Platte River Basins. Storage in large Upper Colorado River Basin reservoirs remains near median capacity except for McPhee, Navajo and Lake Powell. Reservoir storage in Lake Powell was relatively stable during 2024 despite remaining at a low 38% of total storage capacity.
