Today is the 50th anniversary of the Big Thompson flood of July 31, 1976: one of the deadliest disasters in Colorado history. An intense rainstorm led to a rapid flood wave down the canyon where many people were commemorating Colorado's centennial. 144 people lost their lives. #cowx 1/

Warm and dry conditions returned to Colorado in June, with several fast-growing fires starting late in the month. June is also the typical peak for severe thunderstorms in Colorado, and this year was no exception. Read more in our monthly climate summary: climate.colostate.edu/monthly_summ...

Wildfires have grown quickly in Colorado in the last week amid dry and windy conditions. We've revamped the interactive maps of large wildfires on our website, to also include currently active fires (updated daily). climate.colostate.edu/large_wildfi... #cowx

It was a pretty normal May across Colorado, which might have felt unusual after all the warmth recently. May concluded the warmest spring on record for Colorado. There was beneficial rainfall (and snowfall!) but drought persisted. More in our May summary: climate.colostate.edu/monthly_summ...

Critical fire weather in western Colorado each day from today (Saturday) through Tuesday, with hot, dry, and windy conditions. Graphic from NWS Grand Junction (www.weather.gov/media/gjt/Ds...) #cowx

🌧️ Models are optimistic about our precipitation chances over the next couple of weeks. The latest 8-14 day outlook from NOAA shows increased likelihood for above average precipitation for the end of May-early June. #cowx

🏜️ CO Drought Update: The northern half of CO saw substantial precipitation earlier this week, leading to improvements for some in the latest Drought Monitor. Southern CO saw less moisture, prompting deteriorating drought conditions in the San Luis Valley.

After a record-shattering March, April seemed at least a little more normal in Colorado. But it was again warmer than average. Flash drought set in across the eastern Plains. Mountain snowmelt slowed, but remained record low. Read more in our April 2026 summary: climate.colostate.edu/monthly_summ...

🏜️ Colorado Drought Update: It's been a while since we've had drought improvements to report on! A few parts of the state finally saw some beneficial rainfall. Meanwhile, drought conditions continued to worsen in southeast CO as mostly dry conditions persisted. #cowx

As a result, the drought situation continues to worsen. Almost the entire northwestern quarter of the state is now in D4 (exceptional) drought, going back to a dry spring and summer in 2025 and a terrible winter and early spring this year. D4 coverage of 21.59% is the largest since February 2021. 4/

Perhaps more shocking is how much less SWE there was than in any previous years. Most locations have less than half of the previous record low, and several locations that have never before had less than 5 or 6 inches of SWE on April 1 have no snow on the ground this year. 3/

At snow course sites with data for more than 50 years (i.e., including the awful snow years of 1977 and 1981), which year had the lowest snow water equivalent on April 1? At 60 out of 64 sites, it was this year. 2/

The latest US Drought Monitor: Last week's record-setting temperatures and dry weather brought widespread worsening drought to Colorado. Nearly a quarter of the state is now seeing extreme drought or worse conditions. #cowx

Last week's record-setting heat took a major toll on Colorado's snowpack (which was already in bad shape). We're currently sitting at 44% of average with ~2 weeks to go until our average peak. Little to no precipitation is expected over the next 7 days. #cowx

“March”

Potential for very strong winds and low humidity tomorrow (Thursday) in northern Colorado, which means increased fire danger. Forecast graphic from NWS in Boulder #cowx

And it's also the warmest start to a water year on record; more than 2°F warmer than the previous warmest October through February (1999-2000). In this quadrant chart showing temperature and precipitation from Oct thru Feb, the water year 2026 temperature stands far above all previous years. 3/4

The warm February closed out the warmest climatological winter in 131 years of records for Colorado; 1.6°F warmer than the previous warmest winter (1980-81). Many locations set records for the most days with high temperatures at or above 60°F in a winter, including Akron shown here. 2/4

Unfortunately, not much good news to share in our February state climate summary. According to NOAA data, it was the warmest February in 132 years of records. Mountain snowpack remains at the lowest level in over 40 years. Several locations set new monthly high temperature records for February. 1/4

Drought continues to expand in Colorado, with this week's US Drought Monitor showing a new area of extreme drought (D3) around the Denver metro area and expansion of severe drought (D2) in northeast Colorado, in addition to the ongoing extreme to exceptional drought in the mountains. #cowx

Here are some additional locations that saw record-setting warmth on Tuesday 🌡️ #cowx

Exceptional. Record-smashing. Disturbingly warm. December 2025 was one for the record books in Colorado. 🌡️ Warmest December 🌡️ >1000 daily high temperature records 🌡️ Warmest October thru December by far 🌡️ 4th-warmest year Read more in our monthly summary: climate.colostate.edu/monthly_summ...

Very strong winds and extremely dry conditions are expected across the Front Range tomorrow (Dec. 19). Critical fire weather conditions will be in place, with the greatest risk over parts of Boulder and Jefferson counties. Key messages below from NWS Boulder. Stay safe and weather aware! #cowx

Extreme winds were observed across eastern Colorado yesterday, with numerous wildfires growing quickly in Yuma County last night. The strongest winds were in the foothills, with several reports of gusts over 100mph. But the >80mph gusts on the eastern plains are perhaps even more unusual. #cowx

Key messages from NWS Boulder's briefing on the upcoming high winds along the Front Range. Available at: www.weather.gov/media/bou/Ds... #cowx

November was the 3rd-warmest on record for Colorado: 7.5°F above the 20th century average for the month. And much of the state was dry, with little snow in either the mountains or at lower elevations. Read more in our November monthly climate summary: climate.colostate.edu/monthly_summ... #cowx

For those unfamiliar, CoAgMET is a network of automated weather stations across Colorado, with real-time data as well as information and tools relevant to agriculture, water resources, and more. Visit: coagmet.colostate.edu

Yesterday, we hosted a meeting for partners and stakeholders of CoAgMET, Colorado's Mesonet. We shared the latest updates and plans, heard ideas for how to make the network even better, and visited the unique station setup on the roof of the Hydro building at the CSU Spur campus in Denver.

If all this warm and dry November weather has you thinking back to October when there was quite a bit more happening, our monthly summary is for you. Including the big southwest rainstorm and flood, a lack of mountain snow, and more warmth on the Plains: climate.colostate.edu/monthly_summ... #cowx

We hope you've been looking up tonight! Here's our view from Fort Collins a little earlier 🌌