Drought is spreading quickly in Colorado

Weather watchers might remember early 2012 as the precursor to a prolonged drought that ensnared all of Colorado.

Late 2016 is starting to look mighty similar.

The most recent U.S. Drought Monitor, released Thursday, shows a huge portion of Colorado newly engulfed in a moderate drought or abnormal dryness, the precursor to drought. About 90 percent of the state is in drought territory, including Fort Collins, and that's a big deal for all Coloradans because it impacts the water and food resources in a semi-arid state that relies heavily on irrigated crops and lawns.

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Notably, moderate drought persists in Fort Collins, which is more than 7 inches below average, and Denver, more than 3 inches below average, and has now spread to Boulder, Colorado Springs and Pueblo. "Moderate" is the first of four levels of drought severity.

If conditions persist — and the National Weather Service predicts they will for Fort Collins — residents can expect damage to crops and pastures, developing or imminent water shortages and a request for voluntary water-use restrictions.

Drought or drought-like conditions haven't spread across so much of the state since 2012-2013, when a drought of varying severity overtook all of Colorado, devastating crops, livestock and rivers. That was the last time Fort Collins saw a drought.

Drought impacts in Fort Collins have been relatively minor because of solid snowpack and spring moisture, but the ongoing dryness means the region will badly need plenty of snow to avoid more severe impacts come spring, Colorado State Climatologist Nolan Doesken previously told the Coloradoan.

Seasonal forecasts are undecided regarding winter moisture in Northern Colorado.

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Fort Collins has been in moderate drought since August after two months of abnormal dryness. A historically dry June with only .05 inches of rain kick-started the arid conditions, and since then the city has received less than about half the normal amount of rain each month.

Compare that to Greeley, which saw close to normal rain all summer and didn't enter near-drought conditions until last week. Denver and Boulder joined Fort Collins in moderate drought faster because they started drying up in July.

Unusually dry weather in September and October — not bountiful moisture months to begin with — seems to have sealed the deal for most of the rest of the state, including Colorado Springs and Pueblo. The latter two cities and most of southern Colorado saw historic dryness during the last two months.

Drought classifications are based on weather (including precipitation), vegetation stress among other factors.

The National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center hasn't released a drought outlook since the new Colorado regions entered drought, but it recently predicted Fort Collins will remain in a drought through winter. That doesn't necessarily mean we'll have a bone-dry winter, just that whatever we get is less likely to alleviate the drought.

Fort Collins precipitation

June: 0.05 inches (2.3 percent of the 1981-2010 normal)

July: 0.91 inches (53 percent of normal)

August: 0.76 inches (48 percent of normal)

September: 0.19 inches (14 percent of normal)

October: 0.31 inches (27 percent of normal)

Source: National Weather Service