PlainHazard

Colorado drought

Every recorded drought record since 1996 · 56 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 3,044 drought records in Colorado from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 135 a year since 2000. Colorado ranks 6th of 51 states and territories by count and 22nd of 50 per square mile.

Drought in Colorado, 1996 to 2026

Drought records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
3,0441996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
135average
Deaths
03 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
–as filed
Busiest year
2021283 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are drought records common in Colorado?

Colorado averages about 135 drought records a year since 2000, 6th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2021 (283). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Colorado records 294 drought records since 1996, 22nd of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 2624
  2. 2. New Jersey 1205
  3. 3. Delaware 1062
  4. 4. Oklahoma 971
  5. 5. Georgia 900
  6. 6. Texas 711
  7. 7. New Mexico 528
  8. 8. Alabama 527
  9. 9. Tennessee 477
  10. 10. Iowa 466
  11. 22. Colorado 294

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Colorado have the most drought records?

Per square mile, San Juan County leads Colorado: 147 days with a drought record since 1996, 379.3 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Garfield County has the most drought records (884 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. San Juan County 379.3 (147)
  2. Ouray County 266.3 (271)
  3. Dolores County 163.0 (317)
  4. Hinsdale County 132.5 (285)
  5. Pitkin County 129.8 (136)
  6. Delta County 120.8 (282)
  7. Archuleta County 114.1 (289)
  8. San Miguel County 113.5 (298)
  9. La Plata County 95.3 (297)
  10. Montezuma County 85.7 (308)
  11. Eagle County 76.6 (258)
  12. Montrose County 63.4 (545)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is drought season in Colorado?

Colorado's drought records by month. The busiest month is July (289 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 209 · Feb 210 · Mar 267 · Apr 281 · May 258 · Jun 258 · Jul 289 · Aug 288 · Sep 289 · Oct 235 · Nov 251 · Dec 209 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

Are drought records becoming more frequent in Colorado?

Colorado's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Drought: Colorado and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeColoradoUnited StatesColorado's share
1996-9905,6000
2000s1,42618,5717.7%
2010s93231,4413.0%
2020-2668630,1472.3%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent drought records in Colorado

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-01 DroughtYuma County · forecast zone Yuma County 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtCheyenne County · forecast zone Cheyenne County 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtKit Carson County · forecast zone Kit Carson County 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtYuma County · forecast zone Yuma County 0 0 –
2026-04-21 DroughtCheyenne County · forecast zone Cheyenne County 0 0 –
2026-04-14 DroughtKit Carson County · forecast zone Kit Carson County 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtArchuleta County · forecast zone San Juan River Basin 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtLa Plata County · forecast zone Animas River Basin 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtDolores County and 2 more · forecast zone Four Corners / Upper Dolores River Basin 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtDolores County and 3 more · forecast zone Paradox Valley / Lower Dolores River Basin 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtArchuleta County and 6 more · forecast zone Southwestern San Juan Mountains 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtGunnison County and 4 more · forecast zone Northwestern San Juan Mountains 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

Federal disaster declarations for drought records in Colorado

FEMA has declared 1 disaster in Colorado for drought, counting its incident type and declarations that name the hazard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 0 were major disasters, the latest on January 29, 1977.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
1977-01-29EM-3025Drought42

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

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