Extreme to severe drought conditions were held on place across western Colorado in August. Slight improvement was seen across portions of the central and southern mountains due to the impact of monsoonal moisture. However, the majority of climate reporting stations received monthly precipitation totals well below normal, and most of these were at least three quarters of an inch below normal. The wildland fire danger remained high during August but the main impacts were felt in the agricultural sector due to crop and pasture land losses.

Drought in LOWER YAMPA RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme drought conditions remained in place across the lower Yampa River basin through August as monthly precipitation remained well below normal.

Drought in CENTRAL YAMPA RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme to severe drought conditions remained in place across the central Yampa River basin through August as monthly precipitation remained well below normal.

Drought in ROAN AND TAVAPUTS PLATEAUS, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme drought conditions remained in place across the area through August as monthly precipitation remained well below normal.

Drought in ELKHEAD AND PARK MOUNTAINS, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe drought conditions remained in place across the area through August as monthly precipitation remained well below normal.

Drought in FLATTOP MOUNTAINS, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

The small portion of extreme drought across the western Flat Tops Mountains improved to the severe drought category due to monsoonal rainfall.  Otherwise, severe drought conditions remained in place across the rest of the zone through August.

Drought in UPPER YAMPA RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe drought conditions remained in place across the upper reaches of the Yampa River basin through August as monthly precipitation remain well below normal.

Drought in GORE AND ELK MOUNTAINS/CENTRAL MOUNTAIN VALLEYS, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

The small area of extreme drought across the southern portion of the area improved to the severe drought category due to monsoonal rainfall.  Otherwise, severe drought conditions remained in place across the remainder of the zone through August.

Drought in CENTRAL COLORADO RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

The area of extreme drought across the western portion of the central Colorado River basin improved to the severe drought category due to monsoonal rainfall.  Otherwise,  severe drought conditions remained in place across the remainder of the zone through August.

Drought in DEBEQUE TO SILT CORRIDOR, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme drought conditions remained in place along the Colorado River basin from Silt to DeBeque through August as monthly precipitation totals remained well below normal in those lower elevations.

Drought in GRAND VALLEY, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme drought conditions remained in place throughout the Grand Valley in August as monthly precipitation totals remained well below normal in those lower elevations.

Drought in GRAND AND BATTLEMENT MESAS, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme drought conditions remained in place over the Grand and Battlement Mesa areas as monthly precipitation totals remained below normal in August.

Drought in UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU AND DALLAS DIVIDE, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme drought conditions across the southern portion of the Uncompahgre Plateau improved to the severe drought category due to monsoonal rainfall. However, the northern portions of the plateau remained in the extreme category through the month as precipitation totals remained well below normal.

Drought in CENTRAL GUNNISON AND UNCOMPAHGRE RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme drought conditions remained in place across the Gunnison and Uncompahgre River basins due to much below normal precipitation in August within those lower elevations.

Drought in WEST ELK AND SAWATCH MOUNTAINS, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme drought conditions remained in place over the West Elk and Sawatch Mountains throughout August as monthly precipitation totals continued below normal.

Drought in UPPER GUNNISON RIVER VALLEY, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme drought conditions remained in place across the upper regions of the Gunnison River basin in August as monthly precipitation totals continued well below normal.

Drought in NORTHWESTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe drought conditions persisted over the northwest portions of the San Juan Mountains in August. Although monsoonal rainfall was significant across this area throughout the month, it was not sufficient to overcome the long-term drought conditions which prevailed through the first half of the year.

Drought in SOUTHWESTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe drought conditions persisted over the southwest portions of the San Juan Mountains in August. Although monsoonal rainfall was significant across this area throughout the month, it was not sufficient to overcome the long-term drought conditions which prevailed through the first half of the year.

Drought in PARADOX VALLEY / LOWER DOLORES RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme drought conditions were eased slightly to the severe drought category over portions of the lower Dolores River basin in August due to significant monsoonal rainfall. However, in the lower elevations of the Paradox Valley, extreme drought conditions remained in place due to well below normal precipitation totals.

Drought in SAN JUAN RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe drought conditions remained in place throughout August across the lower elevations of Archuleta County.

Drought in FOUR CORNERS / UPPER DOLORES RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme drought conditions were eased slightly to the severe drought category over eastern portions of this zone in August due to significant monsoonal rainfall. However, in the western portion of the zone the extreme drought conditions persisted due to well below normal precipitation throughout the month.

Drought in ANIMAS RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-AUG-12 00:00:00 to 31-AUG-12 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe drought conditions remained in place throughout August across the lower elevations of La Plata County.