A series of moist early spring storms made their way across portions of western Colorado during the month of April. This moisture rich snow made a noticeable impact on the mountain snow pack with many locations rebounding from seasonal deficits. Valley rains also provided a positive, but short term, impact to drought conditions across northwest Colorado where monthly precipitation amounts were in excess of a quarter to an inch above normal. The valleys of far southwest Colorado did not fare as well, and in fact received well below normal precipitation and continued to experience  worsening drought conditions.

Drought in WEST ELK AND SAWATCH MOUNTAINS, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Above normal precipitation fell over the central Colorado high mountains in April, significantly improving drought conditions that were in the severe to extreme categories to the moderate drought category by the end of the month.

Drought in UPPER GUNNISON RIVER VALLEY, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Above normal precipitation fell over the upper Gunnison River valley in April, significantly improving drought conditions from the extreme to severe categories to the moderate to severe drought categories by the end of the month.

Drought in UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU AND DALLAS DIVIDE, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Below normal precipitation across the area allowed severe drought conditions to spread from the northwest portion of the Uncompahgre Plateau to the southeast portion of the zone by the end of the month.

Drought in NORTHWESTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Below normal precipitation across southwest Colorado allowed moderate to severe drought conditions to remain across the northwest San Juan mountains through the month of April.

Drought in SOUTHWESTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Below normal precipitation across southwest Colorado allowed drought conditions to deteriorate from the moderate category to the severe drought category by the end of the month.

Drought in PARADOX VALLEY / LOWER DOLORES RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Below normal precipitation across southwest Colorado allowed severe drought conditions to spread over all of the Paradox valley and lower Dolores River basin during the month of April.

Drought in FOUR CORNERS / UPPER DOLORES RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Well below normal precipitation across the lower elevations of southwest Colorado allowed severe drought conditions to spread back into the four corners region through the month of April.

Drought in ANIMAS RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Well below normal precipitation across the lower elevations of southwest Colorado allowed severe drought conditions to spread back into the Animas River basin through the month of April.

Drought in SAN JUAN RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Well below normal precipitation across the lower elevations of southwest Colorado allowed severe drought conditions to spread back into the San Juan River basin through the month of April.

Drought in FLATTOP MOUNTAINS, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Above normal precipitation across the northwest Colorado mountains in April significantly improved drought conditions over the area from extreme to moderate by the end of the month.

Drought in ROAN AND TAVAPUTS PLATEAUS, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Above normal precipitation across the eastern portion of the area improved the severe to extreme drought conditions to the moderate to severe categories by the end of the month. However, severe drought conditions persisted across the western portion of the zone throughout the month.

Drought in UPPER YAMPA RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Above normal precipitation of between a half of an inch and one inch in the upper Yampa River basin improved the severe to extreme drought conditions to the moderate to severe drought categories by the end of the month.

Drought in DEBEQUE TO SILT CORRIDOR, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Above normal precipitation along the Colorado River valley and adjacent mountains improved the severe to extreme drought conditions to the moderate category by the end of the month.

Drought in LOWER YAMPA RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Above normal precipitation of between a half of an inch and one inch helped erase areas of extreme drought across the lower Yampa River basin, improving the drought conditions for the entire area to the severe drought category by the end of the month.

Drought in CENTRAL YAMPA RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Above normal precipitation of between a half of an inch and one inch improved the drought category across the entire area from extreme drought to severe drought by the end of the month.

Drought in ELKHEAD AND PARK MOUNTAINS, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Above normal precipitation across the northwest Colorado mountains improved the severe to extreme drought conditions to the moderate to severe drought categories by the end of the month.

Drought in GRAND VALLEY, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Limited precipitation in the Grand Valley allowed severe drought conditions to prevail across the zone throughout the month.

Drought in CENTRAL COLORADO RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Above normal precipitation along the Colorado River valley and adjacent mountains significantly improved the drought conditions throughout the zone from extreme to moderate by the end of the month.

Drought in GRAND AND BATTLEMENT MESAS, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Above normal precipitation fell over the high mesa region of western Colorado in April, which improved the drought situation from severe to extreme drought at the beginning of the month to the moderate drought catergory by the end of the month.

Drought in GORE AND ELK MOUNTAINS/CENTRAL MOUNTAIN VALLEYS, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Above normal precipitation fell over the central high mountains of western Colorado in April, significantly improving the drought condition from extreme to moderate by the end of the month.

Drought in CENTRAL GUNNISON AND UNCOMPAHGRE RIVER BASIN, COLORADO
From 01-APR-13 00:00:00 to 30-APR-13 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Slightly below normal precipitation fell within the central Gunnison and Uncompahgre River basins in April, causing drought conditions to deteriorate across most of the zone from the moderate to the severe drought category by the end of the month.