Western Water Assessment has produced a 2025 hazard summary for the Intermountain West—Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.
Read the report here: wwa.colorado.edu/resources/ha...
@cires.colorado.edu #drought #wildfire #flood #hail #tornado #highwind
"We've seen a trend in the last several years—five, eight years—of stream flow forecasts consistently getting worse throughout the late winter, and even into runoff period," said Seth Arens, a scientist at @wwanews.bsky.social & CIRES.
www.aspenpublicradio.org/environment/...
Regional #snowpack and #streamflow volume forecasts are extremely low. Record-low statewide snowpack conditions exist in Colorado and Utah, while Wyoming statewide SWE is 84% of average.
Learn more: wwa.colorado.edu/resources/in... #wx #weather @cires.colorado.edu
Learn more from our briefing: wwa.colorado.edu/resources/in... @cires.colorado.edu
The entire region experienced much above average (top 10%) to record-warm #temperatures in December. For weather monitoring sites with at least 50 years of data, 50 of 60 sites in Utah had a record-warm December, 31 of 75 sites had records in Colorado, and 34 of 46 sites had records in Wyoming. #wx
Lander, Wyoming, is the latest community to benefit from @ciresnews.bsky.social and @wwanews.bsky.social programs to build flood resilience. The team gathered key community stakeholders and led thoughtful discussions to diagram what they would do in a disaster.
High temperatures coupled with mostly below normal precipitation caused low snow-water equivalent (SWE) and worsening drought conditions in November.
Learn more: wwa.colorado.edu/resources/in... @cires.colorado.edu #wx #weather #snowpack #drought
Large areas of the region received 150-200% of normal #precipitation in October, with some locations in northern Utah, southeastern Utah, northern Wyoming, and southwestern Colorado receiving 200-400% of normal precipitation.
Learn more: wwa.colorado.edu/resources/in... @cires.colorado.edu
A flooding brown river flows over picnic tables and sidewalks.
A brown flooding river covers sidewalks.
A turbulent brown river floods a downtown area of a small town.
A flooding river almost reaches the height of a pedestrian bridge that crosses it. Steaming hot springs in the background and buildings along the shore.
Rapid assessment led by CIRES researchers dives deep into Pagosa Springs' third-largest flood on record. The report compiled by Western Water Assessment includes scientific and historical context to help decision makers and emergency responders buff.ly/7pBWXlz
#Drought conditions improved during September in Colorado and Wyoming, while all of Utah continues to remain in at least moderate (D1) drought. By Sept 30, regional drought coverage was 61%, a 6% improvement since the end of August.
Learn more: wwa.colorado.edu/resources/in... @cires.colorado.edu
@cires.colorado.edu @colorado.edu
“Whenever an organization like WWA brings communities into this discussion, you can see a lot of cascading benefits from that,” says sustainability consultant Gwen Garcelon, speaking about the #drought resilience workshop that WWA held in Carbondale in 2018.
Learn more: wwa.colorado.edu/impacts
Streamflow conditions were slightly better in Wyoming, but record-low monthly streamflow was also recorded along the Gardiner, Upper Green, and Wind Rivers.
Learn more: wwa.colorado.edu/resources/in... @cires.colorado.edu #drought #colorado #utah #wyoming
Monthly #streamflow conditions were below to much below normal across large parts of the region during August. Most river basins in Colorado and Utah experienced these conditions, with record-low monthly streamflow observed in the Piedra River and at four streamflow gauges on the White River.
Regional #drought conditions expanded and worsened, especially near the Colorado-Utah border and western Wyoming, where extreme (D3) drought conditions now cover 23% of the region.
Learn more: wwa.colorado.edu/resources/in... @cires.colorado.edu
Are you an undergrad student @colorado.edu interested in water? Apply by 9/8 for the Colorado Water Fellows Program, hosted by WWA! The program prepares students for careers in the water field and connects them to opportunities, including conferences.
Apply here: forms.gle/4DdZdFkufmon...
In 2018, WWA worked closely with community members and leaders in Carbondale, Colorado to plan a workshop that helped local leaders assess risks from drought and develop strategies to build resilience to drought impacts in their community.
Learn more: youtu.be/4o4Z-DGvuoE?...
@cires.colorado.edu
In July, regional precipitation was generally below normal, with record-dry conditions throughout much of the region. As of August 1, Colorado reservoirs are 63% full, Utah reservoirs are 75% full, and Wyoming reservoirs are 72% full.
Learn more: wwa.colorado.edu/resources/in... @cires.colorado.edu
@cires.colorado.edu @colorado.edu
WWA's Nels Bjarke spoke with Rocky Mountain Community Radio about current drought conditions and said hotter temperatures "can lead to further drying of the soils ... [and] have the potential to allow the drought to at least stick around, and potentially amplify it."
Learn more ⬇️
Learn more: wwa.colorado.edu/resources/in...
@cires.colorado.edu @colorado.edu #wx #weather
During June, much of the region experienced above average temperatures and below average precipitation. As of July 1, seasonal snowmelt was completed with many mountain locations melting out 1-2 weeks earlier than average. Seasonal streamflow volume forecasts remained below to much below normal.
A dark blue lake in a mountain valley filled with burned trees. At the top left, there is a blue box with the CIRES logo and white text: News. Wildfires threaten water quality for years after they burn
ICYMI: Years after wildfires burn forests and watersheds, the contaminants left behind continue to poison rivers and streams across the Western U.S. — much longer than scientists estimated. Work led by CIRES, @wwanews.bsky.social, and @colorado.edu scientists.
Read the story: buff.ly/Uy6QkNd
Our team ☺️
wwa.colorado.edu/about/team
New research, led by CIRES, @wwanews.bsky.social, and @colorado.edu, featured in Grist! ⬇️
A dark blue lake in a mountain valley filled with burned trees. At the top left, there is a blue box with the CIRES logo and white text: News. Wildfires threaten water quality for years after they burn
New CIRES-led research: Years after wildfires burn forests and watersheds, the contaminants left behind continue to poison rivers and streams across the Western U.S. — much longer than scientists estimated. @wwanews.bsky.social @colorado.edu
Read the story: cires.colorado.edu/news/wildfir...
As of June 1, statewide percent median SWE was 54% in Colorado, 29% in Utah, and 62% in Wyoming. Seasonal streamflow volume forecasts are all below to much below average for the region. Regional drought coverage in late May was 53%.
Learn more: wwa.colorado.edu/resources/in...
"Looking at things like how drought is changing, it's getting bigger, it's getting drier, it's coming on more quickly, trying to understand how we can better predict that..." said Benét Duncan, managing director of @wwanews.bsky.social at CIRES.
www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
In April, regional precipitation was below to much below normal with some areas experiencing record-dry conditions. As of May 1, statewide percent median SWE was 58% in Colorado, 66% in Utah, and 86% in Wyoming.
Learn more: wwa.colorado.edu/resources/in...
The cover of the 2025 edition of CIRES' Spheres Magazine. Image shows a scientists working on an instrument.
The 2025 edition of CIRES' Spheres Magazine is out!
In 2024 and 2025, CIRES scientists and their colleagues worked on Western US fires, greenhouse gases, seasonal allergies, the Colorado River, ice sheets, field safety, and more.
Explore now ➡️ cires.colorado.edu/spheres-maga...
