Rains Provide More Relief to Dry Conditions in Southern Colorado

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The latest chart from the U.S. Drought Monitor, dated April 28, 2015.
Credit Anthony Artusa / NOAA/NWS/NCEP/CPC
The latest chart from the U.S. Drought Monitor, dated April 28, 2015.

Up to two inches of rain have fallen in parts of southern Colorado today, providing additional relief to some dry conditions in the plains.  KRCC’s Dana Cronin reports. 

As of the end of April, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed portions of southern Colorado were still classified as severe drought.

Eric Petersen, a Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pueblo, says the rain is helping ease those dry conditions.

“It’s going to take more than just one system to end the drought there," says Eric Perersen, a meteorologist  with the National Weather Service in Pueblo. But, he adds, the rain is helping ease those dry conditions.  "But certainly a lot of southeast Colorado received rain from this. Substantial rain in spots, of maybe a half inch to an inch."

The rain is expected to continue for the rest of this week and into next. Petersen says the month of May is shaping up to be wetter than normal across the entire state of Colorado.

At the end of April, the Drought Monitor put about 58% of the state under abnormally dry to severe drought conditions.  That’s compared to about 63% at the same time last year, a number that also included extreme and exceptional drought classifications.