Drought forces Grand Junction to dip into Colorado River localnews8.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from localnews8.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Coloradoâs snowpack this winter continues to lag behind normal â much less the above-normal amount needed for the state to escape from a continuing drought â but it has improved thanks to recent storms, and more moisture is on the way.
Snowpack in the state as of Wednesday was at 85% of median, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Services. Thatâs up from 74% just under a month ago, and reflects a wetter recent weather pattern that has dropped multiple feet of powder on some Colorado ski areas.
Snowpack levels have shown similar increases in the Upper Colorado River and Gunnison River drainages, which now sit at 82% and 79% of median, respectively. The Gunnison drainage currently is the driest major basin in the state, with the Upper Rio Grande Basin having the highest amount of snowpack at 103% of median.