Click on a thumbnail graphic to view a gallery of drought data from the US Drought Monitor website.

Click the link to go to the US Drought Monitor website. Here’s an excerpt:

This Week’s Drought Summary

Dry weather continued this week across much of the central U.S., especially from the southern Great Plains to the Mississippi River Valley and Corn Belt. Flash drought conditions were occurring across a large area spanning from Texas northeastward to Oklahoma and southern Kansas, southern Missouri, Arkansas, northern Mississippi and portions of far western Tennessee. Due to the drier- and warmer-than-normal weather in most of these areas, drought and abnormal dryness expanded and intensified in many areas, as widespread adverse impacts to agriculture continued and fire danger continued to grow in some areas. Widespread showers and thunderstorms, some locally heavy, dotted parts of the Northeast and Southeast regions, leading to localized improvements to ongoing drought or abnormal dryness. Some areas that missed out on the rains saw conditions worsen. Hot and dry weather continued near the borders of the Dakotas with Minnesota, leading to worsening drought conditions. Widespread improvements occurred in some areas from Wyoming and the plains of eastern Colorado northeast into the Nebraska Sandhills and southern South Dakota, where either heavy rainfall this week improved conditions or conditions were reassessed following recent heavier rains. Recent hot and dry weather, combined with a lack of winter snowpack, led to the expansion of moderate drought in northern California. Heavy rainfall associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Dolly in eastern Puerto Rico led to a few improvements there, though widespread severe and extreme drought continued across much of Puerto Rico. Recent rainfall led to the removal of short-term moderate drought from Alaska’s Central Interior…

High Plains

A swath of 0.5-2 inches of rain fell from parts of western Nebraska and western Kansas into portions of Colorado and Wyoming. Scattered similar rain amounts also fell in portions of east-central and northern South Dakota, as well as in parts of central and western North Dakota. The impacts of recent rainfall in southern South Dakota and the Nebraska Sandhills were re-evaluated this week, and widespread improvements were made as soil moisture and streamflow locally improved, while short-term rainfall deficits were alleviated. Long-term precipitation deficits and their impacts continued across much of this region, and abnormal dryness and long-term moderate drought remained. Scattered improvements to drought also occurred from southern and eastern Wyoming into the western Dakotas and much of eastern Colorado. Short-term precipitation deficits improved in these areas, with some improvement in soil moisture and streamflow, leading to improvements in drought conditions. Streamflow still remains low across portions of the western High Plains region given the poor high elevation snows and warm temperatures during the water year. Temperatures across the region were hotter than normal, especially in Kansas, where temperatures ranged mostly from 6-10 degrees above normal, resulting in high atmospheric demand for moisture in southeast Kansas…

West

Locally heavy rains from the North American Monsoon fell in parts of Arizona, Utah and the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Parts of Colorado to the west of the Front Range saw conditions improve given recent rainfall, though widespread short- and long-term drought remained across central and western Colorado. In a few areas in south-central and southwest Colorado that missed out on heavier rains, long-term precipitation deficits grew even worse. Temperatures from 4–6 degrees above normal also kept atmospheric thirst high, and extreme and exceptional drought locally expanded. Short-term precipitation deficits and poor streamflow in some areas led to drought degradation in parts of the Idaho Panhandle, the Spokane, Wash., area, and nearby northwest Montana. Short-term dryness and warmth in northern California led to the expansion of moderate drought there. Moderate drought locally expanded in north-central Montana where short-term rainfall deficits grew and soil moisture declined in a few areas. Recent precipitation in southwest Montana led to improvements in mid- to long-term precipitation deficits and overall conditions, and moderate drought coverage decreased. Recent precipitation in western Utah helped to lessen long-term precipitation deficits, and extreme drought coverage lessened slightly. Temperatures were warmer than normal across much of the West, excluding areas from western Nevada and far northern California through Oregon and Washington. In the rest of the region, temperatures were mostly at least 2-4 degrees above normal, with many areas 4-10 degrees warmer than normal…

South

Widespread expansion or worsening of ongoing drought or abnormal dryness occurred across the South, especially in parts of Mississippi, Texas, eastern Oklahoma and portions of Arkansas. Heavier rains, locally over 2 inches, fell in southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi. Otherwise, weather conditions were mostly drier, with many areas receiving less than a half inch of rainfall and some receiving none at all. Temperatures were warmer than normal across most of the region, especially in Oklahoma and the northern half of Texas, where temperatures were 6-10 degrees hotter than normal. This continued a very hot August across much of Oklahoma. Degradations in drought conditions were especially prevalent in southwestern and northern Texas, deep south Texas, northern Mississippi and eastern Oklahoma, as ongoing hot and dry weather worsened conditions in areas already suffering a myriad of drought impacts. Burn bans were enacted across much of western Oklahoma, while Oxford, Miss., residents were asked to conserve water due to high water demand and recent extreme heat. Streamflow across much of central and western Oklahoma and northern Texas was quite low, along with low soil moisture and intense short-term precipitation deficits…

Looking Ahead

Through the evening of Monday, Sept. 7, the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center is forecasting dry weather to continue across much of the central and south-central U.S., especially from southeast Nebraska through Oklahoma, Arkansas and western north Texas into southwest Texas and eastern New Mexico and Colorado. Heavier precipitation amounts through Monday evening will likely be confined to parts of the southeastern and northern Lower 48. Heavy rain is forecasted, or occurring on Wednesday afternoon, in east-central and southeast Texas, while the remnants of Tropical Storm Edouard pass through. Heavier rain is also forecast across the central and eastern Gulf Coast and Florida Peninsula. Rain amounts from southern Louisiana to near Panama City may approach 1-2 inches, while heavier rain amounts, locally 2-3 inches or more, are forecast in the Florida Peninsula. Heavier precipitation amounts, mostly in the 0.75-2 inch range, are also forecast in parts of the Pacific Northwest, northern Idaho, northern parts of Montana and North Dakota, and from Minnesota southeastward across Wisconsin and the lower Great Lakes into Pennsylvania and New York.

The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center’s 6-10 day outlooks, covering Sept. 8-12, favors warmer-than-normal temperatures across much of the central and eastern U.S. The highest confidence for above-normal temperatures is centered around Kansas City and the mid-lower Missouri River Valley southward to the central and western Gulf Coast. Near-normal temperatures are favored in the western half of the West, with below-normal temperatures slightly favored in western Nevada and adjacent parts of California and Oregon. Near- or below-normal temperatures are also favored in central and northern New England. Above-normal precipitation is favored across much of the Great Plains and western U.S., especially from the Continental Divide into the Great Basin and in northern Minnesota and environs. Above-normal precipitation is also slightly favored in east-central Florida. The forecast favors drier-than-normal weather in the Tennessee and Ohio River Valleys and from Lake Erie to southern parts of the Northeast.

In Hawaii, both precipitation and temperatures are expected to be above normal for Sept. 8–12. Above-normal precipitation is also favored across large parts of Alaska, except for the northwest portion of the state and the central Aleutian Islands. Above-normal temperatures are favored in southeast and central Alaska and in the central Aleutian Islands, while near-normal temperatures are favored in northeast and southwest Alaska and the eastern Aleutian Islands.

Just for grins, here’s a slideshow of early September US Drought Monitor maps for the past few years.

Click the link to read the article on the Inside Climate News website (Bob Berwyn):

September 2, 2026

Fossil fuel emissions are pushing Earth’s climate toward a dangerous new phase of climate “overshoot,” scientists warned Wednesday in a new report from the United Nations Environmental Programme.

The report, Limiting Overshoot, projects that global temperatures will exceed the 1.5-degree Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warming threshold identified in the Paris Agreement within a few years, intensifying deadly climate impacts. It says the best chance of restoring a safe climate is to begin cutting greenhouse gas emissions immediately, halve them by 2035, and figure out ways to remove billions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere before the end of the century.

The 1.5 degrees of warming identified in the report and the Paris pact refers to the increase in global temperatures since the preindustrial period of 1850 to 1900, before humans altered the atmosphere and climate with billions of tons of fossil fuel emissions and other industrial and agricultural pollution.

Under the 2015 agreement, more than 190 countries pledged to keep the global temperature below that level because they knew warming above that would mean even greater intensification of extreme weather events, ecosystem losses and the potential submersion of small island countries. 

Multiple scientific studies, including global assessments from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, project that warming of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius will cause severe damage to human health, food and water supplies, as well as infrastructure and economies. 

Scientists have calculated that at the current pace of emissions, warming could reach a catastrophic 2.7 to 3 degrees Celsius by 2100. If all the measures promised by governments under the Paris Agreement are implemented, warming could be limited to about 1.7 or 1.8 degrees Celsius, which would make it easier to return below the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold.

If Earth’s fever stays in the ‘overshoot’ zone too long, it could push ice sheets and key heat-carrying ocean currents past tipping points “that become difficult or impossible to reverse on human timescales,” the report concludes. 

“We must make the overshoot as small and short as possible, limiting how high

temperatures rise and how long they remain above 1.5 degrees Celsius,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. 

The new report, he added, identifies a triple play of climate action: accelerating the phaseout of fossil fuels and the transition to renewable energy, slashing methane pollution and protecting climate allies, such as lands, forests and oceans, that take heat-trapping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

“We’ve failed to act on the options that were available 15 or 20 years ago to reduce emissions rapidly,” said report co-author Joeri Rogelj, a climate scientist at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria and a professor at Imperial College London. “The reality is that we have failed in that endeavor, and it needs to be acknowledged.”

The new report does just that, and it is alarming because the climate impacts projected for warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius are “unacceptable or unbearable for at least the poorest and the most vulnerable communities around the world,” he said. This summer, with heatwaves that killed thousands in Europe and burned parts of towns in North America, showed that developed countries in the Global North are not immune, he added.

“We need to face the consequences of this failure by dealing with the unavoidable impact,” he said. He added that there is a wide gap between doing nothing by allowing warming to continue for the rest of the century, and acting now to limit the peak temperature and the length of time the global temperatures remain above the threshold.

Co-author Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, another climate researcher at IIASA, said the report doesn’t just document the state of the global climate. Given the climate impacts happening at about 1.4 degrees Celsius warming, he said the report is “more about what it means for us here now, and what the response needs to look like.”

As warming heats the planet at the rate of half a degree Celsius every 20 years, he said “extreme events and climate-driven natural disasters are increasingly exceeding the capacities of ecosystems and of human systems.” 

This summer’s extremes show this happening now, not in the distant future, he said, with extreme heat in Europe hitting places where it’s been rare and overwhelming the adaptive capacity of hospitals, schools and retirement homes. Extreme heat contributed to about 15,000 heat-related deaths in Germany, one of the most developed countries in the world.

“We are seeing what it entails to adapt to climate change, and we are seeing that we have an enormous gap,” Schleussner said. “We are really lagging behind. We are not prepared for what’s coming.”

Click the link to read the release on the UNEP website:

• Report puts best-case scenario peak temperature rise at 1.8°C; others suggest over 2°C
• Above 1.5°C, climate impacts and risks of tipping points intensify with every fraction of a degree
• ‘Overshoot, peak and decline’ pathway best remaining option to help vulnerable nations and communities cope and return to below 1.5°C 

Nairobi, 2 September 2026 – Global temperature rise is set to cross 1.5°C, likely within the next few years, pushing climate risks and impacts to increasingly dangerous heights, but it is still possible to bring temperatures down and achieve global goals in the Paris Agreement, according to a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report. 

The report, Limiting Overshoot, identifies an ‘overshoot, peak, and decline’ pathway as the best remaining option to minimize the magnitude and duration of this overshoot and try to return to below 1.5°C as soon as possible. 

“This summer’s scorching heat, raging wildfires and deadly floods are a warning of what lies ahead. We must make the overshoot above 1.5 degrees as small and short as possible. That demands an overshoot of ambition” said UN Secretary-General Antőnio Guterres. 

This pathway would minimize peak temperature rise through immediate and sustained cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, on the road to net-zero, and bring down temperatures through long-term net-negative emissions, with carefully governed Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) – the process of removing carbon from the air and storing it through afforestation or other means – an essential part of the mix. 

At the same time, following this pathway would involve adaptation actions that reduce vulnerability to the current, expected and unexpected impacts of climate change on societies, communities and economies – although there will likely be limits to adaptation and irreversible impacts, especially if peak temperatures are not minimized. The report stresses such a pathway would reduce risks and impacts, make adaptation less difficult and expensive, and increase the chances of lowering temperatures. 

“There are no good outcomes if we remain above 1.5°C. Across the globe, extreme heatwaves are already proving that climate impacts will strike faster, hit harder, and last longer – costing more lives and causing deeper disruption,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “Now is the time we must double down on climate action. We can – and must – get on the right path. By cutting greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening resilience and adaptation, and ensuring exceedance of 1.5°C is as small and short as possible.”

Devastating impacts

The most optimistic scenario will see temperature rise peak at 1.8°C above pre-industrial levels, above the goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C set by the Paris Agreement. Most other scenarios predict higher peaks.

Above 1.5°C, risks and impacts will intensify with every extra fraction of a degree and every year. Anticipated impacts include intensified extreme weather, ecosystem loss, and submersion of Small Island Developing States and low-lying coastal cities. Severe damage to human health, food security, water supplies, nature, cities, infrastructure, and economies is expected.

The report warns that the likelihood of crossing irreversible tipping points increases with the magnitude and duration of higher temperatures. These include the destabilization of major ice sheets, degradation of the Amazon rainforest and disruption of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (the system of currents that moves warm surface water north and cold deep water south, playing a key role in regulating the climate). Some impacts may emerge abruptly, while others will accumulate over time.

Considering the scale of the risks and the co-benefits of climate interventions such as a rapid transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy – improving air quality and public health, lowering energy costs and increasing access to electricity – the report urges accelerated, collective and global action to get on an overshoot, peak and decline pathway. How quickly and strongly this action happens will define the shape and trajectory of the pathway.

Conditions for success

Strong political will and multilateralism, effective policies, inclusive governance, and finance are all important enabling conditions for action – and equity and justice must underpin all responses. Countries with greater responsibility for climate change should act the fastest with the greatest ambition.

The report also finds that mitigation and adaptation, which are mutually reinforcing, must advance together, while being responsive to emerging risks. Interventions that achieve both mitigation and adaptation goals – such as nature-based cooling – should be prioritized.

Adaptation set up now forms the foundation for efforts to come, but it must become transformational and responsive to evolving non-linear and abruptly arising risks – including those that will harm mitigation efforts.

The report emphasizes that net-zero is a milestone towards net-negative, with CDR needed in addition to, not instead of, sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. However, CDR can only contribute credibly to a return below 1.5°C if peak warming remains well below 2°C and all residual emissions are reduced. Strong governance frameworks for CDR will be critical to allow responsible deployment and manage implications for environmental integrity, equity, scale.

Responding to a changed future

Years of inaction mean that even if a return to below 1.5°C is secured, irreversible losses and permanently changed conditions are certain. Many communities may be forced to relocate or change livelihoods, while societies will face the challenge of re-adjustment. This raises issues of justice, power, and political legitimacy, which will require new, inclusive governance arrangements to resolve difficult issues.

This report is a reminder that an overshoot, peak and decline pathway is a next generation climate frontier, but one which cannot be left unattended to for the next generation to tackle. Immediate action is required for such a pathway to remain possible.

Additional Quotes

“Every fraction of a degree of warming above 1.5 leads to increasing and increasingly severe climate impacts, with our Pacific family standing on the frontlines. While we know the challenge is growing, so too is momentum. The recent energy crisis has reminded the world of the need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, accelerate the transition to renewable energy and bolster climate cooperation. COP31 is an opportunity to turn our ambition into action — with Türkiye, Australia and the Pacific delivering a practical, solutions-focused COP.” – Chris Bowen, Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy, and President of Negotiations for COP31.

“Every fraction of a degree matters, and every year spent in overshoot increases climate risks and the potential for irreversible losses. The Overshoot Report makes clear that exceeding 1.5°C should not be seen as a new destination, but as a pathway we must urgently work to minimize and reverse. This requires rapid and sustained emissions reductions, alongside ambitious adaptation to protect people, communities and ecosystems. 

COP31 must turn this urgency into concrete action. We need to accelerate global electrification, reduce methane emissions from waste, strengthen the climate resilience of cities, and enhance the resilience of marine and coastal ecosystems. At the same time, mitigation and adaptation should advance together. The choices we make today will determine how high temperatures peak, how long they remain there, and how safely we can return to 1.5°C.” – H.E. Murat Kurum, COP31 President-Designate

Below is the Precipitation Accumulation in South Platte graph from the NRCS for August 31, 2026. This morning precipitation, at the SNOTEL stations, is at 75% of the median (no change one week), and 71% of the water year median (up 2% one week). There are 30 days left in the water year.

Showers are likely today, there is a chance for thunderstorms Friday, and a chance for showers and thunderstorms Saturday in the central mountains. Showers a likely today, with a slight chance for thunderstorms Friday, and a chance for showers/thunderstorms Sunday in the northern mountains. Showers are likely today, with a slight chance for showers Friday, and a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms on Saturday and Sunday, down here about 6.0 miles from the U.S. Mint where The ‘Wildest Gun Battle in Denver History’ Was Also the First Successful Mint Holdup in the U.S. Here’s an excerpt from Law Week Colorado:

1920s Denver is often associated with bootlegging, booming population growth and tumultuous governmental control as powerful legislative and executive seats were taken by members of the Ku Klux Klan. 1922 is also when the Denver Mint was robbed by a gang of bandits, culminating in the “wildest gun battle in Denver history,” according to the Craig Courier in December 1922. “Four bandits held up a federal reserve bank automobile in front of the United States mint here, and after a terrific gun battle with mint employees, made their escape with $200,000 in $5 bills,” reported the Cheyenne Wells Record in December 1922. The Cheyenne Wells Record went on to note the robbery was the first successful mint holdup in U.S. history and that the robbery was also the largest in Denver history to date…A month after the robbery, the Jefferson County Republican reported that after the robbery, the bandits made their way to a garage at 1651 Gilpin Street in Denver, which they had rented a few days before, with a mortally wounded companion, later identified as J.C. Sloan where “they left the dead body of Sloan crumpled up.” The Jefferson County Republican reported Sloan was believed to be the leader of the gang. The discovery of Sloan led investigators to other leads in the case including a trunk filled with firearms and ammunition and photographs and letters. Three months after the robbery, the Longmont Ledger reported an arrest was made in Albuquerque. J.W. Morgan and Pearl Ward were arrested in March 1923 in connection with the robbery, but neither would divulge more information to investigators about the Mint robbery…“No one was ever charged with the robbery, despite Denver Police Chief A.T. Clark’s announcement 12 years later that the robbery team had been identified. The suspects that were identified were already in prison on unrelated charges or had died,” reported K5 News in 2014.

Here’s a look at the 7-Day Colorado precipitation map through August 30, 2026 from the High Plains Regional Climate Center. Precipitation in the South Platte Basin along the Continental Divide of the Americas ranged from 0.10” to 0.30”.

Here’s the 7-Day percent of normal precipitation map through August 30, 2026 from the High Plains Regional Climate Center. Precipitation in the South Platte River Basin along the Continental Divide of the Americas was 5% to 125% of normal.

Below is the 7-day Quantitative Precipitation Forecast for the week of August 31, 2026. Precipitation is anticipated for the mountains of the South Platte River Basin and may total up to 0.50″.

Below are the 8-14 day outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center, issued August 30, 2026, for temperature and precipitation, for the week starting September 7, 2026. The CPC expects above normal temperatures and above normal precipitation for the mountains of the South Platte River Basin.

Below is the Colorado Drought Monitor map from August 25, 2026. There were one class improvements in Park, Weld, and Morgan counties. Drought and abnormal dryness covers 95.94% of Colorado. The South Platte Basin is experiencing Abnormally Dry, Moderate, Severe, Extreme, and Exceptional drought conditions.

Below is the Colorado Drought Monitor one week change map ending August 25, 2026.

Here’s the US Drought Monitor Map from last week along with the one week U.S. change map.

Finally, here’s the Topsoil Moisture Percent Short to Very Short map for the week ending August 23, 2026 from the USDA:

49% of the Lower 48 is short/very short, a 1% increase from last week. Highest short/very topsoil spans parts of the West, Plains, South, and Northeast, led by NM at 90%; VT at 87%; OR, WY, and TX at 86%; and LA and OK at 81%

Click the link to read the article on the Steamboat Pilot & Today website (Ali Longwell). Here’s an excerpt:

August 26, 2026

As Colorado nears the final month of the 2026 water year, extreme drought is persisting across the state as many regions, including the Western Slope, continue to rack up records when it comes to heat as well as precipitation — and the lack thereof.

“We continue to be way above anything that we’ve seen in the data record for Colorado; we’re about 2 degrees warmer than the previous hottest water year to date on record — that was 1934 — and over 4 degrees warmer than the 1991 through 2020 average,” said Allie Mazurek, engagement climatologist at the Colorado Climate Center, at the Aug. 25 Water Conditions Monitoring meeting of the Colorado Water Conservation Board. 

“The dryness has not been quite as remarkable as the warmth, but again, we have ranked as the sixth driest on record through the end of July, and are still among some of the driest water years that we’ve seen,” she added…

The first 10 months of the water year — which kicked off Oct. 1, 2025 — have seen three months rank as the hottest on record and six months fall among the top 10 hottest. While not over, August has already seen above-average temperatures, with many areas averaging 4-6 degrees hotter than normal, including west of the Continental Divide, which Mazurek said has experienced “the most notable warmth compared to average.”…While July and August are not the first months this water year to set these kinds of records — March, for example, saw statewide temperatures nearly 10 degrees above the 30-year average — Mazurek said it does ring a different kind of alarm bell…All in all, Mazurek described the water year so far as “very, very warm,” sitting 4.5 degrees above the average temperatures from 1981 to 2020. 

Click on a thumbnail graphic to view a gallery of drought data from the US Drought Monitor website.

Click on the link to go to the US Drought Monitor website. Here’s an excerpt:

This Week’s Drought Summary

During the early part of last week, an amplified ridge-trough pattern over North America brought widespread late summer heat to the West and south-central US, with milder temperatures overspreading the Corn Belt and gradually shifting to the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states. The north side of the mean ridge provided a focus for convective activity, with narrow swaths of locally heavy rainfall extending across Nebraska and Missouri, while shortwave troughs brought several rounds of storms to the eastern Corn Belt and parts of the mid-Atlantic and southern New England. Underneath the ridge, dry weather combined with excessive heat continued to promote rapid onset drought across much of the South region. Across the Southeast, summer convection competed with enhanced evapotranspirative demand due to hot temperatures, causing some degradation in areas that missed out on thunderstorm activity. Across the West, an active monsoon pattern continued to bring localized relief to parts of Arizona and New Mexico, while excessive heat and drier conditions promoted drought expansion across eastern New Mexico and portions of the Intermountain West, Great Basin, and the Northwest.

Across Alaska, improved rainfall eased drought conditions over the central interior, while drier weather sparked some degradation over the southeast. Across Hawaii, following widespread heavy rainfall from Hurricane Lala in the previous week, Tropical Storm Moke passed well south of the state, bringing enhanced flow and precipitation to the windward sides of the islands. Across the Caribbean, a suppressed convective regime continued to promote gradual drought expansion across Puerto Rico…

High Plains

The High Plains saw a mixture of drought degradation and localized improvement. Rapid drought deterioration continued across southern Kansas and southeastern Colorado, where dry conditions and excessive heat aggravated agricultural impacts. Further north, widespread convection brought drought relief east of the Front Range across eastern Colorado, though some deterioration occurred in the Rockies of Colorado and Wyoming where water storage impacts from last spring’s limited snow cover are beginning to mount. Organized convection along the northern periphery of the ridge promoted drought reduction in central Nebraska. Showers mostly maintained a status-quo depiction across South Dakota, save for small areas of degradation along its respective borders with North Dakota and Minnesota. More widespread drought degradation was noted across North Dakota, where precipitation was sparser outside of a single, narrow convective event that tracked across the northeastern corner of the state…

West

Seasonal dryness continued across the Pacific Coast states and much of the Great Basin, where persistent above-normal temperatures drove high demand on water resources and led to localized degradation. Extreme Drought (D3) expanded slightly across southern Oregon and northern Washington, where soil moisture and groundwater levels remained critically poor. Extreme to Exceptional (D4) drought also expanded into northeastern Idaho, with degradation noted in small portions of Utah and the southern California deserts. Elsewhere, ongoing monsoonal convection promoted drought relief across much of Arizona and western New Mexico, though persistent heat and dry conditions drove drought expansion across eastern New Mexico…

South

Under a persistent heat dome ridge maintaining mostly dry conditions and unrelenting heat, widespread rapid drought expansion continued for another week across the South region. Weekly maximum temperatures exceeded 100 degrees F across nearly the entire region – with the exception of Tennessee – and peaked above 110 degrees along the Texas-Oklahoma border. Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) submitted to the National Drought Mitigation Center highlighted rapidly worsening impacts, including dry stock ponds, wilting trees, dust storms, and elevated wildfire activity. Drought expansion and intensification were most pronounced across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas, while conditions also began to noticeably deteriorate across Mississippi. Small-scale convection provided only highly localized, brief relief to isolated portions of central Oklahoma and Arkansas…

Looking Ahead

Over the next 7 days, upper-level ridging centered over the western U.S. is forecast to progress eastward, shifting hotter conditions to the East while bringing a potential reprieve from extreme temperatures to the West. Excessive heat will persist across the south-central U.S., which may continue to fuel rapid drought expansion and intensification. Enhanced monsoonal convection is favored across Arizona, with moisture extending northward into Utah and parts of the northern Rockies, while light, early-season precipitation may overspread southern California. Forecast precipitation amounts across the South region would be insufficient to offset ongoing moisture deficits. Across the Midwest, light to locally moderate precipitation is expected. Seasonal convection will linger across the Southeast early in the period before drier conditions move in by the end of the period. Along the Eastern Seaboard, initial storminess will give way to drier conditions, though unsettled weather may return to the Northeast by late week.

For the 8-to-14-day period, below-normal temperatures are favored across the Northwest, while elevated odds for above-normal temperatures extend across much of the remainder of the CONUS. The highest probabilities for excessive heat remain anchored over the south-central and southeastern U.S., maintaining heavy evapotranspirative demand in regions experiencing rapid drought degradation. Above-normal temperatures are also favored across Hawaii and the Alaska Panhandle and southeastern Alaska, while below-normal temperatures are more likely across the rest of Mainland Alaska. The precipitation outlook exhibits a weaker signal for the CONUS, with slightly enhanced chances for above-normal precipitation across the western U.S. and New England, while near-normal precipitation is favored elsewhere. High probabilities for above-normal precipitation extend across Hawaii, with enhanced odds for above-normal rainfall exist across most of Alaska except for the Panhandle.

From email from the Colorado Water Congress (Blair Carpenter):

August 20, 2026

The Colorado Water Congress awarded Mike Applegate, a life-long advocate of Colorado water issues, the 2026 Wayne N. Aspinall “Water Leader of the Year” Award. The Aspinall Award is given annually in recognition of a career of service and contribution to Colorado’s water community. It is awarded to a person who has dedicated a significant part of his or her career to the advancement of the state and its programs to protect, develop and preserve the state’s water resources.

About Mike Applegate

Mike Applegate served as a Northern Water Board of Director from 1991 to 2023, serving 35 years total and 25 of those years as President of the Board. He was appointed Director Emeritus in fall 2023 and sworn in on Jan. 11, 2024. Applegate was the CEO, president and major shareholder in the Applegate Group, Inc., a consulting engineering firm specializing in water resource services in the Western United States. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Colorado State University and was a water resources engineer working on planning, water rights evaluation, river basin modeling and design.

Applegate has served as:

• Northern Water and Municipal Subdistrict Board of Director from 1991 to 2023.
• Northern Water Board President from 1998 to 2023.
• A CSU advisory board member and guest lecturer on ethics to the College of Engineering since 2008
• A member of a CSU organizing committee to raise funds for the Water Resources Archives since 2005
• A CSU advisor to the Civil Engineering Department for strategic direction since 2004

In 2023, Applegate was honored with the 2023 Board Member of the Year Award by the Special Districts Association. He received the George Washington Award for Community Service from the American Council of Engineering Companies in 2005, and was named Engineer of the Year by the Professional Engineers of Colorado in 1993.

Applegate grew up on a ranch in the mountains west of Fort Collins and learned irrigation via manual labor. In 1972, he filed a water court application for the family ranch and decided to pursue a water resources engineering degree. Applegate worked as a consulting engineer his entire 36-year career.

About the Wayne N. Aspinall Award

The Colorado Water Congress presents the prestigious Wayne N. Aspinall Award annually to a Coloradan who has long demonstrated courage, dedication, knowledge and leadership in the development, protection and preservation of Colorado water – those attributes possessed by Mr. Aspinall. The late Wayne Aspinall, a lawyer and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, remains one of the most influential water leaders in Colorado history.

Please feel free to contact me for more information on Mr. Applegate, the Aspinall Award, or any news which may pertain to the Colorado Water Congress.

Best,

Blair Carpenter, Communications Coordinator, Blair@COWaterCongress.org | cowatercongress.org, O: 303-837-0812 

Below is the Precipitation Accumulation in South Platte graph from the NRCS for August 24, 2026. This morning precipitation is at 75% of the median (no change one week), and 69% of the water year median (up 1% one week). There are 37 days left in the water year.

There is a chance for thunderstorms today and Tuesday, showers are likely Wednesday, with a chance for thunderstorms Thursday, a slight chance for thunderstorms Friday, and a chance for showers and thunderstorms Saturday and Sunday, in the central mountains. There is a chance for thunderstorms today and Tuesday, showers are likely Wednesday and Thursday, with a chance for thunderstorms Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, in the northern mountains. There is a chance for thunderstorms today through Thursday, with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms Saturday, and a chance for showers and thunderstorms Sunday, down here about 200 miles from Boggsville, where Amache Prowers moved with her husband in 1867. From Wikipedia:

Amache Ochinee Prowers, also known as Walking Woman (c. 1846–1905), was a Native American activist, advocate, cattle rancher, and operator of a store on the Santa Fe Trail. Her father was a Cheyenne peace chief who was killed during the Sand Creek massacre on November 29, 1864, after which she became a mediator between Colorado territorial settlers, Mexicans, and Native Americans during the 1860s and 1870s. She was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 2018…Amache, a full-blooded member of the Southern Cheyenne tribe, was born possibly in the summer of 1846 during a forced march of her tribe across the plains of Southeastern Colorado…John Wesley Prowers was a trader who visited and then employed by William Bent at Bent’s Fort. He saw Amache perform a Cheyenne dance around 1860. Later, he asked Chief Ochinee if he could marry Amache the following year. They were engaged in a typical Cheyenne courtship, which involved exchanging gifts. In 1861, at the age of 15 or 16, she married 25-year-old John Wesley Prowers, a cattleman and trader. After their marriage, they spent a few months in Westport, Missouri, where she learned the traditions of white women. She experienced prejudice, being called “that Indian woman” by John’s brother-in-law, John Hough. Then they lived at Bent’s Fort…John and Amache worked together in their business and personal pursuits and settled along the Santa Fe Trail in Boggsville, Colorado in 1867. They lived in a 14-room adobe house, which is a Boggsville Historic Site in Bent County, where they raised nine children…Her father helped negotiate a treaty between the government, Cheyenne, and Arapaho to safely camp along Sand Creek during the winter of 1864–1865. At that time, he had met with the Territorial Governor, John Evans. Colonel John Chivington certified that Lone Bear was a man of good character and a “friendly Indian.” Before the attack, the Prowers family, including Amache, were held hostage to prevent them from warning Cheyenne at the Sand Creek winter camp site of the iminent attack…On November 29, 1864, the Cheyenne camp at the Sand Creek was attacked by 600 soldiers of the Colorado Volunteer Cavalry and her father, Peace Chief Ochinee (Lone Bear) and 160 other people, most of whom were children and women, were killed. Her mother was able to escape…Amache went later to the Congress with her husband and testified to seek justice for the Cheyenne. She and her two oldest daughters and her mother each received reparations by the United States government in the form of 640 acres of land along the Arkansas River. Amache used her land to expand her family’s cattle ranch…Located on the Santa Fe Trail, she and her husband ran a store, hotel, post office, county office, and school where people of Euro-American, Native American, and Latin descent met and exchanged information. Prowers spoke English, Spanish, and the language of her birth, Cheyenne.

Here’s a look at the 7-Day Colorado precipitation map through August 23, 2026 from the High Plains Regional Climate Center. Precipitation in the South Platte Basin along the Continental Divide of the Americas ranged from 0.15” to 1.20”.

Here’s the 7-Day percent of normal precipitation map through August 23, 2026 from the High Plains Regional Climate Center. Precipitation in the South Platte River Basin along the Continental Divide of the Americas was 50% to 130% of normal.

Below is the 7-day Quantitative Precipitation Forecast for the week of August 24, 2026. Precipitation is anticipated for the mountains of the South Platte River Basin and may total up to 1.50″.

Below are the 8-14 day outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center, issued August 23, 2026, for temperature and precipitation, for the week starting August 31, 2026. The CPC expects above normal temperatures and near normal precipitation for the mountains of the South Platte River Basin.

Below is the Colorado Drought Monitor map from August 18, 2026. There were one class improvements in Douglas, Arapahoe, Adams, Elbert, Morgan, Weld, Logan, and Sedgwick counties. Drought and abnormal dryness covers 97.2% of Colorado. The South Platte Basin is experiencing Abnormally Dry, Moderate, Severe, Extreme, and Exceptional drought conditions.

Below is the Colorado Drought Monitor one week change map ending August 18, 2026.

Here’s the US Drought Monitor Map from last week along with the one week U.S. change map.

Finally, last week the Climate Prediction Center issued their latest Seasonal Outlooks, through November 30, 2026. The CPC expects above normal temperatures, above normal precipitation, and drought improvement, along with some drought removal near Nebraska, in the South Platte River Basin.