It’s been dry and drier for the past few weeks. D0 conditions are starting to show up around the state. Click on the thumbnail graphic to view the latest from the U.S. Drought Monitor. Here’s a report from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
The Arkansas River through Pueblo has been buoyed by water releases for farms the past few weeks since river levels began to plunge in July. The state is running water to John Martin Reservoir over the next four days that will keep levels up, but that will end…
Pat Edelmann of the local U.S. Geological Survey office said dry conditions have hit the Western United States for the past month, including the Upper Arkansas River…
“Many gauges along the mainstem of the Arkansas River are below 25 percent of average,” Edelmann said. “In the Upper Arkansas, readings are 100 to 250 cubic feet per second below average.” At Avondale, generally the high point of the river, readings were at about 300 cfs Thursday — half of what they usually are. Water storage levels are still above average, barely, at Turquoise and Twin Lakes, and at 134 percent of average in Lake Pueblo, said Roy Vaughan of the Bureau of Reclamation…
It has barely sprinkled in Pueblo so far this month, and the last appreciable rains came in early August. The forecast from the National Weather Service is calling for dry conditions through early next week. Rainfall for the year is slightly above average, but falling behind last year’s relatively high levels of precipitation.