Below is the Snow Water Equivalent in South Platte graph from the NRCS for October 19, 2026. Snowpack is 136% of the median (down 24% one week) and 3% of the median peak (up 2% one week). There was a nice early season bump due to the beautiful storminess last week. There are 189 days until the median peak. I’ve added the lines for 2026, 2018, 2012, and 2002 since the statewide drought is still very pronounced.
Below is the view of Mount Blue Sky from Sloans Lake in Denver, after the storms last week.
Below is the Precipitation Accumulation in South Platte graph from the NRCS for October 19, 2026. This morning precipitation, at the SNOTEL stations, is at 94% of the median (up 89% one week), and 4% of the water year median (up 4% one week), due to the bump from the beautiful storminess last week. There are 254 days left in the water year. I’ve added the lines for 2026, 2018, 2012, and 2002 since the statewide drought is still very pronounced.
There is a slight chance for showers today, showers are likely Wednesday and Thursday, with a chance for rain/snow Friday and Saturday, in the central mountains. There is a chance for showers Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, with a chance for rain and snow showers Saturday, in the northern mountains. There is a slight chance for showers Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, down here about 107 miles from Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument near where Adeline Warfield Hornbek settled in the Florissant Valley. From the Nation Park Service:
In 1876, as Colorado celebrated its statehood, Adeline relocated for the last time to an area known as the Florissant Valley. At an elevation of 8500 feet, this alpine valley was covered with large meadows of wild buffalo grass and acres of aspen and pine trees. This was the ideal conditions for a free-grazing cattle ranch. With the help of her neighbors and her teenage children, she built a two-story log house with 5 rooms and a parlor that would be the center of her new ranch. Historically, Adeline would be one of the first women to file a Homesteading Claim in the Florissant Valley and the state of Colorado. Over the next few years, Adeline’s ranch grew and eventually doubled in size. She owned as many as 100 cattle with her own registered cattle brand and employed several ranch hands. As the community also grew, she devoted more of herself to helping the homesteaders of Florissant valley prosper. she helped establish the Florissant school board, which hired a teacher, and built the first school in the area. She opened her home to social events that helped establish Florissant as a successful homesteading community. In 1893, Adeline and other women voted legally for the first time in Colorado. Historians argue that women of the frontier, like Ms. Hornbek, proved they had earned their right to vote. It was not a coincidence that states like Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming were the first to recognize the equality of men and women. Twenty-seven years later, the 19th Amendment gave many women in the United States the right to vote.
Here’s a look at the Colorado 7-Day precipitation map through October 18, 2026 from the High Plains Regional Climate Center. Precipitation in the South Platte Basin along the Continental Divide of the Americas ranged from 0.30” to 1.50″.
Here’s the Colorado 7-Day percent of normal precipitation map through October 18, 2026 from the High Plains Regional Climate Center. Precipitation in the South Platte River Basin along the Continental Divide of the Americas was 100% to 400% of normal.
Here’s the most recent 7-Day Departure from Normal Temperature (F) for Colorado through October 18, 2026 from the High Plains Regional Climate Center.
Below is the 7-day Quantitative Precipitation Forecast for the week of October 19, 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 October 18, 2026, for temperature and precipitation, for the week starting October 19, 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 October 13, 2026. There was no change in depiction for the South Platte River Basin. Drought and abnormal dryness covers 84.38% 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 October 13, 2026.
Here’s the US Drought Monitor Map from last week along with the one week U.S. change map.
Finally, do you think it’s been warm over the past year? Here’s the County Average Temperature Rank (131 years) for October 2025 through September 2026.
