Click the link to read the article on the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent website (Ryan Spencer). Here’s an excerpt:
October 21, 2026
The 2026 water year smashed heat records across the state and was also one of the driest on record, according to an annual report published by the Colorado Climate Center on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The hot, dry conditions produced Colorado’s worst winter snowpack in history and severe drought conditions that had ripple effects across the state, from water shortages to economic impacts.
“The piece that stood out the most this year was the record-setting heat we had,” said Allie Mazurek, the engagement climatologist with the Colorado Climate Center. “It was just ridiculously warm the last 12 months. It wasn’t like we just had some one-off months — every month we experienced over the past 12 months was above-average.”
[…]
The months of December, February, March and August were all the hottest ever documented in Colorado, which has 131 years of records, according to the report. November went down as the third warmest November on record and both July and September were the second warmest…Statewide, the report found that temperatures during the 2026 water year were 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1991-2020 average — and more than 2 degrees warmer than the previous hottest water year on record. Amid climate change, Mazurek said it’s not surprising that Colorado experienced a year with above-average temperatures — but she said the water year was so hot that she expects it to stand out for years to come.