Results of 23 years of drought monitoring and research in Colorado

The Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University was established in 1974. By 1977, Colorado was in the throws of the worst winter snow drought in recorded history. Since that time, the Colorado Climate Center has assumed the important role of providing current climate information to state and federal agencies, to the media, and to the general public in order to assess drought conditions and gauge response activities. The Colorado State Drought Response Plan went into effect in 1981 creating the "Water Availability Task Force" for the purpose of routine and ongoing interagency coordinated water supply monitoring. Interestingly, since that time the period 1982-1999 has emerged as the longest period free from multi-year drought since just prior to the 1930s "Dustbowl" drought. Despite generous precipitation, strides towards improved drought monitoring have continued culminating in the 1999 completion of two major publications on drought, "Historical Dry and Wet Periods in Colorado" and "A History of Drought in Colorado - Lessons Learned and What Lies Ahead." This paper recaps some of the accomplishments of the past 23 years such as the development of a Surface Water Supply Index and the Standardized Precipitation Index for integrated drought monitoring. Finally, key characteristics of Colorado drought, as revealed by many decades of precipitation, snowpack and streamflow data, will be summarized.