Drought conditions spread across most of Colorado

DENVER (AP) — Drought conditions have spread across virtually all of Colorado, with the southwestern corner hit hardest.

The U.S. Drought Monitor, a federal agency that tracks conditions nationwide, reported Thursday most of western and southwestern Colorado is in a severe drought, the midpoint of a five-step scale.

Most of the Eastern Plains is in a moderate drought, the second step on the scale. A T-shaped swath of northern and central Colorado is listed as abnormally dry, the mildest drought level.

The U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service reported snow in the southwestern Colorado mountains ranged from just 35 to 48 percent of the long-term average.

Snowpack in the mountains that feed the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado was at 56 percent of average while the rest of state’s mountains ranged from 72 to 82 percent.