Drought in Park County, CO: 4.2 years in 10 since 2000

4.2 years in 10

Park County, CO: 11 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2002 (48 wk), 2003 (35 wk), 2004 (22 wk), 2006 (13 wk), 2012 (35 wk), 2013 (37 wk), 2018 (28 wk), 2019 (16 wk), 2020 (21 wk), 2021 (31 wk) and 2022 (20 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2023.

Plan for drought as normal: shrink the lawn, go drip and natives

Drought is the normal state of things here. Most of the yard goes to natives and gravel on drip; any grass that stays is a small, tough patch.

If you are replacing turf, plant natives in fall so roots set before the Jul peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of CO

60th most drought-prone of 64 CO counties; the CO middle is 5.4 in 10. Closest on the list: Summit County (4.2 in 10) and Jackson County (3.8 in 10). Driest in CO: Otero County (6.5 in 10). Least drought: Grand County (3.5 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Jul (33% of weeks), then Apr (33%) and Aug (30%). Least in Sep (22%). May to September averages 28%.

23 Jan
26 Feb
29 Mar
33 Apr
30 May
27 Jun
33 Jul
30 Aug
22 Sep
28 Oct
28 Nov
28 Dec

The worst year: 2002

2002: 48 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 28.1% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 17.4% at D2, 6.9% at D3, 62 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 83 weeks, Feb 5, 2002 to Sep 2, 2003.

Lately

Last drought year: 2022, 20 weeks. 2016-2025: 5 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 44 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.