Drought in Teller County, CO: 5.4 years in 10 since 2000

5.4 years in 10

Teller County, CO: 14 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 (14 wk), 2006 (17 wk), 2010 (14 wk), 2011 (52 wk), 2012 (52 wk), 2013 (37 wk), 2017 (14 wk), 2018 (51 wk), 2019 (17 wk), 2020 (22 wk), 2021 (23 wk) and 2022 (13 wk). Not a single drought week in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2014, 2015 and 2025.

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 Apr peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of CO

34th most drought-prone of 64 CO counties; the CO middle is 5.4 in 10. Closest on the list: Logan County (5.4 in 10) and Denver County (5.4 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 Apr (39% of weeks), then Mar (39%) and Feb (37%). Least in Nov (30%). May to September averages 33%.

33 Jan
37 Feb
39 Mar
39 Apr
33 May
31 Jun
31 Jul
34 Aug
34 Sep
34 Oct
30 Nov
30 Dec

The worst year: 2011

2011: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 33.6% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 15.9% at D2, 8.6% at D3, 11 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 155 weeks, Sep 28, 2010 to Sep 10, 2013.

Lately

Last drought year: 2022, 13 weeks. 2016-2025: 6 in 10, against 5 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 25 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.