A look at the water year of 2026

The Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University has issued its annual report of the water year. The water year takes the 12 months starting in October of one year and ending in October of the next. So, Water Year 2026 includes late 2025 and most of 2026 climate data. It summarizes not only precipitation, but also temperatures and other climate data. This year’s report is a bombshell and includes comparisons with climate events going back to 1895. Keep in mind that this report refers to statewide conditions. What follows is a summary of that report, frequently using the author’s words without quoting him. It is also full of useful and colorful maps and graphs.

1. It was the warmest water year on record, including the warmest winter, spring, and summer on record! Statewide average temperatures were 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1891–2020 average, and 286 of our days were above average. Only 79 days were below average statewide.
2. It was the warmest water year on record, including the warmest winter, spring, and summer on record. Statewide average temperatures were 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1891–2020 average, and 286 of our days were above average. Only 79 days were below average statewide.
3. Colorado saw its lowest mountain snowpack on record. Snowpack peaked at only about 51% of average, surpassing well-known bad snow years of 1987 (locally called the winter of no snow), 1981, 2002, and 2012. Sixty of the state’s 64 snow stations reported record-low snow water equivalents on April 1, because ridiculously warm March temperatures began chipping away at our supply.
4. The March heat wave, caused by a significant heat dome over the entire West, was truly outlandish. The statewide average temperature for March was nearly 10 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1991–2020 average. Temperature records were obliterated, as some areas of Colorado recorded a week’s worth of temperatures that were warmer than any other March day in the past 75 years. These conditions caused rapid meltoff that had never been recorded so early in the season.

Locally here in Gunnison, I had to scurry back to the records to see if we were in accord with the statewide climate events. In short, yes, but there are some caveats.

Let’s start with the winter of 2025-26. As you might recall, it was so warm and dry that many local people thought it was the warmest and driest in their lifetime. Well, it wasn’t, but it certainly was very warm and dry. The average temperature (21.9 degrees) was almost 9 degrees warmer than the long-term average. The snowfall was about half of normal in town and record-low in the nearby mountains, as you well know.

Spring was also shockingly warm, with March, just like the rest of the state, leading the way and behaving like April. You might recall that March broke or tied 17 all-time local temperature records and even hit 79 degrees on March 25, breaking the record by 11 degrees. Overall, spring was about 6.5 degrees warmer than average and a little drier than usual.

Summer continued this trend, with the combined average temperature almost 4 degrees warmer than normal (63.2 vs. 59.3 degrees). Although we had several 90-degree days in both July and August (92 degrees was the highest) and a handful of high 80s, it wasn’t super hot here compared to other towns in western Colorado. In July, the Grand Junction airport had 15 100-degree days, including three days in a row of 104 degrees. The usual summer monsoons didn’t show up on time, and it continued to be dry, giving us only 0.54 inches of rain in a month that averages 1.44 inches.

Fall isn’t over yet, but the drought has finally ended with almost 3 inches of rain in September compared to the average 0.98 inches. Local streams, which were practically drying up, are running again. September temperatures ran about 4 degrees above average. Now, in late October, we’re being drenched and flooded, at least in the Four Corners area, where people are being evacuated and it feels like winter is coming.

To view the entire 2026 Water Year report as an ArcGIS StoryMap, visit bit.ly/4sBOmNS.