The drought is over for almost all of Colorado.
"Water providers have no immediate concerns and expect reservoirs to fill."
That is a dramatic change from three months ago when eastern Colorado was in the grip of one of the worst droughts in recent memory.
It looked to be a long, hot summer.
While Logan and Phillips counties smoldered, the Denver Post was reporting that drought conditions were worsening over the eastern third of the state.
By late March the drought had spread to the entire I-25 corridor, and fire departments there were dispatching SCAT trucks with almost every call, just in case.
For eastern Colorado basins, Fenimore said, snowpack remains abnormally high for this time of year, and abnormal amounts of moisture in May have helped to end drought conditions here.
Climatologists caution, however, that the reprieve is temporary.
Beyond the fact that average temperatures will go up, however, there’s little agreement in exactly how much impact there will be.
"In all parts of Colorado, no consistent long-term trends in annual precipitation have been detected," the report said.

“That is all you can be — you never know what the weather is going to do,” said Todd Melanson, environmental compliance manager for the Chelmsford Water District.
The North Chelmsford Water District covers about 15 percent, with the remaining users in the East Chelmsford Water District.
“With the state experiencing above average precipitation for the past few months, and the continuation of best water conservation practices administered by the public, the Commonwealth’s water systems have finally reached normal conditions after two plus years of running a deficit,” Beaton said in the press release.
“And as we move into the warm-weather months, when water use is at its peak, we encourage water suppliers to work with their customers to continue their efforts to use water wisely.” Many factors Melanson has attended many meetings of the Drought Task Force, coalesced under the auspices of the Energy and Environmental Affairs.
“Keeping in mind that the conditions of last year were a culmination of the previous two years of well below-average precipitation in our specific area — with increased temperatures — were the leading reasons for the drought declarations by the State and for the pro-active District reaction of increased restrictions per our Summer Management Plan,” Melanson said.
“That can always change, and that is an overall look,” Melanson said.
In the past six years of graphs marking precipitation data, Melanson said three years — 2012, 2015 and 2016 — showed precipitation at “well below average.” The year 2014 rated as average, and 2013 was slightly above average, Melanson said.
In some cases, we changed our restrictions, because of our local conditions, and other places didn’t.” Restriction in effect An annual water restriction spans May 1-Oct. 15 in the Chelmsford Water District.
Currently that restriction, is also Level One — with corresponding odd and even-numbered watering days, and a choice of 6-9 a.m. or 6-9 p.m. Harper said, “This restriction is required by our water registration requirements with Massachusetts DEP.” The restrictions cover specific high-volume outdoor watering, such as with a garden hose or through irrigation.
“There is a level we have to maintain,” Melanson said.

California and National Drought Summary for May 16, 2017 Summary May 18, 2017 – An active weather pattern continued to result in widespread showers, with some of the heaviest rain falling across the Plains, Midwest, and mid-South. Another area of significant precipitation stretched across the middle and northern Atlantic States, while showers also dotted the Northwest. In contrast, mostly dry weather prevailed from California to the lower Rio Grande Valley, as well as large sections of the lower Southeast. Drought changes from last week were a mix of improvement and deterioration. Specifically, warm, dry weather and short-term rainfall deficits in Texas led to significant increases in the coverage of abnormal dryness (D0) and moderate to severe drought (D1 to D2). Also, hot, mostly dry conditions led to further expansion of moderate to extreme drought (D1 to D3) across southern Georgia and Florida’s peninsula. Elsewhere, patchy improvements in the drought situation were noted in a few areas, including parts of the Southeast. The Northeast Another soaking storm further reduced the coverage of lingering, long-term dryness (D0). Vestiges of dryness, reflected mainly in spotty groundwater shortages, remained in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. Pastures, however, have recovered from last year’s drought and on May 14 were rated 100% good to excellent in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, along with at least 80% good to excellent in Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Southeast Spotty showers brought a mix of slight improvement, no change, or deterioration in areas from Alabama to the southern Atlantic Coast. Florida, with an expanded area of extreme drought (D3) across the central part of the peninsula, led the nation on May 14 in topsoil moisture rated very short to short (77%) and pastures rated very poor to poor (51%), according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Southern Georgia also saw an expansion of D3. Through May 16, year-to-date rainfall in Orlando, Florida, totaled a record-low 3.34 inches (27% of normal). In a May 14 report, USDA noted that Florida’s citrus growers “are irrigating daily to keep moisture on the trees” and that “ditches and canals are very dry in all [citrus] areas.” In addition, Florida’s livestock producers “continue to feed hay, and many need to have it shipped in.” Further, wildfires remain a threat across the lower Southeast. The West Mims fire, near the Florida-Georgia line, has been burning for more than a month after being started by lightning on April 6. The fire has consumed more than 150,000 acres of timber, brush, and grass east of Fargo, Georgia, mainly in…

City trees may worsen air pollution in hot weather.
Hotter summers and more frequent heatwaves due to global warming are likely to worsen urban air pollution from the greenest of all city features: trees and other vegetation.
While many studies have highlighted the multiple benefits of urban greening – it reduces temperatures, controls storm water, sequesters carbon, and improves physical and mental wellbeing – a team of German researchers suggest that future greening programs need to more fully account for the exposure of vegetation in urban areas to the urban heat-island effect as well as human sources of air, soil, and water pollution.
In particular, the researchers, led by Galina Churkina of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, in Potsdam, warn of pollution stemming from the higher quantities of volatile organic compounds (VOC) released by vegetation during hotter weather.
When these VOCs interact with human-caused nitrogen oxides – such as the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emitted by the combustion of fossil fuels in motor vehicle engines – the chemical reactions can lead to ozone and particulate matter, both associated with breathing difficulties and aggravating conditions such as asthma and bronchitis.
While plants release hundreds of different VOCs, the researchers note in their study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, that only a few have a substantial effect on air quality.
“The most important reactive biogenic VOCs are isoprene, monoterpenes, and sesquiterpenes.
Emissions of isoprene mostly contribute to the formation of ground level ozone, while monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes can lead to an increase in particle number and mass.” The paper also notes that while the new results align with other studies (covering Asia, Europe, and North America) pointing to the potential of urban trees worsening air pollution through VOC emissions, “other studies of the same phenomenon complicate the picture”.
The results don’t amount to a call to cut down trees, or indeed to halt urban-greening initiatives.
Rather, the researchers note that tree-planting campaigns simply need to be accompanied by traffic reduction in order to truly benefit urban dwellers.

Drought over, but eclipse event will raise fire danger.
John Saltenberger, a fire weather program manager at the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, will make suggestions to the state about what, if any, fire restrictions there should be during August’s solar eclipse.
(KATU Photo) PORTLAND, Ore. — A surge of people coming to Oregon to view the solar eclipse will raise fire danger in the state, a fire forecaster told KATU.
Saltenberger tracks fire conditions.
Wildfires, he said, are caused by a combination of factors, including weather and an ignition source.
According to the National Park Service, 90 percent of wildfires in the United States are caused by humans, from unattended campfires, discarded cigarettes or arson.
Close to a million people are expected to travel to Oregon to witness a rare solar eclipse in August.
“It’s unprecedented,” he said.
Saltenberger makes recommendations to the state on what fire restrictions to make in the state.
In past years, campfires, barbecue fires and fireworks have been banned.

UK Hosepipe ban 2017: Britain driest for SIX YEARS as drought fears sweep country.
Parched fields and woodlands have become tinder boxes for fires sparking warnings for walkers and ramblers to be vigilant.
Weeks of no rain have left soil bone dry while river and groundwater levels across the country continue to fall.
Groundwater levels in parts of the UK have now sunk to levels not seen for six years, according to the Soil Association.
“Soils in parts of the UK are currently at the moisture status we would normally see in summer.” Thu, November 10, 2016 Not all British weather brings chaos.
Take a look at these breathtaking images of early morning sunrises, sunsets and stunning beauty across the UK.
The Met Office said the mercury is likely to top 25C (77F) by the middle of next week as warm air sweeps in from the Continent.
Parts of the country will see showers although not the persistent rainfall needed to replenish depleted water stocks.
Met Office forecaster Oli Claydon said: “There is the potential to see 25C (77F) in the south next week dependent on cloud cover and how much sun we get.
“Further north we expect to see highs of around 16C (60.8F), it will feel much milder in some parts of the UK because of the contrast from the dry, cooler conditions over the past couple of weeks.

Drought could cause landslides, experts warn as cliffs on verge of collapse.
The threat to the nation’s cliff tops also extends to large parts of the east coast in Yorkshire and East Anglia.
"Movement on the coastline in this area is not unusual but the amount that fell on Tuesday evening is significant in its size – 20m long.
and tonnes of debris," she said.
It comes as the UK experienced the driest winter for 20 years and there are fears the UK could be in for a summer drought as the wettest inhabited place in England, Seathwaite, Cumbria, remains “bone dry”.
Experts have told the Telegraph that more slips could happen across the UK.
"After periods of really dry weather you get cracks forming in the cliffs and then if heavy rain comes it suddenly increases the weight at the top and you get landslides.
In 2015 a large section of the East Yorkshire coastline began collapsing after a large crack appeared in the cliffs at Mappleton beach East Riding Council has issued a warning for people using the beaches to be aware that coastal erosion can happen at any time.
"Whilst extended periods of dry or wet weather may contribute to incidents, the main driver for coastal erosion in the East Riding is wave action which is further exacerbated by storm conditions. "
In 2012 a tourist was crushed by a rock fall at Burton Bradstock, near West Bay, in Dorset, close to where the hit TV series Broadchurch is filmed.

Water summary update shows no drought in Iowa.
Iowans are always concerned about the weather and what the upcoming seasons are as far was water is concerned.
For the first time in almost a year, none of Iowa is shown in any form of drought or dryness in the latest Water Summary Update.
Conditions in Iowa continue to improve, especially in the areas of southeast Iowa that had been dry over the winter.
Thanks to a wet and cool April, there are no drought designations in the state and shallow groundwater is now rated as normal to above normal across the state.
Streamflow is above normal across much of the state.
Most of April saw mild weather with temperatures above normal for most of the month.
The statewide average precipitation for April was 3.89 inches, or 0.38 inches above the 30-year normal.
This was the 13th consecutive April with above-average statewide precipitation (for recorded rainfall since 1873).
For a thorough review of Iowa’s water resource trends, go to www.iowadnr.gov/watersummaryupdate Water Summary Update is a quick view of four ways to explain the status of Iowa’s water resources and observes events affecting water supplies.

Dry soil in California affects this weather pattern?
Water Deeply: Does that mean soil moisture in California could predict this Wave-5 pattern, the way ocean temperatures predict El Niño?
What we are doing is just trying to find out factors like how tropical precipitation or soil moisture can affect the probability of the Wave-5.
Water Deeply: Will you be able to use this pattern to warn about the next drought?
Water Deeply: Is Wave-5 connected in any way to other weather patterns, such as El Niño?
Teng: El Niño can influence mid-latitude atmospheric circulation.
But this Wave-5 pattern is an atmospheric-intrinsic pattern.
Water Deeply: Once it forms, how long does this Wave-5 pattern last?
That’s why, during the California drought, it had this longer pattern.
Teng: We only focused on the California drought.

April 28, 2017 – During the 7-day period (ending Tuesday morning), widespread heavy rain eased drought but caused local flooding from Oklahoma to the Carolina Coast.
Additional improvements to drought intensity and coverage were noted in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic in response to late-spring rain as well as recovering groundwater levels.
For example, 12-month precipitation stood at 60 to 75 percent of normal in the interior Southeast’s Moderate to Extreme Drought (D1 to D3) areas.
South Heavy rain in northern portions of the region contrasted with dry conditions closer to the Gulf Coast.
High Plains Wet weather brought drought relief to the southern half of the region, while conditions remained unchanged on the northern High Plains’ long-term drought areas (denoted by an “L” on the map).
Precipitation amounts were highly variable, but well-placed moderate to heavy rain and wet snow (1-3 inches liquid equivalent, locally more) led to reductions of Abnormal Dryness (D0) and Moderate Drought (D1) over southern-most portions of Wyoming, northern and northeastern Colorado, as well as the northwestern and southeastern corners of Kansas.
Additional D1 and D0 reductions were made from eastern Colorado into southwestern Kansas despite lighter rainfall (half inch or less), as precipitation totals over the past 90 days were now mostly well above normal, with 30-day totals locally more than three times normal.
Farther east, well-placed moderate to heavy rain and wet snow (1-3 inches liquid equivalent, locally more) led to reductions of Abnormal Dryness (D0) and Moderate Drought (D1) over southern-most portions of Wyoming as well as northern and northeastern Colorado.
Additional D1 and D0 reductions were made in eastern Colorado despite lighter rainfall (half inch or less), as precipitation totals over the past 90 days were now mostly well above normal, with 30-day totals locally more than three times normal.
In Hawaii, moderate to heavy rain (locally more than 1 inch) on the southern coast of the Big Island led to a small reduction of Severe Drought (D2).