DENVER — This past winter was the 14th driest on record for Colorado.
It was the driest winter since 2002-03. The driest winter on record was in 1981-82.
The driest locations were found in the mountains and Western Slope.
Colorado was not unique to a dry winter and did better than all of California and Oregon.
For Denver, the numbers aren’t quite so grim. It was the city’s 40th driest on record, meaning the city was close to average.
With the start of spring, there hasn’t been a dramatic change to the weather pattern, particularly to the west. However, Colorado remains one of the drier locations nationally.
So far, March has done little favor to our precipitation, especially southern areas that remain bone dry. I need a new expression instead of relying on "bone dry" all the time. We could us next week's storm potential…don't disappoint us, storm!#cowx @KDVR @channel2kwgn pic.twitter.com/VmSLulBqV2
— Matt Makens (@MattMakens) March 22, 2018
The good news is that when there’s moisture hitting the West Coast, the odds improve for Colorado to catch some too.
The wet storm system Sunday night benefited the Palmer Divide and western metro areas, and another system is on the way.
This wetter trend isn’t likely to continue for all of spring. The outlook is for a drier-than-average season.
Another storm is on the way for early next week.