10 days of heavy rain washes cuts drought by 60% in Colorado

Ten days of rain on the Front Range and Eastern Plains of Colorado reduced drought conditions in the state by more than 60%, continuing a statewide recovery from drought over the past year. The amount of the state experiencing drought conditions has dropped from 93% a year ago to just 11% today.

May is normally the wettest month in eastern Colorado. But a slow-moving storm, more typical of winter, combined with a summery pattern of strong daily heating and moisture streaming up from the Gulf of Mexico have produced  an extraordinarily wet period in eastern Colorado.

Between May 10 and May 19, central Denver received almost 5 inches of rain, compared with a normal of 2 inches for the entire month. Southern metro areas saw around 7 inches of rain, and Castle Rock topped…