With 15 days of 90-degree temperatures and scant rainfall this month, Colorado is starting to look like it did during the drought of 2002.
Ranchers across the plains are selling off cattle, some Front Range cities are imposing water restrictions and Boyd Lake could go dry by Labor Day.
“This is as dry as we’ve ever been,” said Ron Brinkman, general manager of the Greeley-Loveland Irrigation Co., which operates the lake. “In some ways, it’s just as bad as 2002.”
A long-range weather forecast released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, however, promises some relief from the dry conditions.
July, it turns out, could be downright soggy compared with June, according to the forecast, which predicts that the monsoon season – which typically arrives in July – may produce above average rainfall.
“The bottom line is you can be sure July is going to be hot, but there’s a pretty decent chance there will be more moisture than in June,” said Klaus Wolter, a NOAA climatologist.
The short-term forecast calls for rain this week across much of eastern Colorado – a region plagued by high temperatures.
In fact, if two more days top the 90-degree mark, this will be the hottest June on record in Denver.
“The lack of rain and low snowpack levels paint a pretty grim picture for agriculture this year,” said Agriculture Commissioner Don Ament.
“Historically, this could be as bad as the drought we faced in the 1950s,” Ament said.
Some Colorado cattle ranchers – facing poor grazing opportunities and high hay prices – have begun selling their herds.
On Tuesday, the Winter Livestock auction in La Junta expected to sell about 1,800 head of cattle – more than three times the average for this time of year, according to a spokesman.
The Greeley-Loveland Irrigation Co. also began pumping water out of Boyd Lake on Tuesday. The lake may go dry by August, managers said.
Boaters worry that they won’t be able to use the ramp at Boyd Lake much longer if water levels continue to fall.
“It’s not the irrigators’ fault,” said Mary Livesay of Broomfield, who’s been boating at Boyd Lake for six years. “But there seems to be water available, and we don’t understand why the state hasn’t contributed its fair share.”
Some utilities have asked customers to cut water use.
Such steps have left other reservoirs across the state in better shape than Boyd Lake.
Staff writer Kim McGuire can be reached at 303-820-1240 or kmcguire@denverpost.com.
