Planning for Drought 2000

• Title: Planning for Drought
• Date: 5/1/2000
• Description: Drought Planning Report
• Basin: Statewide
• Drought Mitigation - Doc Type: Reports

Paleoclimatic records of the Great Plains, including The most severe sustained drought in the tree-ring
the South Platte River Basin and the Arkansas River record for the Rio Grande Basin occurred in 1573-
basin, indicate that widespread prolonged drought 1592.
(3-10 years) equaled or surpassed the 1930's
drought in intensity and duration in the late 1750s,
early 1820s, and early 1860s. Major droughts that a '
likely exceeded twentieth century droughts occurred 1- -
on the Great Plains in the second part of the 16th JR 1 i �. I
0 i,.. i 1 1 „f P r{ r Ir i
century (possibly the periods 1539 to 1564 and from ;, r 1 1
1587 to 1605) and the last quarter of the 13th a_1.
century (possibly from1276 to1313). The evidence -2- -
— 1573-1592
further suggests at least four periods of widespread
multi-decadal drought occurred on the Great Plains 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 140Ye1500 1600 1700 1800 1900
between A. D. 1 and 1200 (roughly in the periods
250-300, 750-800, 940-990, and 1130-1180).
Arkansas River Basin San Miguel-Dolores-San Juan River Basins
Sufficient precipitation records are available from Sufficient precipitation records are available from
1891 in the lower Arkansas River Basin and from 1898. Recent droughts in the San Miguel-Dolores-
1880 in the upper basin. Recent droughts in the San Juan River Basins occurred in 1899-1905
lower Arkansas River Basin occurred in 1894-1898, (extreme), 1918-1919, 1931-1936, 1945-1947,
1911-1913, 1934-1941 (extreme), 1952-1957, 1964- 1951-1952, 1954-1957, 1976-1978, and 1989-1991.
1966, 1974-1977, and 1981-1982. Recent droughts The most sustained drought in the tree-ring record
in the upper Arkansas River Basin occurred in for the San Miguel-Dolores-San Juan River Basins
1880-1881 (extreme), 1888-1894, 1907-1909, 1932- occurred in 1273-1289. Many archaeologists
1940, 1950-1956, 1963-1965, and 1975-1977. believe this period of severe sustained drought
coincided with the abandonment of Mesa Verde by
Tree-ring Record for Southeastern Colorado the Anasazi. Several shorter, but more severe
(Point 60),1700-1979 droughts, were identified between AD 512 and
6.0 1673.
w ..__ , -- _.- _..___
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x u
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13
C J M .Verde Deutir3C83netre Reconstruction of Annual Roc'pita b on
T 2.0 I -- 181 A.D.•1886AA.
o.o it fJ In 111 b
I 1 1. 3oa9
i
6L_1 t t ,1 . 1. 11 _ 1 .
9
Rio Grande Basin 4 N1 331 ,91 bl 981 I081 1181 1141 1161 1431 1181 1691 1731 leaf 1963
'"I
Sufficient precipitation records in the Rio Grande M:
Basin are available from 1897. Recent droughts in
the Rio Grande Basin occurred in 1897, 1900-1906,
1923, 1939-1940, 1943-1947, 1950-1952 (extreme),
1955-1956, 1963-1964, 1972-1973, and 1996-1997.
4