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,;colorado Water Resources Research Iustitute. Summary of Colorado's Droughts and Prominent Wet Periods, 1890-1999. 1957-1958 WET 1957 brought persistent widespread drought-breaking precipitation across nearly all of . Colorado - wettest year in recorded history. Table of Dry and Wet Periods for Colorado from the Fraction of Observing Sites. Precipitation for 24 month SPI. Duration Date NOTE: The dates in this summary are based on J 2-month water year (Oct-Sept) precipitation totals from individual weather stations and thus are not identical to the dates in the table for 24-month periods. at the bottom of the page: . 1890-1894 DRY Severe hut brief drought in 1890. particularly east of mountains. followed by a very wet 1891. Dry 1893 with severe drought 1894, again most pronounced over eastern Colorado. . 1898-1904 DRY Sustained and very severe drought over southwestern Colorado. Worst drought on record in Durango area. Some dry years elsewhere in Colorado, but not as severe or sustained. Very wet 1900 northeast Colorado. . 1905-1929 WET Longest recorded wet period in Colorado history with greatest area] extent in 1905- 1906,1914-15,1921, 1923 and 1927. Significant but brief droughts did occur during this period, most notably 1910-11, and 1924-25 . 1930-1940 DRY Most widespread and longest lasting (and most famous) drought in Colorado recorded history. Severe drought developed in 1931 and peaked in 1934 and early 1935. Interrupted by heavy spring rains in 1935 and more widespread heavy rains in 1938. Culminated with one more extremely dry year in 1939 when several stations along the Front Range recorded their driest year in history . 1941-1949 WET Widespread wet weather, especially ]94]-42, 1947 and 1949. Wet period interrupted with dry mountain winters - 1944-45 and 1945-46 with very low snowpack accumulation . 1950-1956 DRY Extremely dry period statewide except for one very snowy mountain winter 1951-52. Most of state affected, and drought worse than the 1930s in some areas such as the Front Range. . Date Dry . 1959-1973 DRYIWET Interesting roller coaster ride with alternating very wet and fairly dry periods and large spatial variations. Local drought was prevalent in 1959, 1960, 1962,1963.1964, 1966 and 1972. Very wet weather was reported in 1961, 1965.1969, 1970 and 1973 with episodes of flooding. . 1974-1978 DRY Colorado's most recent period of sustained multi-year drought culminating in the record-breaking winter drought of 1976-1977. the driest winter in recorded history for much Colorado's high country and Western Slope. . 1979-1980 WET Briefbut pronounced wet period with heavy winter snows helped replenish reservoirs. . 1981 DRY An extreme but brief drought period from the fall of 1980 into the summer of 1981. This drought again took aim at the Colorado high country and ski industry and initiated a huge investment in snow making equipment. It also stimulated the writing of the "Colorado Drought Response Plan" and the formation of the "Water Availability Task Force" which has been meeting at least once a quarter each year since 1981. . 1982-1999 WET Colorado's second longest sustained wet period in recorded history and the most drought free period since 1890. Extremely abundant snowpack and surface water supplies 1982- 1987 -largest annual streamflow volumes this century on several rivers. Interesting period, 1987- 1994 with only modest snow pack accumulation and consistently below average streamflows, but with low elevation precipitation above average reducing demand for surface water. Significant but brief drought in 1989 to early 1990 in southwest Colorado. A brief growing season drought in 1994 in northeast Colorado, and another localized drought over SW Colorado from late 1995 into 1996. Very wet state- wide in 1995, 1997 and 1999. The decade of the 1990s has been the wettest in recorded history over much of southeastern Colorado. Wet Duration 1893-1905 X 12 years 1905-1931 X 26 years 1931-1941 X 10 years 1941-1951 X 10 years 1951-1957 X 6 years 1957-1959 X 2 years 1963-1965 X 2 years 1965-1975 X 10 years 1975-1978 X 3 years 1979-1996 X 17 years 15