Autumn weather in Cortez and Montezuma County has been lovely so far, but of course there is a down side – a lack of precipitation. Longtime local weather observer James Andrus says October produced a generous amount of rain in Cortez, 1.5 inches, which is 140 percent of the average for that month. But almost all of that came during one deluge in mid-October. Since then, there has been a run of warm, dry days. In an email, Andrus said, “So far, our 2025 monthly precipitation pattern resembles a bouncing see-saw with five above-normal months and five below-normal months.” He said, “A strong La Niña episode of below-normal surface ocean temperatures in the equatorial east Pacific Ocean has helped produce a very mild, gentle autumn in the American Southwest. This ocean pattern is forecast to last until February of 2026, which does not bode well for western mountain snowpacks as such patterns commonly produce warmer, drier winters.” According to Andrus, the first seasonal water-content snowpack analysis shows a very meager snowfall so far in the state’s mountains. He said, “Snow is money in the bank for our reservoirs and deposits in that account will really be needed this winter for spring runoffs.”
Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.
