A little more than an inch of precipitation fell on Cortez in February. That was 111 percent of normal, according to longtime local weather observer James Andrus.
However, the area is still thirsty and the outlook is not good for the next several months.
Andrus told KSJD in an email that year-to-date precipitation is 86 percent of average and the entire Colorado mountain snowpack remains at half to two-thirds of normal.
The San Miguel, Dolores, Animas, San Juan Snotel measurements were at 57 percent of the 1991-2020 NRCS median as of March 3.
Cortez is currently classified as abnormally dry, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. That means it is not actually in drought, but drought could easily ensue.
The climate has been in a La Niña episode, bringing a warm and dry winter.
Now, the Washington Post reports that there are indications that an extremely strong El Niño event may come later this year, which could mean a hotter-than-normal summer in the West. That could bring greater danger of wildfire and drought.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026/03/09/super-el-nino-explained/
“A typical El Niño affects regional-to-global weather patterns, as a warming patch of water in the equatorial Pacific Ocean influences what regions could experience droughts, floods and extreme heat,” reporter Ben Noll writes. “During these relatively rare super El Niño events, happening once every 10 to 15 years on average, the effects may be stronger, more persistent and more widespread.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is leaning toward the prediction of El Niño developing, the Post says, but like most things involving the weather, this is not certain to happen.
About three dozen people convened in Cortez’s Veterans Park on Sunday for what was called an Angry Knit-In. It was part of a nationwide event that included knit-ins at more than 50 sites on International Women’s Day.
In Cortez, speakers talked about how women have used crafts and fabric art to convey coded messages during war and to “stitch activism into fabric.” Participants created tassels to place on a sign saying no to fascism.
