The End of the Drought?

tanjabrittonwriter 33 Comments

One wet spring does not (necessarily) equal the end of the twenty-plus year megadrought, but one may be forgiven for a case of cautious optimism after repeated and copious rains in May and June. As of June 20, the Colorado Springs airport, where the city’s official precipitation is recorded, lists a month-to-date of 7.72 inches, and a year-to-date of 15.35 inches (normal are 1.46 inches and 6.30 inches respectively, and our all-time annual average is 15.17 inches!). There are surprisingly wide variations of rainfall amounts across our sprawling city, but these numbers accord with the volumes measured in our own rain gauge. The photo above shows the two-day total in the second week of June, which was a jaw-dropping experience.

As the following Colorado map shows, Colorado Springs has not been the only recipient of watery gifts from above. According to the Colorado Drought Monitor from 6/15/2023, only 6.6% of Colorado is abnormally dry and a mere 0.4% is in a moderate drought. It is probable that the next update, which happens every Thursday, will show further improvements, as more moisture-laden storms have since moved across the plains.

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There can indeed be too much of a good thing, but luckily for us, we didn’t suffer flooding or hail, unlike other, less fortunate households. The images below show how our typically languid Fountain Creek turned into a raging river. Along its course, parts of the bank were washed out, trees uprooted, and habitat destroyed. It makes me sad to think of all the people whose basements flooded, or whose roofs and cars suffered hail damage, and of all the birds who lost their nests and offspring to the water’s destructive effects.

To enlarge a photo, click on it. To read its caption, hover cursor over it.

A very full Fountain Creek
Eroded river bank and uprooted trees

While the drought was temporarily relieved regionally by similarly high precipitation in 2015, the memory of that year’s verdure has faded, and we marvel each day at the degree of greenness that surrounds us. Even the grass in our garden, which has been ailing for years, has been transformed into a lush lawn.

The clouds and rains were associated with lower temperatures and, consequently, with delayed bloom times for flowers. While our various columbines have thrived, other flowers have been slow to unfurl. California poppies, Showy Milkweed, and Blue Flax are leading the way, and I think more will follow soon, now that the weather pattern seems to be changing, with less rain and the arrival of summer—the week started with temperatures in the high 80s.

Colorado Columbine color variant
Colorado Columbine color variant/Akeleiart
California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)/Goldmohn

Also delayed has been the emergence of insects. We are told to expect mega numbers of mosquitoes thanks to the recent wet conditions and coming heat, but we hope that the bees and butterflies will teem likewise. June 19-26, 2023 has been designated Pollinator Week by the Pollinator Partnership whose mission is “to promote the health of pollinators, critical to food and ecosystems, through conservation, education, and research” (thanks to Tina at My Gardener Says for the reminder). Let’s welcome all our pollinators by avoiding herbicides and pesticides and by planting mostly native plants. The much-maligned Miller Moths who migrate through Colorado Springs on their way from the eastern plains to the mountains each spring are just as crucial in the pollination process as other moths and wasps. All are beautiful in their own way, and all deserve our respect and protection.

One-side Penstemon with a wasp
Unknown-to-me moth. If you recognize it, please let me know.

It is my impression that climate change makes it more challenging for meteorologist to predict the weather and they seem hesitant to tell us what to expect this summer and beyond. If El Niño becomes the prevailing pattern, we might receive regular storms and rain, which would be welcome. While the crystal ball is clouded and won’t divulge the future, we embrace and enjoy the presence as much as is possible with all the worrisome goings-on globally. It’s the only thing any of us can do in every respect, whether we acknowledge it or not.

33 thoughts on “The End of the Drought?”

  2. Rain is good, but I always worry about when it comes how the dry soil and the river beds will cope with so much water at a time.

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  3. Hope the reservoirs are able to capture some of it. No rain in my part of IL for almost 4 weeks now. The farmers in the region are very concerned about their young crops withering.

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  4. The last couple of months have been very dry here but lovely rain yesterday. It must be awful to have a ‘megadrought’. I hope your recent rains will bring all the best effects for both plants and insects!

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  5. There can indeed be too much of a good thing, but how welcome that rain must be. Green is such a lovely color for growing things, trees, grass, and plants. Yes, enjoy the unexpected gift of rain. I hope you get more, but not too much.

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    • Thank you, Laurie, all the rains have transformed our surroundings and we only hope that they won’t stop now. Yesterday and today some areas of Colorado had severe thunderstorms causing hail and flooding, which is the other side of the coin. “Normal” no longer seems an option.

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  6. This sounds encouraging, and a relief for you after the drought you’ve suffered for so long. Here too we have had a short period of near drought followed by monstrous thunderstorms, but nothing to compare with your experience…after all, isn’t everything on a bigger scale in US? 🙂

    I’d read a couple of weeks ago that El Niño appears to be coming. I guess that means we could all be in for an “interesting” (ie extreme and highly unpredictable!) few months. We shall see…

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    • Encouraging, indeed, Mr. P. But talking about monstrous thunderstorms, we also had some of those last night. The night sky was illuminated by one flash of lightning after the other for hours on end. Luckily, we were along the edge and only received 1/2 inch of rain, but some areas had large hail, flooding, and even a tornado warning.
      Unpredictable seems to be the theme of the future, in very respect.

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    • Yes, our local stream has been an actual river for at least a month, even more so after yesterday and today brought more rain and, unfortunately, hail.
      Thank you for the suggestion about how to get help with insect ID. I would like to take a course to help me get a general idea of how to classify them, so I can at least narrow down my choices.

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  10. Draught is terrible anywhere. The weather is definitely unpredictable now.
    In ONtario, we had totally dry weather, then with the wildfires, smoke covered the sun and we had lots of rain, too much. At the moment, we are normal again, not too crazy hot, not too crazy rainy.
    Who know how the summer will be?
    You are apparently located in somewhere extremely beautiful. I’m just in a suburb, but, thankfully, have a large, private space.
    We have bees, lots of them, I keep all wildflowers growing, don’t cut them.
    Wishing you good summer!

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    • I agree, Inese, we can no longer expect the old weather patterns. I’m sorry to hear about your ups and downs; we have been hoping for enough rain to quench all the wildfires in Canada.

      Like you, we live in a suburban area, but we are very close to the Rocky Mountains and can see them from our house. And like you, we are trying to grow as many wildflowers for insects and birds as we can. Let’s hope it makes a difference.

      I also wish you a pleasant summer.

      Tanja

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  11. It seems like weather conditions the past few years have become feast or famine, too much or too little. But I don’t dare complain about our cool spring and ample rain for fear of jinxing it!

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    • You are right, Eliza, we can no longer rely on our long-established “normal” weather patterns. I also won’t complain about a cool, wet spring, as the vegetation is amazingly green and lush for a change. But I’m sure the people who suffered hail and flooding aren’t quite as serene.

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  13. After three back-to-back La Ninas, it’s going to be interesting to see what this year’s El Nino brings. Hotter waters in the Gulf always are a concern, because of the increased risk of hurricanes. On the other hand, tropical systems can throw a good bit of water up into the dry interior of the country, which often is good. My approach for the past decades has been to immerse myself in the postings of trusted meteorologists rather than ‘weather news’ via the media. It helps to keep my blood pressure down (I do hate weather click-bait!) and it’s fun to learn about what factors actually are at play in the changes we see.

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  15. Glad to hear your moisture situation improved. We have had a rough go for a while now, but, ironically as I type we are in the midst of a wicked wind and rain storm…hope our greens turn out as nice as yours.

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