- Recent rainfall brought drought relief to parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.
- Eastern Colorado saw some of the week’s largest improvements.
- Most of Nevada and California saw little change in drought conditions.
- More rain is forecast for parts of the Colorado River Basin through mid-October.
Saturday, October 10, 2026 — Heavy rain soaked large parts of the United States during the first week of October, easing drought conditions in several regions. But the relief was uneven, with some areas receiving several inches of rain while others remained largely dry.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor report
released October 8, 2026, some of the heaviest rainfall occurred across Texas, Oklahoma, the Southeast and the central Plains.
Dallas, Texas, received 4 inches of rain between September 30 and the first week of October. That followed a remarkably dry stretch in which the city recorded just 0.01 inch of rain over 76 days.
The rainfall brought significant improvements to drought-stricken areas. In some locations, conditions improved by two drought categories in a single week.
Other regions, including parts of the Northeast and upper Midwest, continued to experience worsening drought.
Colorado River Basin Sees Uneven Improvement.
Across the seven Colorado River Basin states, the week’s most noticeable improvements occurred in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.
New Mexico received moderate to heavy rainfall early in the reporting period, particularly across north-central and northeastern portions of the state. Some locations recorded nearly 2 inches of precipitation.
Arizona also experienced drought improvement, even though much of the West received little or no measurable rainfall during the week.
The Drought Monitor attributed many of these improvements to the continuing effects of earlier storms. Rainfall from previous weeks was still helping improve environmental conditions.
Eastern Colorado experienced particularly substantial relief. Heavy precipitation across the eastern portion of the state and neighboring Kansas produced totals ranging from 3 inches to more than 6 inches in some locations.
Parts of southeastern Colorado improved by two drought categories.
However, northeastern Colorado and portions of north-central Wyoming experienced worsening drought conditions. Those areas remained north or west of the heaviest rainfall.
Utah recorded improvements in a few areas, while drought conditions across nearly all of Nevada and California remained essentially unchanged.
Why Drought Conditions Improved Without New Rain.
One notable feature of the October 8 report was that drought conditions improved in several western locations despite a relatively dry week.
The Drought Monitor explained that the effects of earlier above-normal rainfall continued to appear in environmental measurements.
That delayed response helped produce improvements across Arizona, New Mexico and portions of Utah.
Cooler temperatures also played a role nationally. As autumn advances, water demand from people and the environment typically declines. According to the report, this seasonal change helped limit drought worsening in areas that received little precipitation.
More Rain Possible Through Mid-October.
The outlook included in the October 8 report called for another push of tropical moisture into portions of the interior West between October 7 and October 12.
Some higher elevations of northeastern Utah and west-central Wyoming were forecast to receive 3 to 6 inches of precipitation in isolated locations.
Other scattered areas of the interior West, along with California’s southern coastal ranges, could receive more than 1.5 inches.
Many lower-elevation areas across the interior West were expected to receive at least half an inch of precipitation.
Temperatures across much of the western United States were also forecast to remain below normal during this period, with some locations in the northern Great Basin and Rockies experiencing daytime highs 8 to 12 degrees Fahrenheit below average.
These figures were forecasts issued with the October 8 report, not confirmed rainfall totals.
Wetter Conditions Favored for October 13–17.
The longer-range outlook suggested additional moisture could reach parts of the Colorado River Basin during the following week.
For October 13 through October 17, wetter-than-normal conditions were favored across a broad region stretching from the Rockies eastward.
The strongest chances for unusually heavy precipitation extended from the central and southern Four Corners region eastward through Texas and into the lower Mississippi Valley.
California presented a different outlook. West-central and northern portions of the state had slightly increased chances of receiving below-normal precipitation.
The forecast described expected weather patterns rather than confirmed changes in drought conditions.
