The recent monsoons, while triggering mudslides on several roadways on the Western Slope, have helped reduce the state’s drought conditions, according to new information released Thursday from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

As of Aug. 3, 56.64% of the state is no longer in drought. That’s up from 7.84% of the state just three months ago.

The news gets better for the areas hardest hit by drought earlier this year. Only 6.38% of the state, mostly in northwestern Colorado, is still in exceptional drought (D4), the worst category of drought. That’s down from 15.43% just a week ago.

Moffat and Routt counties continue to experience the worst drought, although compared to just a week ago, those conditions have also improved slightly. Rio Blanco and Garfield counties have seen more dramatic improvements, although that’s also led to the mudslides that are plaguing Glenwood Canyon and which led to the closure of I-70 through the canyon a week ago, with no announced date for reopening from the Colorado Department of Transportation, which is working to remove debris 10 feet deep from the highway.

Becky Bolinger, a climatologist with the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University, tweeted a drought monitor chart Thursday that showed how dramatic the improvements have been.

“How benefit has monsoon moisture been in eliminating #drought conditions in western CO over the last month? Here are the category changes that have occurred over the last 4 weeks.”

Bolinger added that there are still lingering impacts of the drought  while conditions are improving, and the drought has not been eliminated.

At the beginning of 2021, the entire state was in at least low-level drought while 27.6% of the state was in exceptional drought.

There are signs of the drought beginning to creep into northeastern Colorado, notably Yuma and Washington counties, although those conditions are at the lowest level of drought.

The recent rains, however, have not dampened the need for wariness around wildfires. The National Weather Service in Grand Junction has issued a fire weather watch – meaning gusty winds, low humidity and dry fuels – for Friday for Moffat, Mesa and Routt counties.

The U.S. Drought Monitor is a partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.