March brought cooler and drier than normal conditions to the Durango area. The average high was 55.0°and the average low was 23.3°. The normal average high is 59.8° and average low is 33.3°. Extremes ranged from a high of 71° on the 15th to a low of 8° on the 24th. It was a dry month with 0.40 inches of precipitation compared to the normal value of 1.42 inches.

It was a cool and dry month in Durango compared to the 30-year normal for the area. The average high was 38.2° compared to the normal high of 46.8°. The average low was 12.1° compared to the normal low of 18.8°. Temperature extremes for the month ranged from a high of 47° on the 16th and 17th to a low of -5° on the 12th. Precipitation was much below normal for the month with 0.47 inches measured. The normal value is 1.16 inches.

Cold air was in place across southwest Colorado for much of January with temperatures several degrees below normal. Durango saw an average high of 32.5° compared to the normal of 40.9°. Overnight lows averaged 0.2° compared to the normal of 12.5°. Temperature extremes ranged from a high of 44° on the 24th to a low of -21°on the 12th and 15th. Overnight lows were at or below 0° on 18 of the 31 days. It was a wet month across southwest Colorado with Durango picking up 1.74 inches of precipitation. The normal value is 1.12 inches.

December 2012 was a cool month for the Durango area, with temperatures running several degrees below normal. Daytimes highs averaged 37.7°, below the normal high of 41.9°. Overnight lows averaged 8.8°, well below the normal value of 14.6°. Extremes ranged from a high of 56° on the 2nd, 3rd and 5th to a low of -14° on the 20th. The month brought 0.93 inches of precipitation.

Drought across the southern central U.S. and a freeze in Colorado's San Luis Valley has generated intense demand for hay grown in Southwest Colorado. This year's harvest, enhanced from summer monsoon rainfall across southwest Colorado, is ready to be harvested, but getting hay cut and windrowed for baling means risking the cut hay being rained on, which can lead to mold and a subsequent inability to sell the hay. Accurate weather forecasts for rainfall are often used to decide when to cut and bale a resource that is in high demand this year. Read more online at:The Durango Herald

The April 6, 2011 Lightner Creek fire northwest of Durango began as a 10-12 acre fire, which was quickly contained by local fire authorities. Although larger snowfall amounts were recorded at higher elevations in southwest Colorado, mirroring the snowpack trend in the northern half of the state, lower elevations have received less precipitation, enhancing the fire risk to communities and residents. According to Kent Grant of the Colorado Forest Service, this pattern is typical of the La Nina conditions currently being experienced in the region.

Read more online at: The Durango Herald