![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/ap376409281753_1.jpg)
Colorado is slogging through a wetter than normal spring, with heavy rains restoring much-needed moisture to parched rangeland and sending some rivers over the banks, but the precipitation isn't helping downstream states in the Southwest that rely on the Colorado River, which originates in western Colorado.
- Today: Photos of wild lightning over Boulder
- May 13: Decks washed away in Colorado Springs
- May 11: Snow, tornadoes and sinkholes
The U.S. Drought Monitor said Thursday a series of recent storms have dropped up to four times the normal weekly rainfall in some areas of the West. However, three-quarters of the region remains in a long-term drought.