JACKSON, Wyo. — Drought conditions in Teton County are worsening. The entire county is now considered to be in either severe or extreme drought.

According to the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), there are five levels of drought, starting with “abnormally dry” (D0) up to “exceptional drought” (D4). Currently, Teton County is experiencing severe drought (D2) and extreme drought (D3).

A screenshot from the NIDIS website indicating drought levels across the state of Wyoming.

NIDIS breaks down what these drought levels mean for the state of Wyoming. Severe Drought (D2) can bring poor pasture conditions, overgrazing, scarce hay, increase in dust, stressed trees and vegetation, low water pressure and declining well levels. Extreme drought (D3) can mean the snowpack is poor and surface water is inadequate for ranching and farming. Those impacts come on top of the typical impacts from D0 and D1, such as fishing restrictions, elevated fire danger, low creek and river levels, and less water available for irrigation.

The Town of Jackson remains under irrigation restrictions, enacted by Town Council in July. A video posted to the Town’s social media profiles on Thursday, Aug. 14, reminds residents to continue conserving water. According to the post, Teton County has been in drought for the last 58 weeks, and June was the ninth-driest June on record over the past 131 years.

Mayor Arne Jorgensen told Buckrail in July that the irrigation restrictions are in place to reserve a certain capacity of water for fire emergencies. The Town must maintain enough water to respond to a structure fire if it were to align with the time of peak irrigation use.

“It’s not a magic line, it’s not that precise, but we are looking for trends every night,” Jorgensen said. “It’s OK as long as we’re getting compliance and maintain that safety factor for fire protection.”

Buckrail Meteorologist Alan Smith said via email that 2021 and 2022 are recent examples of mid-summer drought that were followed by substantial August rainfall. In those years, the August precipitation was more than double the Jackson average, and drought conditions still did not improve. This year, instead of above-average rainfall, Teton County has received “virtually no rainfall during the first 12 days of August.”

Monica is a Staff Reporter who studied journalism at Syracuse University and has been in the valley since 2015. She loves writing about the local food and bev scene, especially craft beer. When she’s not on the clock, you can find her paddle boarding, sewing, or whipping up a new recipe at home.