DENVER (KDVR) — It has been a dry start to the month of April, and with fire season a year-round concern in Colorado, dry conditions are always a concern.

However, this week’s drought monitor update shows that most of Colorado is still drought-free, and snowpack is playing a big role in helping out.

Colorado’s snowpack is 140% of normal. The whole state is either around or above 100% of normal snowpack levels. San Juan is at 180% of normal snowpack, while to the southeast, the Arkansas River Basin is just below normal at 92% of average.

The high snowpack has helped to keep the western half of Colorado out of drought concerns through the winter and early spring.

However, the latest drought monitor, released on April 6, revealed much drier conditions in Southeast Colorado.

So far, Denver has only picked up 0.2 inches of snowfall in April. It is only 6 days into the month, but that leaves a long way to go before Denver hits the monthly average of 8.8 inches of snow.

April is usually Denver’s second snowiest month with 8.8 inches of snow, just behind March, which typically picks up 11.5 inches. So even though the next week looks dry, there is still plenty of time to pick up April rain and snow showers to help keep Colorado out of drought concerns.