The latest drought report released Thursday morning by the National Drought Mitigation Center paints a bleak picture for eastern Colorado this spring, particularly for the southeast.

Over the past three months, the region has gone from largely drought-free to areas of moderate and severe drought. The most substantial changes have come over the past three weeks.

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Moderate drought entered the area in late April, stretching from Baca County into southeast Cheyenne County. With the most recent report, moderate drought expanded further to the west, and an area of severe drought entered much of Powers County, and a small portion of eastern Bent County.

In contrast to increasing drought in southeast Colorado, more than half of the state remains drought free, and another third of the state is abnormally dry.

Southwest Colorado and the San Luis Valley largely fall into the abnormally dry category, though portions of Las Animas, Costilla, Conejos, Archuleta, La Plata, and Montezuma counties are experiencing moderate drought. In the northwest, parts of Mesa, Garfield, and Rio Blanco counties are also in moderate drought.