State Precipitation Map

SPM 09-02-2019: Record Heat for September

September 2, 2019 by COfloodthreat ·

Issue Date: Monday, September 2nd, 2019
Issue Time: 9:10 AM MDT

Summary:

Strong high pressure allowed for abundant sunshine to heat Colorado yesterday, setting record highs across the state. Denver (98°F), Boulder (98°F), Alamosa (87°F), Colorado Springs (95°F), Pueblo (101°F), and Grand Junction (100°F) all set record high temperatures for the date. In fact, Denver’s record high temperature set a new record for the entire month of September. With the extreme heat came a few isolated thunderstorms, mainly over the higher terrain of the San Juan and Southeast Mountains, that produced very little (if any) rainfall at the surface. Weak surface convergence over the eastern plains resulted in a little extra cloud cover, but there was not enough forcing for thunderstorm development.

No flash flooding was reported yesterday. For a look at precipitation estimates in your area, please see the State Precipitation Map below.

Click Here For Map Overview

The map below shows radar-estimated, rainfall gage-adjusted Quantitative Precipitation Estimates (QPE) across Colorado. The map is updated daily during the operational season (May 1 – Sep 30) by 11AM. The following six layers are currently available: 24-hour, 48-hour and 72-hour total precipitation, as well as maximum 1-hour, 2-hour and 6-hour precipitation over the past 24 hour period (to estimate where flash flooding may have occurred). The accumulation ending time is 7AM of the date shown in the bottom right corner. Also shown optionally are vulnerable fire burn areas (post 2012), which are updated throughout the season to include new, vulnerable burn areas. The home button in the top left corner resets the map to the original zoom.

Note: The 24-hour, 48-hour and 72-hour total precipitation do not contain bias corrections today due to errors in the CoCoRaHS data. This means there may be underestimations in QPE over the southwest and southeast corners of the state.

Filed Under: State Precipitation Map ·

SPM 09-01-2019: Sunny and Hot with a Couple Isolated Thunderstorms

September 1, 2019 by COfloodthreat ·

Issue Date: Sunday, September 1st, 2019
Issue Time: 9:10 AM MDT

Summary:

Strengthening upper-level high pressure over the region brought plenty of sunshine and above average high temperatures to Colorado yesterday. However, with the hot temperatures, enough instability was generated to produce a couple of isolated thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening over the Cheyenne Ridge, Raton Ridge, Front Range, and Southeast Mountains. Cloud-to-ground lightning, brief periods of light-to-moderate rainfall, and gusty winds were the main impacts. Two thunderstorms of note produced large hail: the isolated storm that tracked across Larimer and Weld counties produced 1.50-inch diameter hail (4 miles west of Carr), and the isolated thunderstorm over El Paso County produced 1.00-inch diameter hail (1 mile ESE of Ellicott).

No flash flooding was reported yesterday. For a look at precipitation estimates in your area, please see the State Precipitation Map below.

NOTE: Due to issues with our mapping service that are beyond our control, the SPM map today will be a static image. If we are able to resolve this issue, it will be updated with the correct zoom-able map.

Click Here For Map Overview

The map below shows radar-estimated, rainfall gage-adjusted Quantitative Precipitation Estimates (QPE) across Colorado. The map is updated daily during the operational season (May 1 – Sep 30) by 11AM. The following six layers are currently available: 24-hour, 48-hour and 72-hour total precipitation, as well as maximum 1-hour, 2-hour and 6-hour precipitation over the past 24 hour period (to estimate where flash flooding may have occurred). The 24-hour, 48-hour and 72-hour total precipitation contain bias corrections that are not disaggregated into the hourly estimates, so there will likely be some differences. The accumulation ending time is 7AM of the date shown in the bottom right corner. Also shown optionally are vulnerable fire burn areas (post 2012), which are updated throughout the season to include new, vulnerable burn areas. The home button in the top left corner resets the map to the original zoom.

Filed Under: State Precipitation Map ·

SPM 08-31-2019: Widely Scattered Showers and Thunderstorms Dotted the State

August 31, 2019 by COfloodthreat ·

Issue Date: Saturday, August 31st, 2019
Issue Time: 9:10 AM MDT

Summary:

Two features of note – a shortwave disturbance over northern Colorado and a pool of moisture over southeastern Colorado – contributed to the production of widely scattered showers and thunderstorms yesterday afternoon and evening. The strongest storms of the afternoon were over southeastern Colorado, where a couple reports of 0.88-1.00 inch hail was reported in El Paso and Huerfano counties. As the afternoon turned to evening, a couple of stronger thunderstorms rumbled across the Northeast Plains, eventually congealing into a complex of storms that exited the state around 3 AM. Over the High Country, isolated showers/thunderstorms did not have much moisture with which to work, so gusty winds were the main result; 46 mph wind gust was reported at the Craig-Moffat Airport and a 66 mph wind gust was reported 1 mile west of Craig.

No flash flooding was reported yesterday. For a look at precipitation estimates in your area, please see the State Precipitation Map below.

Click Here For Map Overview

The map below is the 24-hour MRMS data. We had technical difficulties with the MetStorm data, so we’ve provided this as the QPE.

Filed Under: State Precipitation Map ·

SPM 08-30-2019: Record Temperatures & 100°F+ over the Southeast Plains

August 30, 2019 by Dana McGlone ·

Issue Date: Friday, August 30th, 2019
Issue Time: 10:20AM MDT

Summary:

As forecast, not a lot of rainfall yesterday. A couple of weak storms popped along the cold front over Baca and eastern Las Animas County. Max 1-hour rain rates were estimated up to 0.5 inches, but that was just one or two pixels. Totals were reduced to 0.4 inches after the bias correction. High temperatures were the main story yesterday. Despite a cold front dropping through, temperatures remained very high over eastern Colorado. Records were broken by 2PM, and the highest 24-hour maximum temperatures are shown below. Expecting extremely hot temperatures again on Sunday and Monday, so wouldn’t be surprised if more records were broken.

Streamflow looks good as well with most rivers normal or above normal across the state. While it has been a rather dry couple of months (especially over western CO), high snowpack and the wet May and June have kept the streamflow steady. Not surprised to see below normal flows over the Southwest Slope as this area was added to the D1 drought category on Tuesday (see our social media posts for more info). Streamflow does look at little low along the South Platte at Fort Morgan (Morgan County), but flow increases to above normal at Roscoe, NE where the North and South Platte merge.

To see estimated precipitation totals over your neighborhood over the last 72-hours, scroll down the State Precipitation Map below.

Click Here For Map Overview

The map below shows radar-estimated, rainfall gage-adjusted Quantitative Precipitation Estimates (QPE) across Colorado. The map is updated daily during the operational season (May 1 – Sep 30) by 11AM. The following six layers are currently available: 24-hour, 48-hour and 72-hour total precipitation, as well as maximum 1-hour, 2-hour and 6-hour precipitation over the past 24 hour period (to estimate where flash flooding may have occurred). The 24-hour, 48-hour and 72-hour total precipitation contain bias corrections that are not disaggregated into the hourly estimates, so there will likely be some differences. The accumulation ending time is 7AM of the date shown in the bottom right corner. Also shown optionally are vulnerable fire burn areas (post 2012), which are updated throughout the season to include new, vulnerable burn areas. The home button in the top left corner resets the map to the original zoom.

Filed Under: State Precipitation Map ·