SPM 07-28-2019: Severe Thunderstorms over Southeast Plains, Rain Statewide

July 28, 2019 by ·

Issue date: Sunday, July 28, 2019
Issue time: 10:30AM MDT

Summary:

Moderate to severe thunderstorms were reported around the state yesterday as a shortwave passed over the area from the west. Upslope flow of moisture from the southwest created light to moderate rain over the Northwest slope and Grand Valley, with radar deriving up to 0.5 inches over the area. An Areal Flood Advisory was issued by the NWS around noon for small portions of Mesa and Delta Counties, with reports of heavy rain up to 0.21 inches. The main weather story for the day was over the southeast quadrant of the state, with reports to the NWS of:

3 miles east of Monument (El Paso County): 0.63 inches heavy rainfall
2 miles east of Pueblo (Pueblo County): 62 mph wind gust
4 miles south of Cheraw (Otero County): 58 mph wind gust
Hardscrabble Creek (El Paso County): Water rose 4 feet in 20 minutes but no flooding was reported

Areal Flood Advisories were issued by the NWS near the Junkins and Waldo Canyon burn areas, however no flooding was reported. CoCoRaHS stations in southern Douglas County and northern El Paso County reported the higheast accumulation for the day at 1.78 and 1.46 inches respectively, however measurements may have been contaminated by hail. Moderate to heavy rain was also reported over the Northeast Plains and in Larimer County, with radar deriving up to 1.5 inches (east) and 1 inch (west). CoCoRaHS stations in Larimer County reported up to 0.55 inches to the east of Estes Park.

For a look at precipitation in your area, please visit 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 ·

SPM 07-27-2019: Flash Flooding and Debris Flows Reported

July 27, 2019 by ·

Issue Date: Saturday, July 27th, 2019
Issue Time: 9:10 AM MDT

Summary:

Continued moisture transport from the west primed Colorado for another active weather day yesterday, especially along and west of the Continental Divide where precipitable water values were well above average. Due to this elevated moisture, widespread thunderstorms over the high country were efficient rainfall producers. The locally heavy rainfall resulted in the following reports:

Debris Flow: I-70 closed in two locations in Garfield County due to mudslides
Flash Flood: Water shut down traffic on Highway 92 East 3 miles ENE of Delta (Delta County)
Flash Flood: 3 miles WNW of Redlands (Mesa County)
Debris Flow: Water and mud were reported across Highway 145 near Sawpit (San Miguel County)

More widely scattered coverage occurred east of the mountains where moisture was a bit below average, with the main impacts being gusty winds and brief heavy rainfall. 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 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 07-26-2019: Rinse and Repeat Pattern with Rainfall Shifting South

July 26, 2019 by ·

Issue Date: Friday, July 26th, 2019
Issue Time: 9:40AM MDT

Summary:

Not much change in the setup from Wednesday. The upper level ridge remained overhead with a PW surge bringing high moisture to both eastern and western Colorado. The main difference was some early day cloud cover limiting instability; thus, rain rates were a little bit lower than the prior day as well as total accumulations. Storms began to kick off over the higher terrains between 1:30 and 2PM MDT. Slightly faster steering flows also contributed to lower totals yesterday. As far as Local Storm Reports, there was a 0.88 inch report in El Paso County and 1.26 inch report further south over Custer County for the 24-hour period. Storms to the east triggered a couple Areal Flood Advisories from their respective NWS WFOs and one Flash Flood Warning for northwest Custer County. As of this morning, there were no reports of flooding for these areas of eastern Colorado. There was also some evening/night rain over the Southeast Plains. CoCoRaHS stations between Lamar and Springfield recorded between 1.5 and 1.8 inches in a 2-3 hour period.

Montrose County got the big storm of the day for western Colorado, which is a 2-day streak (if you can call it that). Thankfully, it did not fall over the Bull Draw burn area. Rainfall totals were generally estimated by radar to be in the 0.25 to 0.5 inch range at the cores of the storms favoring the San Juan Mountains for the highest accumulations. The Saguache airport recorded 0.19 inches for the day, and nearby RAWS stations to the west (steeper terrain) showed up to 0.57 inches of rain falling. Three day totals are starting to get up there with widespread totals between 0.5 and 0.75 inches over the San Juan Mountains and higher terrains of the Southwest Slope. Saturated soils are likely over this area as well as over the Southeast Mountains.

To see estimated precipitation totals over your neighborhood yesterday, 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 ·

SPM 07-25-2019: Flash Flooding over the Southeast Mountains

July 25, 2019 by ·

Issue Date: Thursday, July 25, 2019
Issue Time: 10:50AM MDT

Summary:

There were multiple reports to the NWS of flash flooding near the Spring Creek burn area yesterday.  Slow moving storms over a saturated surface environment caused flash flooding after radar derived up to 0.5 inches of rain over a 2 hour period.  Reports include railroad tracks washed out near Fir, flooding over and on County Road 440, and flooding along South Abeyta Creek and County Road 442.  No injuries were reported due to the flooding.  High levels of moisture from the west-southwest moved over the high country yesterday, producing thunderstorms throughout the area. Areal Flood Advisories were issued over Teller County, Ouray County and Mineral County, however no flooding was reported over these areas. Surface CoCoRaHS stations in La Plata County near Durango and Dolores County near Dove Creek reported up to 0.68 and 0.69 inches respectively.

The highest rainfall yesterday occurred in Teller County, with CoCoRaHS reporting 0.91 inches.  A cold front passed over the Northeast Plains mid-afternoon yesterday, bringing rain to the Front Range, Urban Corridor, Northeast Plains and Palmer Ridge.  Rainfall between 0.1 and 0.6 inches was measured over and near the foothills.  The highest surface accumulation to the east of the foothills was measured in Arapahoe County at 0.79 inches.  Radar derived up to 1 inch over Arapahoe, Adams and Washington Counties, however drier air at the surface likely evaporated some of the rain prior to it arriving at the surface.

For a look at precipitation in your area, please use 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 more realistic spatial coverage of rainfall (from observations) over the higher terrains of the Southeast Slope and San Juan Mountains.

Filed Under: State Precipitation Map ·
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