Issue Date: Thursday, May 3rd, 2018
Issue Time: 9:40 AM MDT

Summary:

Scattered-to-widespread showers and thunderstorms impacted the state yesterday, and continue to do so this morning, thanks to the presence of an upper-level disturbance and plenty of moisture being pulled in from the Pacific. Most everywhere in the state got in on the action except for the far Southeast Plains, which hung on to the drier conditions and mustered only an isolated light shower or two. The high country received periods of heavy snow, generally above 9,000 feet, with 6-10 inches (or more) reported in some locations. As temperatures cooled overnight, snow levels dropped to as low as 7,000 feet this morning, bringing some accumulating snow to locations in the foothills and higher elevations of the Palmer Ridge.

For elevations below 9,000 feet (sans this morning’s transition to snow between 7,000-9,000 feet), rainfall was generally light-to-moderate, with pockets of heavier rain mixed in across the Northeast Plains, Palmer Ridge, and Urban Corridor regions. Small hail accompanied a few thunderstorms, with the largest hail of the day (0.88 inches in diameter) reported 6 miles W of Punkin Center (Lincoln County).

Flash flooding was not reported yesterday. For a look at precipitation estimates in your area, please see our State Precipitation Map below.

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Issue Date: Wednesday, May 2nd, 2018
Issue Time: 7:00 AM MDT

Summary:

An upper-level disturbance rotating into the region helped to support widely scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon/evening hours yesterday, with the strongest storms tracking over the Front Range, Urban Corridor, and Northeast Plains. The stronger storms in these regions produced hail, strong winds, and periods of moderate rainfall. Severe storm reports from these storms includes:

1.5 inch hail: 3 miles NNE of Yuma (Yuma County)
1.25 inch hail: 2 miles S of Platner (Washington County)
1 inch hail: Yuma (Yuma County), Firestone (Weld County), and SW Akron (Washington County)

A weak surface cool front that began the day over the Northeast Plains drifted south during the evening hours, kicking off a few showers/weak thunderstorms over the Palmer Divide, resulting in mainly light rain and gusty winds.

As the evening turned to nighttime and early morning, the activity over these regions slowly came to an end and shower activity over the high country increased in coverage. Owing to a lack of good low-level moisture, these showers produced light rain and gusty winds, with plenty of virga to go around.

Flash flooding was not reported yesterday. For a look at precipitation estimates in your area, please see our State Precipitation Map below.

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Issue Date: Tuesday, May 1st, 2018
Issue Time: 9:15 AM MDT

Summary:

Mother Nature must have gotten the word that the 2018 FTB was about to kick off, as she welcomed the new season with scattered showers across portions of the western slope and scattered showers/thunderstorms across Northeast Colorado. Across the western slope, showers were garden variety, moving fairly slowly with low rain rates. Showers continue this morning across portions of the Grand Valley, Northwest Slope, and Southwest Slope regions, though this activity is resulting in mainly virga with little precipitation reaching the surface.

It was a slightly different story across Northeast Colorado, where better instability and moisture resided, resulting in scattered showers/thunderstorms that impacted portions of the Front Range, Urban Corridor, and Northeast Plains. This activity mainly occurred during the afternoon and evening hours, with nearly all activity dissipating by midnight. While moisture was good enough to produce thunderstorms, it was still too low to result in heavy rain, with gusty winds and periods of light-to-moderate rainfall as the main impacts. A few light showers continued into the early morning hours, resulting in little additional rainfall. One lonely severe storm report was logged during yesterday’s activity: 1.25 inch diameter hail was reported 1 mile SSW of Fort Lupton (Weld County). Weld County was also the rainfall winner yesterday, with one CoCoRaHS report of 0.45 inches near Briggsdale. Most locations, though, received less than 0.1 inches of rainfall.

Flash flooding was not reported yesterday. For a look at precipitation estimates in your area, please see our State Precipitation Map below.

Click Here For Map Overview