Issue Date: Thursday, September 21, 2017
Issue Time: 10:30AM MDT

Summary:

Another beautiful day for Colorado yesterday. Temperatures rebounded quite nicely after the cold front that came through Tuesday evening. High temperatures yesterday were in the mid to upper 70s over the lower elevations and reached 70F in some of the mountain valleys. The cold front helped increase relative humidity values and decrease temperatures enough for a temporary lift of the Red Flag Warning. There was also a bit of a break from the widespread, stronger winds though some of the mountain passes still saw had maximum winds around 45 mph and gusts up to 60 mph. Over the Palmer Divide, winds also decreased quite a bit from Tuesday with maximum wind speeds of 15 mph and gusts around 20 mph.

Downsloping winds limited cloud cover and rainfall over the Front Range and Southeast Mountains. A small shower did form over the Northern Mountains in the evening. A CoCoRaHS station in Routt County recorded 0.12 inches of rain, and the SNOTEL station at Rabbit Ear(s) Pass recorded 0.3 inches.

There was no flooding reported on Wednesday. To see how much rain fell in your neighborhood, take a peek at the State Precipitation Map below.

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Issue Date: Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Issue Time: 10:45AM MDT

Summary:

The jet stream moved southeast yesterday with the front nose of the jet settling just north of Colorado. 100+ knot winds clipped the northwest corner of the state leading to a high wind advisory as the fast moving air aloft mixed down to the surface. Some mid-level energy also moved through northern Colorado, which helped trigger some rainfall and snow (at higher elevations) during the evening hours after the cold front passage. Elsewhere along the Front Range, downsloping winds lead to sunny skies and a windy afternoon and evening, especially along the Palmer Divide. Low relative humidity values were created by the descending air as it warmed adiabatically, and a Red Flag Warning was in place through last night. Early in the evening, a strong cold front pushed south and dropped temperatures 15-20F and produced windy conditions. Due to dew points in the 20s, negligible precipitation fell, but a lot of dust was kicked up. The cold front did moisten the lower atmosphere enough for the high terrain showers along the CO/WY border in the evening and overnight.

Over Routt County, two CoCoRaHS stations recorded 0.25 inches. A SNOTEL site in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest recorded 0.4 inches of precipitation from the late afternoon into early evening. Due to the cold front rapidly dropping temperatures, precipitation at higher elevations was in the form of snow. Webcams from Steamboat Ski Resort this morning show a light dusting of snow. Again, the real story yesterday were the wind gusts, which were quite impressive. Below is a handful of maximum gusts from around the state. There was no flooding reported on Tuesday.

Hayden – 48 mph
Steamboat – 40 mph
Gypsum – 48 mph
Berthoud Pass – 74 mph
Cottonwood Pass – 64 mph
Saguache Airport – 36 mph
Limon – 41 mph
Denver – 28 mph
Sterling – 46 mph

For an estimate of rainfall totals in your area, scroll down to the State Precipitation Map below.

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Issue Date: Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Issue Time: 10:30AM MDT

Summary:

Almost clear skies across the state yesterday. Below is a visible satellite image taken at 5PM yesterday, which shows just a few clouds over the state. Below it are the surface observations from the same time, which confirms very low dew point values. As expected, the wind speeds also started to increase with the approaching upper level trough and jet stream. The largest non-thunderstorm gust reported yesterday was 56 mph in San Juan County.

With dew point values in the 20s and 30s, very little rain made it to the surface. Any clouds that were able to form, quickly evaporated with the entrainment of drier air. Only one CoCoRaHS station recorded measurable precipitation, but it was under 0.05 inches. Radar estimates over the Northern and Central Mountains (where the clouds are in the visible image) were under 0.25 inches.

There was no flooding reported Monday as of this morning. For an estimate of rainfall totals in your area, scroll down to the State Precipitation Map below.

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Issue Date: Monday, September 18, 2017
Issue Time: 10:45AM MDT

Summary:

Showers and thunderstorms kicked off yesterday just after noon over the higher terrains. In the mountains, the moist, upslope flow created garden variety storms during the afternoon hours. Increasing moisture with southwesterly flow aloft paired with upper level dynamics helped support stronger storms over the plains as the storms moved northeast off the mountains. Throughout the day, a stationary front sat just east of the mountains, which created southerly flow at the surface to its east. This not only helped dew points reach the low to mid-50s, but it also created enough shear for a couple severe thunderstorms over the Northeast and Southeast Plains. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch was issued for the Southeast Plains from late afternoon into the evening. Storms to the north exited the state by about 9PM, but storms over the SE corner of the state lingered up until midnight.

Over the mountains, the highest rainfall totals were along the Front Range. A UDFCD gage between Aspen Park and Evergreen recorded 0.59 inches of rain with other gages in the area recording the same. As mentioned, more severe storms formed over the Northeast and Southeast Plains. Large hail and gusty winds were reported with a local storm report of 1.5 inch hail in Las Animas County. A CoCoRaHS station in eastern into Baca County recorded 0.96 inches.

Radar rainfall estimates in the SPM are as high as 4 inches, but likely overestimated. As mentioned, the Pueblo radar is down for maintenance through the end of September. Thus, the radar estimated totals are from nearby radars, which were out of range to make an accurate estimation. This is also a very rural area, so the storms centers did not pass through any gages in Colorado or northern New Mexico. There was a USGS gage in the western Oklahoma panhandle that recorded just over 1 inch of rain. Streamflow also spiked at this gage to over 2000 cfs yesterday afternoon from the storms to the west. So while the true rainfall total may not be known, there was a significant amount rain along the CO/NM border.

There was no flooding reported Sunday as of this morning. For an estimate of rainfall totals in your area, scroll down to the State Precipitation Map below.

Click Here For Map Overview