Issue Date: Saturday, July 15th, 2017
Issue Time: 10:10 AM MDT

Summary:

The upper-level ridge continued its residence over the region, but was once again out-matched by the moisture underneath with the help of a mid-level disturbance. Precipitable water values remained greater than 1 inch for much of Southeastern Colorado, and this helped to fuel efficient rainfall from thunderstorms. As for observational “ground truth,” there were a few heavy rain reports submitted to the National Weather Service yesterday:

3 miles SSE of Swissvale: 1.63 inches
2 miles NW of Colorado Springs: 1.42 inches
5 miles WNW of Pueblo West: 1.4 inches
2 miles ESE of Swissvale: 1.0 inches

Please see the STP map below for a look at precipitation totals from the last 24 hours.

Issue Date: Friday, July 14, 2017
Issue Time: 11AM MDT

Summary:

With Precipitable water values continue to hold close to or above 1 inch statewide, heavy rainfall was observed in abundance again on Thursday. The southeast quadrant of the state witnessed the brunt of the activity, though the western slope was also included. The vast majority of storms were rather benign with only very short-term heavy rainfall lasting 15-30 minutes. However, a few stronger cells were noted especially as the afternoon wore on. The highest observed 24-hour total came from Otera County (CoCoRaHS) at 2.12 inches. However, our radar-estimated product shows isolated amounts near 2 inches per hour in Otero and Cheyenne counties with 24-totals exceeding 3 inches in isolated parts of the Arkansas River valley. Wide areas were placed under Areal Flood Advisories during the early evening.

Farther west, isolated to scattered storms produced up to 1 inch per hour of rainfall, requiring several Areal Flood Advisories during the late afternoon.

As of this morning, the only official flood report on Thursday came from Fremont County, which the sheriff’s office posted footage of urban flooding on their social media feed (@Fremont_Sheriff on Twitter). For rainfall estimates in your area, check out the State Precipitation Map below.

Issue Date: Thursday, July 13, 2017
Issue Time: 9:50 AM MDT

Summary

Clouds from the rain complex yesterday morning didn’t burn off as was forecasted. This limited the amount of instability the atmosphere was able to produce in the afternoon in northeastern CO. The clouds were able to give central and northeastern portion of the state a break from the higher temperatures. Downsloping winds north of Denver also helped suppress of storm development. Over the higher terrain, another set of high rainfall yielding thunderstorms were triggered midday. The highest recorded rainfall in the mountain was 1.10 inches by a SNOTEL station in the Loveland Basin.

Monsoon moisture returned to the western slope and the southeastern portion of the state. Near record Precipitable Water in eastern Colorado, a mesoscale surface low over the SE and a boundary help set the focal point for storms over the eastern plains yesterday afternoon. The Moderate threat was upgraded to a High threat at 5:30 PM MDT.

Yesterday morning, National Weather Service Pueblo issued a Flash Flood Watch at until 10 PM MDT for flash floods overs several burn scars in the area and Colorado Springs. 1.17 inches was recorded near the Wet Mountains, which is close to a couple recent burn scars. There was even a brief tornado warning for Teller County, but no tornado was reported. Over the Air Force Academy, an ASOS recorded an 80 mph wind gust and 0.67 inches in one hour. Heavy rain was reported with the largest total being 1.54 inches. Two hour rain totals were as high as 2 inches. Estimated storm totals over this area ranged from 1.5 to over 2.2 inches. Below you can see the spikes in runoff at the USGS gage Fountain Creek in Colorado Springs from the rainfall the last couple of afternoons.

Elsewhere, there was a Flash Flood Warning for I-70 between Rifle and Parachute for a storm that produced 1.5 inches of rain. Last year in this area, many mud slides over the higher terrains were reported whenever there was heavy rainfall. There were no reports of flooding or mudslides in this area yesterday. The most impressive total from yesterday was along the Palmer Divide where a severe thunderstorm near Limon dropped 1.26 inches of rain in 30-min. A wind gust of 62mph was also recorded at the Limon Airport. The last flash flood warning of the day was for the storms that formed on the boundary in the eastern plains in the afternoon and evening hours. Rainfall totals over the far rural eastern plains were estimated in the range of 1.5 inches to over 3 inches with the highest recorded CoCoRaHS values being 2.5 inches in Yuma County and 2.83 inches in Lincoln County. There was no flooding reported with these storms.

For rainfall estimates in your neighborhood, check out the State Precipitation Map below.

Issue Date: Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Issue Time: 10:50AM MDT

Summary:

Southwesterly flow increased available moisture for storms yesterday. Although moisture did not increase as much as predicted, there was still enough moisture for numerous storms over the higher terrain. The most moisture was located in the western and central portion of the state, where there has been a great need for measureable precipitation. Gusty winds accompanied many storms with the highest recorded gust being 47 mph outside Craig, CO. Over the higher terrain, radar estimated totals were as high as 1.8 inches. The largest observed rainfall was 1.7 inches by a SNOTEL station at the foot of Blanca Peak in Costilla County. 1.4 inches of rain was recorded just north of Mesa, CO. Rainfall continued over the higher terrain and eastern plains into the night, which helped ease the fire danger.

Slow moving storms created locally heavy rainfall. In Pitkin County, there was a debris flow reported at 7PM MDT. Heavy rain caused a rock slide that blocked the eastbound lanes on CO 82 at mile marker 35.9. There was also a flood advisory for stream flooding in SW Las Animas County where a storm quickly produced over 2 inches of rain (radar estimated). Another flood advisory was issued for a thunderstorm that passed through Colorado Springs mid-afternoon. The storm dropped 1.07 inches of rain in 1 hour at a USGS gage and caused minor flooding at Fillmore and Nevada. The last flood advisory was for the western side of the Junkins burn scar which saw 0.6 inches, but there were no reports of stream flooding. In the eastern plains, a thunderstorm warning was issued for eastern Cheyenne County at 8:15PM MDT for 60 mph gust and quarter size hail. Despite storm totals of 2.2 inches, there was no flooding reported during this time.

To see how much rain fell in your neighborhood, scroll down to see the State Precipitation Map.