Issue Date: Monday, September 26th, 2016
Issue Time: 9:00 AM MDT

Summary:

The deep trough that has been affecting weather throughout Colorado for the last several days has finally pushed off to the east taking along with it any chances of precipitation yesterday. Any moisture that was advected by the disturbance to the south and west remained south of the region, giving us some respite yesterday from the rain and storminess of the last few days. Clockwise flow associated with a High Pressure ridge that is moving over most of the western portion of the country brought cool and dry northerly flow at its leading edge, resulting in temperatures that were below average as lows dipped down to the low 30’s and upper 20’s and highs barely made it into the 70’s in the Eastern Plains and mid- to upper-60’s throughout most of the High Country.

No precipitation was reported and no flash flooding occurred yesterday.

Issue Date: Sunday, September 25th, 2016
Issue Time: 8:58AM MDT

Summary:

With the strong trough overhead and a remaining fetch of moist west-northwest upslope flow, parts of the Central and Northern Mountains received steady rain and snow showers on Saturday. In particular, the Park, Gore and Sawatch ranges, as well as the Flat Tops tend to do well (if you like snow, that is) during west-northwest flow events. With it still being September, temperatures were warm and snow-levels fluctuated between 9,000 and 10,500 feet. Impressively, the Tower SNOTEL site received 1.0 inch of liquid equivalent, corresponding to 5 inches of snowfall. During the winter, the same 1 inch of liquid could produce up to 25 inches of snow, so the seasons do make a big difference. Below 9,000 feet, light rain or a rain/snow mix resulted in up to 0.5 inches of total precipitation by this morning.

Farther east, a dry and cool fall day was observed with temperatures running a few degrees below normal. Gusty winds in the morning eventually subsided leading to an excellent opportunity to enjoy the outdoors.

No official flooding reports were received on Saturday. For rainfall estimates specific to your area, check out our Storm Total Precipitation map below.

Issue Date: Saturday, September 24th, 2016
Issue Time: 8:58AM MDT

Summary:

Friday’s weather was very Colorado-like courtesy of a strong upper-level trough that finally entered the state during the late afternoon. So what do I mean by “Colorado-like”? Well, high temperatures soared above 90F in the Arkansas River valley as strong southerly flow and sunshine worked in tandem. There were scattered thunderstorms, albeit weak, mainly in the Northeast Plains. These raced northward with storm motions up to 50mph, and as you can guess, did not have any time to produce heavy rainfall. Nonetheless, a relatively impressive 0.5 – 0.75 inches did result from the strongest cells. Farther west, light to moderate rain showers with rainfall accumulations up to 0.75 inches eventually turned to snow showers above about 9,500 feet (though a non-accumulating rain/snow mix likely made it to lower elevations). Pictures and measurements from the Grand Mesa show over 3 inches of snowfall. Similar amounts were reported in the San Juans with Crested Butte officially notching 3.5 inches as of this morning; the Front Range higher peaks also got in on the action. Finally, gusty winds were found across the state, but especially east of the Continental Divide. Official reports of winds show gusts up to 70 mph across the Southeast Plains that were not associated with thunderstorm activity. Fortunately, no significant damage was reported although the winds certainly blew around patio furniture, trash cans and broke small tree limbs as evidenced through social media posts this morning. Finally, to top it all off, by far the coldest temperatures of the young fall season were observed this morning for many locations. For example, Pikes Peak bottomed out at 12.1F this morning with a wind chill of about -15F. All in all, a very Colorado-like Friday!

No official flooding reports were received on Friday. For rainfall estimates specific to your area, check out our Storm Total Precipitation map below.

Issue Date: Friday, September 23rd, 2016
Issue Time: 9:00AM MDT

Summary:

A strong cut-off low continued to creep closer to Colorado, providing plenty of dynamics to cause widespread showers and some thunderstorm activity mainly over the western slope. Fortunately, temperatures were rather cool and instability was limited with heavy rainfall kept to a minimum. However, it was a very close call as parts of northeast Utah received over 2 inches of rainfall with numerous reports of flooding and debris slides. Back in Colorado, rainfall amounts in the 0.25 to 0.75 inch range were common across parts of the San Juans and Central Mountains, with lower amounts farther north. At higher elevations, it was just warm enough to keep most of the precipitation as rainfall, with the snow level staying above 13,000 feet (this will change today and Saturday). Perhaps more impactful than the rainfall, steady strong winds were noted mainly across higher elevations. Gusts up to 58 mph were recorded in parts of the San Juans. This was expected as there was a High Wind Watch for parts of extreme western Colorado.

East of the Continental Divide, it was another seasonably mild and partly cloudy day. A few weak thunderstorms and showers rumbled, and raced, across the Southeast Plains late in the afternoon where some higher low-level moisture was found. However, these storms were moving so rapidly they did not have enough time to produce heavy rainfall in any given location. Nonetheless, up to 0.6 inches of rainfall fell across mainly rural locations in Las Animas, Kit Carson and Cheyenne counties.

Flooding was not reported on Thursday. For rainfall estimates specific to your area, check out our Storm Total Precipitation map below.