Issue Date: Tuesday, August 30th, 2022
Issue Time: 10:40 AM MDT

Summary:

Monday featured exceptionally dry and quiet weather over the state as high pressure settled into the central Rockies. Radars were quiet, with no more than a couple hundredths of an inch of precipitation reported at a handful of stations. Aside from diurnal cumulus development, sunshine prevailed for most locations making for an all-in-all pleasant day yesterday. Look for this trend to continue as ridging continues to build and dominate the region over the next few days.

No flooding was reported yesterday. For precipitation estimates in our area, check out the map below. Remember, if you observe flooding in your area you can use the “Report a Flood” page to make a flood report, when you can safely do so.

Denver’s radar is down for maintenance upgrades through the end of August. QPE may be underestimated across the region.

Click Here For Map Overview

Issue Date: Monday, August 29th, 2022
Issue Time: 10:55 AM MDT

Summary:

Sunday featured an uptick in precipitation across the state compared to Saturday, although showers and storms were mainly limited to the mountains along and south of I-70.

QPE data suggests amounts of 0.50-1.00” from the Central Mountains southward into the San Juans, Southeast Mountains, and Southwest Slope. Flood Advisories were issued for portions of San Miguel and Dolores Counties, but no flooding was reported. Notable rainfall totals include 1.04” and 0.67” near Durango and 0.50” near Paonia Reservoir. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was also issued for portions of Garfield County, but no severe weather was reported there.

Farther north into the Northern Mountains, precipitation totals were lower, with generally 0.50” or less. 0.47” was measured by a rain gauge near Gypsum. A Flood Advisory and Flash Flood Warning were issued for portions of the East Troublesome burn scar, but no flooding was reported. To the west of East Troublesome near Steamboat Springs, 0.25” hail was reported by the public.

Out west in the Grand Valley near the Utah border, non-thunderstorm gusty winds up to and exceeding 60 mph were measured by several weather stations.

No flooding was reported on Sunday. For precipitation estimates in our area, check out the map below. Remember, if you observe flooding in your area you can use the “Report a Flood” page to make a flood report, when you can safely do so.

Denver’s radar is down for maintenance upgrades through the end of August. QPE may be underestimated across the region.

Click Here For Map Overview

Issue Date: Sunday, August 28th, 2022
Issue Time: 10:35 AM MDT

Summary:

Saturday was a much less eventful day across Colorado in terms of precipitation. Residual moisture from the day prior and the beginning of fall-like temperatures in Northern Colorado caused many to wake up to cooler, foggy conditions which dampened storm development in the morning. Dry air mixing into the midlevels of the atmosphere from the west also helped to limit storms throughout the day. Still, some isolated convection was able to pop up along the high terrain in Western Colorado thanks to diurnal heating. Eastward storm progression eventually allowed some widely scattered storms along the Front Range and Urban Corridor as well, though with very modest precipitation totals. By nightfall, any lingering storms quickly dissipated without daytime heating.

Highest precipitation totals were observed in the Southwest Slope and San Juan Mountains yesterday. A trained spotter reported pea to dime sized hail, as well as 0.36 inches of rainfall near Vallecito in the Southwest Slope. Across La Plata county, 0.30-0.67 inches was reported by CoCoRaHS observers, including 0.47 in Durango.

On the Northwest Slope, a flash flood warning was issued for Rio Blanco and Garfield counties, including the 2019 Hunt fire. Observations in this part of the state are particularly limited and QPE does not place any precipitation over that burn scar itself. Still, MetStormLive placed between 0.25-0.50 also from a line of convection that developed along a boundary near the Rio Blanco and Garfield county borders. In the Central Mountains, a flash flood warning was issued for Gunnison and Pitkin counties. There a CoCoRaHS observer in Redstone reported 0.19 inches, though QPE placed between 0.25-0.50 from a nearby isolated convective cell. A bit further east, another flood advisory was issued for Larimer County, including portion of the Cameron Peak burn scar. The Northern Mountains and Front Range saw some widely scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms, though rainfall totals were limited.

No flooding was reported on Saturday. For precipitation estimates in your area, check out the map below. Remember, if you observe flooding in your area you can use the “Report a Flood” page to make a flood report, when it’s safe to do so.

Denver’s radar is down for maintenance upgrades through the end of August. QPE may be underestimated across the region.

Click Here For Map Overview

Issue Date: Saturday, August 27th, 2022
Issue Time: 11:30 AM MDT

Summary:

Friday was an eventful day for much of Colorado, and the Eastern Plains finally got a bit more share of the action too. Early morning was kicked off with scattered showers and thunderstorms already occurring on the Southwest Slope and in the San Juan Mountains. By afternoon, daytime heating and available moisture allowed for further storm development, especially along the high terrain of the Northern, Central, San Juan, and Southeast Mountains. This was followed by general eastward progression associated with a surface low that allowed storms to spill onto the Urban Corridor, Palmer and Raton Ridges, as well as the Eastern Plains. Throughout the afternoon there were numerous storms covering nearly the entire state, though the most intense rainfall occurred on the Southwest Slope and Eastern Plains. Many creeks and rivers across Southern Colorado saw a quick boost in streamflow thanks to the rainfall, though none officially entered flood stage. Storms lingered well into the evening and overnight hours on the Eastern Plains ahead of a general drying pattern from the west as storms pushed towards the Kansas and Nebraska borders.

Only a few flood advisories and warnings were issued yesterday. One flood advisory was issued for the Cameron Peak burn scar, which saw up to 0.28 inches of rain along Highway 14 at Roaring Creek. The Pine Gulch burn scar had a flash flood warning yesterday as well – QPE from MetStormLive puts up to 0.5 inches of rain in the area. Just south in Grand Junction, a CoCoRaHS observer also reported 0.52 inches of rain. Thankfully no flooding has been reported on either burn scar so far.

The last flood advisory issued yesterday was for southwest Colorado right on the Utah border. A CoCoRaHS observer in Slick Rock (within the advisory area) reported 1.08 inches in their gauge yesterday, along with the following remark:

After reviewing all 12 years of my records (which began 9/1/2010), I find that this is the third largest amount of daily precipitation. Of the 1.08 inch, 0.95 inch fell between 12:15 pm and 1:15 pm, with the large majority of that between 12:30 pm and 1:00 pm

A total of 0.95 inches in one hour for this part of the state exceeds the 10-year ARI precipitation frequency estimate of 0.87 in one hour. In other words, rainfall of that magnitude has less than a 10% chance of occurrence in any given year!

CDOT also reported rocks on the road on US60 near Wolf Creek Pass yesterday evening. A total of 0.37 inches was reported from the automated weather station on top of the pass. There were also rocks on CO 119, two miles south of Blackhawk. Only 0.27 was reported in Blackhawk from a CoCoRaHS observer, but up to 0.56 was reported just northwest in Rollinsville (including small hail). Both roadways have since been cleared and reopened.

Some other notable high precipitation totals for Southern and Western Colorado include:

• 0.85 in Durango
• 0.83 in Lake George
• 0.80 in Trinidad
• 0.76 in Salida
• 0.71 in Pagosa Springs

While on the Eastern Plains, even higher totals were reported including:

• 1.25 in Eads
• 1.17 in Lamar, also associated with a 59 mph thunderstorm wind gust
• 1.17 in Stratton

If you observe flooding in your area, remember to use the “Report a Flood” page to make any flood reports when you can safely do so. For precipitation estimates in our area, check out the map below.

Another reminder, Denver’s radar is down for maintenance upgrades through the end of August. QPE may be underestimated across the region.

Click Here For Map Overview