Issue Date: 9/26/2015
Issue Time: 7:55AM

— NO FLOOD THREAT TODAY

The mornings have been getting cooler, but the afternoons have been staying plenty warm for Colorado during the past few days. As the water vapor image shows, below, more of the same will continue for today as our resident high pressure ridge maintains dominance over the Southwest U.S. Warming mid-level temperatures will boost afternoon temperatures by a few degrees compared to yesterday. Some low-clouds may hang around the Nebraska and Kansas borders through early afternoon. However, once again, neither rainfall nor flooding are expected.

Today’s Flood Threat Map

For more information on today’s flood threat, see the map below (hover over threat areas for more details). For Zone-Specific forecasts, jump below the map.

Zone Specific Forecasts

Front Range, Urban Corridor, Northeast Plains, Southeast Plains, Palmer Ridge, Raton Ridge, Southeast Mountains:

Mostly sunny skies with seasonable temperatures. Highs in the 50s in the highest terrain to the mid-80s across the lower elevations. Low clouds may hang around the extreme eastern parts of the area, but everyone else will see plenty of sunshine. Flooding is not expected.

Southwest Slope, San Juans, San Luis Valley, Central Mountains, Northern Mountains, Grand Valley, Northwest Slope, Southwest Slope:

Sunny skies for nearly all areas today. High temperatures will be seasonable, with readings in the 50s over the highest terrain to the upper-80s in the low elevations of the Colorado River valley. Flooding is not expected today.

Issue Date: 9/25/2015
Issue Time: 8:35AM

— No Flood Threat Today

Coloradoans awoke to a seasonably cool start this Friday morning. The far northeast corner of the state was under the grips of a low cloud deck. Meanwhile, but all other areas were under clear skies. Another nearly cloud free day will boost temperatures to near seasonable levels today. Precipitable water values, shown below, continue to be subdued after peaking during the thunderstorm activity on Wednesday. Thus, aside from some morning sprinkles in the Northeast Plains, neither precipitation nor flooding issues are expected today.

Today’s Flood Threat Map

For more information on today’s flood threat, see the map below (hover over threat areas for more details). For Zone-Specific forecasts, jump below the map.

Zone Specific Forecasts

Front Range, Urban Corridor, Northeast Plains, Southeast Plains, Palmer Ridge, Raton Ridge, Southeast Mountains:

Mostly sunny skies with seasonable temperatures. Highs in the 50s in the highest terrain to the low-80s across the lower elevations. A few morning sprinkles are possible in the Northeast Plains, but everyone else will stay dry. Flooding is not expected.

Southwest Slope, San Juans, San Luis Valley, Central Mountains, Northern Mountains, Grand Valley, Northwest Slope, Southwest Slope:

Sunny skies for nearly all areas today. High temperatures will be seasonable, with readings in the 50s over the highest terrain to the mid-80s in the low elevations of the Colorado River valley. Flooding is not expected today.

Issue Date: 9/24/2015
Issue Time: 9:00AM

— No Flood Threat Today

After a somewhat busy Wednesday, weather-wise, today will feature superb fall weather across most of Colorado. The water vapor image, below, shows a distinct 2-jet pattern with a subtropical jet across the southern U.S. and a stronger polar jet just north of the U.S. / Canadian border. But for Colorado, the only feature of importance is the building ridge over the Southwest U.S. As this ridge builds northeastward, subsidence and drying will lead to mostly sunny skies. Precipitable water values have dropped substantially over the last 24-hours, reinforcing the dry weather forecast. Flooding is not expected today.

Today’s Flood Threat Map

For more information on today’s flood threat, see the map below (hover over threat areas for more details). For Zone-Specific forecasts, jump below the map.

Zone Specific Forecasts

Front Range, Urban Corridor, Northeast Plains, Southeast Plains, Palmer Ridge, Raton Ridge, Southeast Mountains:

Mostly sunny skies with seasonable temperatures. Highs in the 50s in the highest terrain to the mid-80s across the lower elevations. Flooding is not expected.

Southwest Slope, San Juans, San Luis Valley, Central Mountains, Northern Mountains, Grand Valley, Northwest Slope, Southwest Slope:

Sunny skies with maybe a cloud or two across the far south. High temperatures will be seasonable today, with highs in the 50s over the highest terrain to the low-80s in the low elevations of the Colorado River valley. Flooding is not expected today.

Issue Date: 9/23/2015
Issue Time: 9:08 AM

A LOW FLOOD THREAT IS FORECAST FOR PORTIONS OF THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, SOUTHWEST SLOPE, SOUTHEAST MOUNTAINS, RATON RIDGE, SOUTHEAST PLAINS, NORTHEAST PLAINS, AND PALMER RIDGE REGIONS.

The first day of Fall will bring a second consecutive day of unsettled weather to most of Colorado; the Northwest Slope and Grand Valley regions will be the exceptions, where dry conditions will welcome the official changing of the seasons. Elsewhere, ample moisture and favorable dynamics will allow for isolated-to-scattered showers and thunderstorms to develop this afternoon and evening, producing mainly light-to-moderate rainfall, gusty winds, and some lightning.

A few storms will be capable of producing heavy rainfall, thanks to the amount of mid-level moisture present from the remnants of tropical disturbance (see IPW chart above) and ample moisture available in the low-levels (surface dewpoints are in the 50s and 60s across eastern Colorado). The locations that are most likely to be impacted by heavy rainfall have been included in the low flood threat area. For more information on rain rates and timing, please see the zone-specific discussions below.

Today’s Flood Threat Map

For more information on today’s flood threat, see the map below (hover over threat areas for more details). For Zone-Specific forecasts, jump below the map.

Zone-Specific Forecasts

Northwest Slope and Grand Valley:

Partly cloudy early becoming mostly sunny later, with high temperatures a few degrees warmer than yesterday. No precipitation expected.

Northern Mountains, Front Range, Southeast Mountains, Central Mountains, San Luis Valley, San Juan Mountains, and Southwest Slope:

Isolated-to-scattered showers and thunderstorms expected. Weak showers/thunderstorms over the Front Range, Northern Mountains, San Luis Valley, and Central Mountains will yield maximum rain rates of 0.25-0.5 inches/hour, while stronger thunderstorms over the San Juan Mountains, Southwest Slope, and Southeast Mountains will be capable of producing heavy rainfall to the tune of 0.8-1.2 inches/hour. Otherwise, skies will be mostly cloudy today, with high temperatures just above climatological average.

Timing: 11 AM – 11 PM, with a few showers lingering into tomorrow morning.

Urban Corridor, Northeast Plains, Southeast Plains, Palmer Ridge, and Raton Ridge:

Isolated-to-scattered showers and thunderstorms, with the best coverage across the Raton Ridge, Southeast Plains, and Palmer Ridge. Maximum rain rates will break down as follows:

Urban Corridor: 0.4-0.8 inches/hour
Raton Ridge, Southeast Plains, and Northeast Plains: 1.2-2.0 inches/hour
Palmer Ridge: 0.8-1.2 inches/hour

Timing: 1 PM – Midnight, with a few isolated showers and thunderstorms continuing into the morning hours tomorrow.