SPM 05-04-2020: Evening and Overnight Severe Thunderstorms for the Northeast Plains and Palmer Ridge

Issue Date: Monday, May 4th, 2020
Issue Time: 9:55AM MDT

Summary:

Rinse and repeat pattern with additional overnight thunderstorms on Sunday into Monday. More moisture and CAPE available in the atmosphere allowed for some stronger thunderstorms. Isolated storms first fired over the Northeast Plains and Palmer Ridge in the late afternoon. Hail up to 1 inch in diameter was reported on a Severe Thunderstorm in Elbert County. Rainfall totals for the 24-hour period were estimated at just under 2 inches in the area. More widespread and multiple rounds of thunderstorms developed around 9PM through this morning for the Palmer Ridge and Northeast Plains. A 1.75 inch diameter hail stone was reported at 11PM in Sterling, CO associated with a severe thunderstorm. 24-hour totals were just under 2 inches in northern Yuma, Phillips and Sedgwick Counties. No flooding was reported, and this was definitely a nice wetting rain for the crops.

Out west, strong winds were reported again in Northwest Colorado. Two 50 mph wind reports came out of Garfield and Meeker Airports around 2PM yesterday afternoon. The Wyman fire continues to burn in southwest Routt County (18 miles SW of Hayden) and is currently 380 acres. Hazy conditions may be experienced in Pagoda, Hayden and Craig although winds picking up from the northwest may help disperse the smoke away.

For precipitation estimates in your neighborhood on Sunday, scroll down to the State Precipitation Map below.

Click Here For Map Overview

The map below shows radar-estimated, rainfall gage-adjusted Quantitative Precipitation Estimates (QPE) across Colorado. The map is updated daily during the operational season (May 1 – Sep 30) by 11AM. The following six layers are currently available: 24-hour, 48-hour and 72-hour total precipitation, as well as maximum 1-hour, 2-hour and 6-hour precipitation over the past 24 hour period (to estimate where flash flooding may have occurred). The 24-hour, 48-hour and 72-hour total precipitation contain bias corrections that are not disaggregated into the hourly estimates, so there will likely be some differences. The accumulation ending time is 7AM of the date shown in the bottom right corner. Also shown optionally are vulnerable fire burn areas (post 2012), which are updated throughout the season to include new, vulnerable burn areas. The home button in the top left corner resets the map to the original zoom.