SPM 05-28-2020: Afternoon Mountain Storms Return

Issue Date: Thursday, May 28th, 2020
Issue Time: 9:55AM MDT

Summary:

Storms returned to the forecast as an approaching shortwave from our northeast moved into the area during the afternoon. This helped increase both lift and moisture. Storms were mostly confined to the mountains with the more northerly flow, but some storms moved into the adjacent eastern plains. Over the mountains, storm totals were estimated as high as 0.25 inches (west) and 0.50 inches (east). Trailing storms helped increase totals as 1-hour rain rates were below these values. There were also some gusty outflow winds over western Colorado reported by ASOS stations. As storms moved off the eastern mountains, they favored the Raton and Palmer Ridge for accumulations. A storm in El Paso County produced up to 0.75 inches (radar estimated) with a CoCoRaHS in the are recording between 0.50 and 0.55 inches. There were also a couple light overnight showers on the eastern plains, but totals were under 0.20 inches. Flooding was not reported on Wednesday.

For precipitation estimates in your neighborhood over the last 24-hours, scroll down to the State Precipitation Map below.

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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.