SPM 06-17-2020: Another Day of Hot and Windy Conditions

Issue Date: Wednesday, June 17th, 2020
Issue Time: 9:10AM MDT

Summary:

Hot and windy conditions across the state really allowed the East Canyon fire to expand. Wind gusts were reported in the 45 to 55 mph range over western Colorado, with most of those reports from the Northwest Slope and Grand Valley. The fire grew from 895 acres to over 2,700 acres yesterday (as of 8PM)! As expected, there is lots of smoke in the area, and an Air Quality Alert was issued again today. Colorado Springs fire department posted a neat link that shows where all the smoke/haze over Colorado and your area is coming from Click Me. It was reported that Pikes Peak was barely visible this morning due to smoke in the area. To track all the large fire incidents yourself, visit the USDA Forest Service site here: https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm

Highs yesterday afternoon reached 100F over the Southeast Plains, so slightly up from Tuesday. A couple high-based rain showers formed over the southern Southeast Mountains and Southeast Plains. Highest totals were around 0.25 inches, and likely overestimated due to the dry surface layer (evaporation). Flooding was not reported.

For precipitation estimates in your neighborhood over the last 24 to 72-hours, 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.