SPM 06-23-2020: Thunderstorms Returned to Eastern Colorado

Issue Date: Tuesday, June 23rd, 2020
Issue Time: 9:35AM MDT

Summary:

A passing shortwave and moisture under the ridge helped spark some afternoon storms over eastern Colorado. Storms over the mountains favored the Central Mountains and southern Front Range, and a weak thunderstorm near Vail produced 0.25 inch hail. Storms were more abundant in eastern Colorado across the Palmer Ridge and south. As storms moved into the Southeast Plains, they got a little stronger with better dynamics in place (shortwave, CAPE, jet stream). Although a Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for a stronger storm that developed over the Raton Ridge, there were no reports of hail. This is likely due to the remoteness of the area. Radar estimates just over 0.50 inches of rain fell, but a CoCoRaHS station near Pritchett (Springfield area) recorded 1.10 inches. Additionally, 0.70 inches were recorded at a USGS gage near Thatcher, CO. A couple rounds of showers over the Palmer Ridge allowed 24-hour totals to reach around 0.50 inches. Flooding was not reported yesterday.

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.