SPM 07-11-2020: Hot Day Statewide

Issue Date: Saturday, July 11th, 2020
Issue Time: 9:45AM MDT

Summary:

It really heated up yesterday, which isn’t surprising looking at the strength of the ridge. Over western Colorado in the Grand Valley, Delta hit 102F with high 90Fs elsewhere. Grand Junction was just shy of the 100F mark, and Durango hit 91F. Most mountain valleys were in the 80Fs, and Leadville hit 79F at 10.1K ft. Over eastern Colorado highs were 100F (or slightly more) in Fort Collins, Denver, and Pueblo. The Springs hit 92F and Fort Morgan topped out at 102F. All in all, it was a scorcher. Dew points were in the 60Fs over the eastern plains with highs in the upper 90Fs, but a cap in place and no lifting mechanism kept storms from forming. A weak storm attempted to pop over the northeast corner of the state around 6PM, but quickly dissipated. So other than some minor rainfall in the core, it remained dry.

Here’s a quick (mountain) fire update. They YMCA fire that started near Canyon City on Wednesday is now 40% contained and has burned about 300 acres. The Goose Creek fire in Mineral County has burned 170 acres and is 75% contained. Lastly, the San Creek Fire (border of Hinsdale and Archuleta County) is 20% contained and has burned ~100 acres.

To see precipitation estimates in your area over the last 48 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.