SPM 08-24-2020: Heat Wave Continues

Issue Date: Monday, August 24th, 2020
Issue Time: 9:08AM MDT

Summary:

The heat wave continues with 24-hour maximum temperatures below from NWS ASOS stations. A few daily high records were set across the state with a couple monthly high temperatures records set as well over the Central Mountains. The increased smoke also made it feel much later in the day (darker) as the sun started to set in the Denver Metro. Overall, it was quiet on the rainfall front with just some high-based showers over the mountains. The highest observation was in eastern Dolores County where a CoCoRaHS picked up 0.26 inches of rainfall. Most other areas picked up between trace amounts and 0.10 inches. A new fire started in Park County (Thorpe Fire) near Tarryall. As of 8PM last night, 150 acres had burned.

Ongoing large fire update (as of 9AM on InciWeb):
Pine Gulch – north of Grand Junction: 133,783 acres; 44% contained

Grizzly Creek – Glenwood Canyon: 30,719 acres; 33% contained

Cameron Peak – Medicine Bow Mountains: 20,118 acres; 0% contained

Williams Fork – Arapho National Forecast: 11,048 acres; 3% contained

To see precipitation estimates over your area the last 24 to 48-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.