SPM 05-28-2021: Calm Conditions Yesterday with Stable River Flows

Issue Date: Friday, May 28, 2021
Issue Time: 9:15 am MDT

Summary

High pressure in Western & Central Colorado yesterday dominated the weather pattern across the state, creating calm conditions. For rainfall estimates in your area, check out our State Precipitation Map at the bottom of today’s post.

The flows on the Purgatoire River near Las Animas in Bent County are below minor flood stage. The graph below shows todays gauge height in feet at the Purgatoire River near Las Animas, next to the most recent flood stage report, and historical stages for context. The Purgatoire River and Cache la Poudre River are still experiencing higher than normal streamflow but are stable and below flood stage.

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 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.

Note: The 24-hour, 48-hour and 72-hour total precipitation do not contain bias corrections today due to errors in the CoCoRaHS data. This means there may be underestimations in QPE over the southwest and southeast corners of the state.