SPM 06-16-2021: Record Breaking Heat Across Colorado

Issue Date: Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Issue Time: 9:30 AM MDT

Summary:

Yesterday saw afternoon thunderstorm development in the Southeast Mountains, Raton Ridge, Palmer Ridge, and Eastern Plains. Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued west of Limon, with the main threat being high winds and large, damaging hail. A flash flood warning was also issued for the Spring burn scar after Doppler radar indicated heavy rain in the area. Neither warnings materialized to severe weather or flood reports. Precipitation totals were lighter, with rainfall between 0.01-0.15 inches from CoCoRaHS observers and NWS COOP stations, which may not be reflected in the SPM. For rainfall estimates in your area, including antecedent conditions, check out the State Precipitation Map at the bottom of today’s post.

The real headline of yesterday was the scorcher of a day across the state, with new record high temperatures set from Grand Junction to Fort Collins. High temperatures mixed with wildfire smoke contributed to poor air quality across the state as well.

Denver got the headline for breaking a record with 101 degrees yesterday but there were MANY broken records in Colorado on Tuesday. Fort Collins reached 103 which was 9 degrees above the old record! #cowx #4wx @ChrisCBS4 @DaveCBS4 @LaurenCBS4 pic.twitter.com/SMlcBjkXV9

— Ashton Altieri (@AshtonCBS4) June 16, 2021

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.