SPM 06-23-2021: Return of Summer Heat

Issue Date: Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Issue Time: 8:45 AM MDT

Summary:

The persisting high pressure system kept the air dry across the state and limited precipitation to a few isolated storms on Tuesday. With it, the return of higher, more summer-like temperatures. Highs were 10-15 degrees hotter on Tuesday compared to the cool-down on Monday. No flooding was reported on Tuesday. For rainfall estimates in your area, including antecedent rainfall, check out the State Precipitation Map at the bottom of today’s post.

Wildfire smoke has been visible in the air from active fires within Colorado and the surrounding southwest states. The combined smoke and hot temperatures resulted in poorer air quality throughout the state due to ozone and particulate matter, especially in the Urban Corridor. Reed Timmer shared the following pictures on twitter of the wildfire smoke at sunset looking west along I-70 near Genesee. “Beautiful but troubling” is an appropirate description.

Beautiful but troubling sunset looking west from Genesee, CO at the Continental Divide with numerous wildfires burning in western CO #cowx @RadarOmega pic.twitter.com/G4iFaiUAfI

— Reed Timmer (@ReedTimmerAccu) June 23, 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.