SPM 09-05-2021: Much Drier Day with Isolated Thunderstorms in Eastern Colorado

Issue Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2021
Issue Time: 10:15 AM MDT

Summary:

Much drier air filled in across the state yesterday, especially compared to Friday, associated with the building ridge to the west. This acted to keep Western Colorado dry, however east of the divide there was still enough moisture for some early afternoon scattered convection to fire up along the Palmer Ridge, Southeast Mountains, Raton Ridge, and Southeast Plains. As afternoon turned to evening and overnight, isolated thunderstorms also occurred along portions of the Urban Corridor and Northeast Plains, in addition to continued storm coverage in the Palmer Ridge, Southeast Plains, and Raton Ridge.

A lone severe thunderstorm warning was issued yesterday evening for a storm in Huerfano County, north of Walsenburg – but the main threats were large hail and high winds, similar to most of the storms yesterday. Overall rainfall totals were fairly light, especially compared to the previous day, but those areas located under one of the isolated cells received some higher totals including:

Two CoCoRaHs observers in Southern Elbert County, Calhan and Raman with 0.95 and 0.52 inches, respectively (Elbert County, CoCoRaHS gauge)
Big Springs PWS in El Paso County with 0.98 inches
Fort Carson with 0.41 inches (USGS gauge)
Elizabeth with 0.28 inches (CoCoRaHS gauge)
Castle Rock with 0.20 inches (MHFD gauge)

No flooding was reported on Saturday. For rainfall estimates in your area, check out 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 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.