Issue Date: Saturday, September 24th, 2016
Issue Time: 8:58AM MDT
Summary:
Friday’s weather was very Colorado-like courtesy of a strong upper-level trough that finally entered the state during the late afternoon. So what do I mean by “Colorado-like”? Well, high temperatures soared above 90F in the Arkansas River valley as strong southerly flow and sunshine worked in tandem. There were scattered thunderstorms, albeit weak, mainly in the Northeast Plains. These raced northward with storm motions up to 50mph, and as you can guess, did not have any time to produce heavy rainfall. Nonetheless, a relatively impressive 0.5 – 0.75 inches did result from the strongest cells. Farther west, light to moderate rain showers with rainfall accumulations up to 0.75 inches eventually turned to snow showers above about 9,500 feet (though a non-accumulating rain/snow mix likely made it to lower elevations). Pictures and measurements from the Grand Mesa show over 3 inches of snowfall. Similar amounts were reported in the San Juans with Crested Butte officially notching 3.5 inches as of this morning; the Front Range higher peaks also got in on the action. Finally, gusty winds were found across the state, but especially east of the Continental Divide. Official reports of winds show gusts up to 70 mph across the Southeast Plains that were not associated with thunderstorm activity. Fortunately, no significant damage was reported although the winds certainly blew around patio furniture, trash cans and broke small tree limbs as evidenced through social media posts this morning. Finally, to top it all off, by far the coldest temperatures of the young fall season were observed this morning for many locations. For example, Pikes Peak bottomed out at 12.1F this morning with a wind chill of about -15F. All in all, a very Colorado-like Friday!
No official flooding reports were received on Friday. For rainfall estimates specific to your area, check out our Storm Total Precipitation map below.
