Issue Date: Monday, May 18, 2015
Issue Time: 9:10 AM MDT
Summary:
A very favorable weather pattern continued to provide a perfect recipe for rainfall over most of Colorado. Despite the fact that sunshine has been a hot commodity over the past two to three weeks, most would agree that rainfall is always beneficial given the semi-arid nature of our state’s climate.
On Sunday, early sunshine covered many parts of the state, especially east of the Divide. However, as the heating of the day began, cumulus clouds were quick to pop by noon. Soon thereafter, the common sound and sight of thunderstorms dotted the landscape. As has been the case during the past several days, while there was adequate moisture available, instability was lacking. The net result was only light precipitation for most. Park, Douglas, Garfield, Teller, Larimer and Weld counties managed to pick up a touch of 0.5 inches of rain. Many other locations experienced 0.25 to 0.5 inches as well.
Perhaps more impressive, however, was the additional snowfall picked up across the higher terrain. After picking up 3 inches of fresh powder yesterday, the notoriously “late-to-close” Arapahoe Basin ski resort will once again live up to its motto. On a more serious note, many high-elevation locations in the drought-plagued southwest and central mountains have seen very beneficial rain and snowfall amounts. Here are a few notable SNOTEL precipitation amounts since May 1st:
Schofield Pass (West Elk Range): 4.7 inches of precipitation
Columbus Basin (San Juan Range): 5.5 inches of precipitation
Wolf Creek Summit (San Juan Range): 6.4 inches of precipitation, 40+ inches of snowfall
No flooding was reported yesterday. Please check the map below for estimated rainfall in your area.
