SPM 05-08-2018: Warm, Mostly Dry Monday despite Widespread Cloud Cover

Issue Date: Tuesday, May 8, 2018
Issue Time: 9:00AM MDT

Summary:

An upper trough moved through the state Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning. This kept widespread high and mid-level cloud cover throughout the day. Despite the cloud cover, drier air and westerly flow allowed high temperatures to reach the upper 70s and low 80s over the lower elevations. Temperatures over the southeast corner of the state even reached the mid 80s. The drier air limited rainfall totals over the mountains with various locations in the mountains reporting 0.1 inches. Higher dew points over the eastern plains were quick to mix out in the afternoon and all convection remained north of Colorado.

Below shows the average snow depth over Colorado for April at various SNOTEL sites when compared to average (1981-2010) from NRCS. The snowpack over the San Juan Mountains in southern Colorado is less than 25% of normal for this time of year. The high country to the north is fairing much better, but basins are still only at 85% of normal. Thankfully, reservoirs are at or above normal across the state, which will help lessen the impacts of the low snow depth. While it’s a bit early to tell what the fire season holds, rainfall this spring is imperative to help alleviate the developing drought over the southern portion of the state.

There was no flooding reported Monday. For an estimate of rainfall totals in your area, scroll down to 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 6AM of the date shown in the bottom right corner. Also shown optionally are fire burn areas since 2012. The home button in the top left corner resets the map to the original zoom.

Note: We have identified a possible underestimation in QPE over the southwest part of the state. We are working to on this issue, and will provide an update as soon as possible.