SPM 05-12-2018: Isolated Showers/Thunderstorms Struggled as Best Support Remained across Wyoming

Issue Date: Saturday, May 12th, 2018
Issue Time: 9:30 AM MDT

Summary:

Warm and dry conditions could be found across much of the state yesterday, especially for those areas south of the I-70 corridor where dry southwest flow aloft dominated the forecast. To the north, a few isolated showers/thunderstorms were able to dot the area thanks to an influx of low-level moisture from the north and east, producing mainly gusty winds and light rainfall, with plenty of virga to go around. A few storms were able to produce between 0.1-0.25 inches of rainfall accumulation over the Front Range, Urban Corridor, and Northeast Plains; they couldn’t muster anything close to flooding thresholds.

If you look back to yesterday’s FTB, we discussed gusty winds thanks to a tightening pressure gradient, and that’s exactly what we got, especially across the western slope. Check out some of the stronger non-thunderstorm wind reports:

65 mph: Mt. Abrahms (Ouray County)
60 mph: Kendall Mountain (San Juan County)
57 mph: Eagle Mountain (San Juan County)
54 mph: Douglas Pass (Garfield County)

Flash flooding was not reported yesterday. For a look at precipitation estimates in your area, please see our 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.