SPM 06-05-2018: A Return to Warm and Dry Conditions Throughout Colorado

Issue Date: Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Issue Time: 10:50AM MDT

Summary:

The heat returned yesterday in Colorado, with the winds shifting to a more southwesterly direction as the large upper atmosphere ridge that will bring dry and hot weather for the entire week began to move over the area. Clouds increased throughout the day along the Front Range, Urban Corridor, and across the eastern plains. Plenty of virga could be seen in the late afternoon, as well as gusty winds within the outflow of nearby thunderstorms. Throughout the state, there were very few gauges that recorded measurable rainfall. Oddly, the area with most of these gauges was in and around the San Luis Valley, which is climatologically one of the driest regions in Colorado. Here, afternoon thunderstorms had just enough strength to drop small amounts of rainfall. No flooding was reported yesterday.

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.