SPM 09-23-2018: Fall Wildfire Weather Continues

Issue Date: Sunday, September 23rd, 2018
Issue Time: 09:35 AM MDT

Summary:

Saturday was seasonably warm and dry, with clear and sunny skies across Colorado. No precipitation was reported yesterday, save for two CoCoRaHS stations in Las Animas county that recorded less than 0.1 inches of rain overnight. Some areas of the state saw temperatures approaching record warmth as the unusual heat continued. Wildfires, particularly in the northwest and southwest parts of Colorado, continued to grow on Saturday. One of the largest fires in the state, the Ryan Fire in Jackson County, is still roughly 0% contained and grew to 3,000 acres yesterday. The Silver Creek fire near Kremmling is still not completely contained as well. The Bull Draw, Plateau, and Burro fires also are a major threat in the Southwest Slope, with the heat, wind, and now dead fall leaves making it difficult for firefighters to contain these strong blazes. No flooding or other storm reports were recorded 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 24-hour, 48-hour and 72-hour total precipitation contain bias corrections that are not disaggregated into the hourly estimates, so there will likely be some differences. The accumulation ending time is 7AM of the date shown in the bottom right corner. Also shown optionally are fire burn areas (post 2012), which are updated throughout the season to include new burn areas. The home button in the top left corner resets the map to the original zoom.