SPM 05-15-2019: Sunshine and Scattered Showers

Issue Date: Wednesday, May 15th, 2019
Issue Time: 9:10AM MDT

Summary:

Colorado was centered under the ridge axis yesterday, which allowed for another day of warm temperatures. Temperatures continued to rise a couple of degrees from Monday, which allowed for melting of the snowpack at the higher elevations. Scattered afternoon thunderstorms popped up over the higher terrains favoring the Front Range and Southeast Mountains. Totals were mostly under 0.1 inches though there were a couple isolated accumulations of 0.25 inches. Moisture was a bit better along the Colorado/Kansas border, and 24-hour totals in Kit Carson County were estimated by radar at 0.5 inches. Over western Colorado, a drier air mass was in place, so there was plentiful virga and some gusty winds. Strong gusts were recorded from two thunderstorms in Meeker (51 mph) and Basalt (56 mph). 24-hour totals west of the Continental Divide were under 0.1 inches. Flooding was not reported on Tuesday.

To see precipitation totals in your neighborhood from Tuesday, 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 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 vulnerable fire burn areas (post 2012), which are updated throughout the season to include new, vulnerable burn areas. The home button in the top left corner resets the map to the original zoom.