SPM 07-16-2019: Severe Thunderstorms West of the Continental Divide

Issue date: Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Issue time: 10:40AM MDT

Summary:

Severe thunderstorms where reported all along the Front Range and Urban Corridor yesterday as a shortwave passed overhead around 1PM. Moderate to high levels of surface moisture on the eastern plains were pulled westward throughout the morning to aid thunderstorm generation over the Palmer Ridge and high country east of the Continental Divide. West of the Continental Divide things dried out a bit compared to the weekend, as dry air gradually made its way in from the west-southwest. The main story yesterday was severe thunderstorms over the Urban Corridor and Palmer Ridge. Areal Flood Advisories were issued between 4PM and 6PM between Castle Rock and Colorado Springs, with radar derived measurements of 2.5 inches over the area over a 1.5 hour period. Another Areal Flood Advisory was issued over Lincoln County at 6:30PM, with radar deriving 3 inches of rain over a 75 minute period, which is a 1 in 100 year event! No flooding was reported over the areas. Other notable reports to the NWS include:

1.5 inch diameter hail: 5 miles N of Lyons (Larimer County)
1.25 inch diameter hail: 7 miles NE of Greenland (Douglas County)
60 mph wind gust: near Akron (Washington County)

Surface reports from CoCoRaHS measured 1.30 inches near Karval in Lincoln County, 1.12 inches of rain near Jamestown in Boulder County, 1.15 inches of rain near Akron in Washington County, and 1.03 inches of rain near Larkspur in Douglas County.

For a look at precipitation over your area, please visit the State Precipitation Map below.

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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.