{"id":11481,"date":"2020-05-15T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T15:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.coloradofloodthreat.com\/?p=11481"},"modified":"2020-05-16T07:22:23","modified_gmt":"2020-05-16T13:22:23","slug":"ftb-05-15-2020-severe-weather-heavy-rainfall-forecast-for-the-eastern-plains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/?p=11481","title":{"rendered":"FTB 05-15-2020: Severe Weather &#038; Heavy Rainfall Forecast for the Eastern Plains"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Issue Date: Friday, May 15th, 2020<br>\nIssue Time: 9:05AM MDT<\/p>\n<p><em>&mdash; A <strong>LOW<\/strong> flood threat has been issued for the Northeast Plains, Palmer Ridge and Southeast Plains<\/em><\/p>\n<p>An overnight cold front has helped hold moisture in place over the state. <span class=\"glossaryLink\"  aria-describedby=\"tt\"  data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;PW&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;(Stands for: Precipitable Water) The total atmospheric water vapor contained in a vertical column of the atmosphere. It is typically measured in inches, and anomalously (deviation from normal) high values of precipitable water generally correlate to heavy rainfall potential.&lt;\/div&gt;\"  data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>PW<\/span> was again measured this morning at 0.60 inches and 0.48 inches for Denver and Grand Junction, respectively. The atmosphere will be better suited to produce some stronger storms this afternoon over eastern Colorado due to a boost in instability and area of convergence (red circle below). Storms will also be supported by upper level flow and a stronger <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;shortwave&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;A disturbance in the mid or upper part of the atmosphere which induces upward motion ahead of it.&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>shortwave<\/span> moving through the west and southwest flow. All these features will combine to help produce some <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;severe thunderstorms&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;Thunderstorms that produce a tornado, winds of at least 58 mph (50 kts) and\/or hail at least 1&amp;quot; in diameter.&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>severe thunderstorms<\/span> over the far northeast corner of the state. The main threats will be large hail and strong winds as the storms form an <span class=\"glossaryLink\"  aria-describedby=\"tt\"  data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;MCS&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;(Stands for: Mesoscale Convective System) A complex of thunderstorms that produces a large, contiguous area of precipitation on the order of 100 km or more in the horizontal scale and normally persist for several hours or more.&lt;\/div&gt;\"  data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>MCS<\/span> along that line of convergence by early this evening.<\/p>\n<p>Expecting storms to fire first over the northwest quadrant of the state just after noon. Best chance for accumulations will again be over the higher elevations of the Northwest Slope, Northern Mountains and Central Mountains along the <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;Divide&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;&amp;lt;!-- wp:paragraph {&amp;quot;textColor&amp;quot;:&amp;quot;white&amp;quot;} --&amp;gt;\n&amp;lt;p class=&amp;quot;has-white-color has-text-color&amp;quot;&amp;gt;the dividing line that separates the watersheds of the western and eastern United States; rivers west of the divide empty into the Pacific Ocean, while rivers east of the divide empty into the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico&amp;lt;\/p&amp;gt;\n&amp;lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&amp;gt;&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>Divide<\/span>. To the east, development will favor the Front Range with more <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;scattered&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;25-40% areal coverage&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>scattered<\/span> storms over the Southeast Mountains and Raton Ridge early this afternoon. Although moisture will still not be too impressive, trailing and back-building storms will cause an increase in accumulation over some locations in an hour or two. Additionally, higher moisture east of the green line below is expected to increase storm totals. Thus, a Low flood threat has been issued with the flood threats being <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;isolated&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;less than 10% areal coverage&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>isolated<\/span> arroyo and small stream <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;flash flooding&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;&amp;lt;!-- wp:paragraph {&amp;quot;textColor&amp;quot;:&amp;quot;white&amp;quot;} --&amp;gt;\n&amp;lt;p class=&amp;quot;has-white-color has-text-color&amp;quot;&amp;gt;flash flooding can refer to usually dry areas becoming rapidly inundated with water, or rapid water level rises on streams, creeks, or rivers beyond flood stage; typically caused by heavy rainfall, but can also be caused by meltwater&amp;lt;\/p&amp;gt;\n&amp;lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&amp;gt;&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>flash flooding<\/span>, field ponding and low-land flooding. A couple light showers may linger over the Southeast Plains overnight, but they should start to break up tomorrow morning. Other rainfall activity&nbsp;across the state should end by midnight.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11482 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/wv_20200515.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"599\" height=\"421\"\/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Today&rsquo;s Flood Threat Map<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>For more information on today&rsquo;s flood threat, see the map below. If there is a threat, hover over the threat areas for more details, and click on burn areas to learn more about them. For Zone-Specific forecasts, scroll below the threat map.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/LFT_20200515.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11489\" src=\"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/LFT_20200515.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"891\" height=\"605\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Zone-Specific Forecasts:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><strong>Front Range, Southeast Mountains, Urban Corridor, Northeast Plains, Palmer Ridge, Southeast Plains, &amp; Raton Ridge:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Storms the west will have less available moisture, so totals will be a bit less than out east. Max 1-hour rain rates up to 0.75 inches will be possible in the foothills and along the Urban Corridor with totals increasing to 1.20 inches along the Palmer Ridge. Out east near the border, max 1-hour rain rates up to 1.75 inches will be possible. Thus, a Low flood threat has been issued. Severe storms this afternoon could produce some strong gusts (greater than 50 mph) and large hail (up to 1.5 inches in diameter), but these threats should be only over the northeast corner of the state. Lingering overnight storms on the Southeast Plains could produce some high, <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;isolated&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;less than 10% areal coverage&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>isolated<\/span> totals (around 2 inches) by morning.<\/p>\n<p>Primetime: 12PM to 5AM<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Northwest Slope, Grand Valley, Central Mountains, &amp; Northern Mountains: <\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Should see an uptick in coverage of storms this afternoon and evening as the stronger <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;shortwave&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;A disturbance in the mid or upper part of the atmosphere which induces upward motion ahead of it.&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>shortwave<\/span> moves through. Best chance for accumulation will be in the Northern Mountains and near\/along the Roan Plateau and Flat Top region. <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;isolated&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;less than 10% areal coverage&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>Isolated<\/span> totals just under 0.50 inches will be possible by morning in the Northern Mountains. Small hail is also possible for the strongest storms that form further north. Gusty winds will also be likely under most storms that do form, including the more <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;scattered&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;25-40% areal coverage&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>scattered<\/span> storms over the Grand Valley and western Central Mountains.<\/p>\n<p>Primetime: 12PM to 10PM<\/p>\n<h4><strong>San Juan Mountains, Southwest Slope, &amp; San Luis Valley:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>These areas will stay dry this afternoon with highs in the mid to upper 70Fs. Surface winds will again be under <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;critical fire weather&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;&amp;lt;!-- wp:paragraph {&amp;quot;textColor&amp;quot;:&amp;quot;white&amp;quot;} --&amp;gt;\n&amp;lt;p class=&amp;quot;has-white-color has-text-color&amp;quot;&amp;gt;weather conditions especially conducive to the formation of wildfires; typically strong winds, low relative humidity, and atmospheric instability&amp;lt;\/p&amp;gt;\n&amp;lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&amp;gt;&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>critical fire weather<\/span> criteria, so there is no <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;Red Flag&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;&amp;lt;!-- wp:paragraph {&amp;quot;textColor&amp;quot;:&amp;quot;white&amp;quot;} --&amp;gt;\n&amp;lt;p class=&amp;quot;has-white-color has-text-color&amp;quot;&amp;gt;weather conditions are extremely conducive to burning and wildfires&amp;lt;\/p&amp;gt;\n&amp;lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&amp;gt;&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>Red Flag<\/span> <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;Warning&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;&amp;lt;!-- wp:paragraph {&amp;quot;textColor&amp;quot;:&amp;quot;white&amp;quot;} --&amp;gt;\n&amp;lt;p class=&amp;quot;has-white-color has-text-color&amp;quot;&amp;gt;a weather warning is issued when a specific weather event is imminent or occurring&amp;lt;\/p&amp;gt;\n&amp;lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&amp;gt;&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>Warning<\/span>. Lows overnight are forecast to drop into the 40Fs for the lower elevations and between 35-40F for the mountain valleys.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Issue Date: Friday, May 15th, 2020 Issue Time: 9:05AM MDT &mdash; A LOW flood threat has been issued for the Northeast Plains, Palmer Ridge and Southeast Plains An overnight cold front has helped hold moisture in place over the state. <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;PW&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;(Stands for: Precipitable Water) The total atmospheric water vapor contained in a vertical column of the atmosphere. It is typically measured in inches, and anomalously (deviation from normal) high values of precipitable water generally correlate to heavy rainfall potential.&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>PW<\/span> was again measured this morning at 0.60 inches and 0.48 inches for Denver and [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11481"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11481"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11490,"href":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11481\/revisions\/11490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}