{"id":12309,"date":"2020-07-15T09:34:15","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T15:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.coloradofloodthreat.com\/?p=12309"},"modified":"2020-07-16T10:25:15","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T16:25:15","slug":"ftb-07-15-2020-high-moisture-over-southeast-colorado-returns-the-flood-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/?p=12309","title":{"rendered":"FTB 07-15-2020: High Moisture over Southeast Colorado Returns the Flood Threat"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Issue Date: Wednesday, July 15th, 2020<br>\nIssue Time: 9:30AM MDT<em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&mdash; A <strong>LOW<\/strong> flood threat has been issued for the southern Urban Corridor, Palmer Ridge, Southeast Plains and Raton Ridge<\/em><br><em>&mdash;&nbsp;A <strong>LOW<\/strong> flood threat has also been issued for the Spring Creek burn area<\/em><\/p>\n<p>A large <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> can be seen to our east in the image below (orange &ldquo;X&rdquo; over KS\/MO), which originated from the cluster of storms over the Southeast Plains yesterday. Today, the high will start to strengthen over Texas and push the 5880m height contour northward, so Colorado will be under moderate west\/southwest flow aloft. This morning, there is quite a bit of fog over the eastern Plains, Palmer Ridge, and portions of the Urban Corridor. This should start to break up over the next couple of hours with a little daytime heating. The fog indicates that there is still plenty of low-level moisture still over eastern Colorado, and the sounding at Denver measured <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> at 0.69 inches (note that the balloon popped at about 9km). Slightly higher <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> values are present over southeast Colorado, and easterly flow at the surface this afternoon will keep surface moisture in place for another round of <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> afternoon storms. Looks like a <span class=\"glossaryLink\"  aria-describedby=\"tt\"  data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;cap&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;The area where a parcel of air has negative buoyancy or sinks. The intensity of the cap is measured by its convective inhibition. If the cap is sufficiently large, it may prevent thunderstorms from forming at all.&lt;\/div&gt;\"  data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>cap<\/span> across northern Colorado will keep rainfall chances low, so the storm activity this afternoon will generally along and south of I-70.<\/p>\n<p>With the high to the southeast, mid-level energy and moisture from New Mexico (orange &ldquo;X&rdquo;) should move north across the southern border. Therefore, storms are also expected to return to the San Juan and Central Mountains this afternoon, and rainfall chances also increase for the San Luis Valley with more westerly steering flow. Due to higher moisture in the area, rain rates up to 0.5 inches will be possible over the Southeast Mountains. Therefore, a Low flood threat has been issued for the Spring Creek burn area. As the storms move off the mountains, rain rate efficiencies are predicted to increase due to an uptick in low-level moisture and better dynamics. So expect growing coverage of thunderstorms with a few becoming severe, and storms steering more to the southeast&nbsp;over the plains. A Low flood threat has been issued for urban flooding, road flooding, and flooding of low-lying areas.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12310 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/wv_20200715.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"569\" height=\"415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/wv_20200715.png 569w, https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/wv_20200715-300x219.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 569px) 100vw, 569px\"\/><\/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\/07\/FTB_20200715_snap.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12327\" src=\"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/FTB_20200715_snap.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"890\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/FTB_20200715_snap.png 890w, https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/FTB_20200715_snap-300x202.png 300w, https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/FTB_20200715_snap-768x518.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 890px) 100vw, 890px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Zone-Specific Forecasts:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><strong>Southeast Plains, Palmer Ridge, Raton Ridge, &amp; Urban Corridor:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>A Low flood threat has been issued for the adjacent eastern plains this afternoon, and a few <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> will be likely. Max 1-hour rain rates up to 1.9 inches will be possible in the threat area, so urban flooding, road flooding, and small stream flooding will be possible. There should be plenty of time for Fountain Creek to recover from the storms yesterday, but always a good idea to keep an eye on this one during heavy rainfall events. <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> that form will be capable of producing severe hail and strong <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;outflow&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;A cool pool of air that results when a thunderstorm downdraft reaches the surface and spreads horizontally.&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>outflow<\/span> winds. Be sure to follow <span class=\"glossaryLink\"  aria-describedby=\"tt\"  data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;NWS&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;National Weather Service&lt;\/div&gt;\"  data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>NWS<\/span> Pueblo for the latest on storm warnings. Rainfall should start to come to an end just after midnight. High temperatures will drop off a bit behind the cold front, but rise 5-10F over the northern Urban Corridor and portions of the Palmer Ridge.<\/p>\n<p>Primetime: 1:30PM to 12AM<\/p>\n<h4><strong>San Juan Mountains, Central Mountains, Front Range, San Luis Valley<\/strong><strong>, <\/strong><strong>&amp; Southeast Mountains: <\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Best chance for thunderstorms and rainfall today will be south of I-70. Max 1-hour rain rates just over 0.50 inches will be possible with totals decreasing over the San Luis Valley. <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 (along the edges of the valley) up to 0.25 inches will be possible by tomorrow with more general totals in the 0.10 to 0.15 range. Storms will again be capable of producing gusty <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;outflow&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;A cool pool of air that results when a thunderstorm downdraft reaches the surface and spreads horizontally.&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>outflow<\/span> winds and dangerous lightning if hiking.<\/p>\n<p>Primetime: 12:30PM to 1AM<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Northern Mountains, Northwest Slope, Grand Valley, Southwest Slope<\/strong><strong>, &amp; <\/strong><strong>Northeast Plains:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>These areas should remain dry today with high temperatures increasing over the Northern Mountains and Northeast Plains (5-10F). Other regions high temperatures will be about the same as yesterday, which is still above average for this time of year. <span class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;widespread&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;greater than 60% areal coverage&lt;\/div&gt;\" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'>Widespread<\/span> fire danger will decrease today due to an increase in moisture and lighter surface winds. However, spotty fire weather conditions may still occur over the Northwest Slope this afternoon.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Issue Date: Wednesday, July 15th, 2020 Issue Time: 9:30AM MDT&nbsp; &mdash; A LOW flood threat has been issued for the southern Urban Corridor, Palmer Ridge, Southeast Plains and Raton Ridge &mdash;&nbsp;A LOW flood threat has also been issued for the Spring Creek burn area A large <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> can be seen to our east in the [&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\/12309"}],"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=12309"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12330,"href":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12309\/revisions\/12330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive-coftb.dewberryanalytics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}