Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

Home | Current Version | Previous Version | Text Only | Print | Product List | Glossary On
Versions: 1 2 3 4 5 
000
AXUS75 KBOU 252131
DGTBOU
COC001-005-013-014-019-031-035-039-047-049-057-059-069-073-075-087-
093-095-115-117-121-123-150000-

DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
330 PM MDT THU APR 25 2013

...DROUGHT CONTINUES TO SLOWLY IMPROVE OVER MUCH OF NORTHERN
COLORADO...

SYNOPSIS...

WINTER STORMS CONTINUED TO BRING MUCH NEEDED SNOWFALL TO NORTHERN
COLORADO. THE STORM EARLY THIS WEEK BROUGHT A HALF TO 1 FOOT OF SNOW
NEAR THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE....4 TO 10 INCHES IN THE NORTHERN FRONT
RANGE FOOTHILLS AND 4 TO 8 INCHES ALONG THE URBAN CORRIDOR EXTENDING
ACROSS THE COLORADO PLAINS EAST OF DENVER. HOWEVER...ONCE AGAIN LESS
SNOW FELL IN SOME OF THE MOST DROUGHT STRICKEN AREAS FARTHER SOUTH
AND EXTREME NORTHEAST. LESS THAN AN INCH OF SNOW FELL IN THE
NORTHEAST CORNER OF COLORADO. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS RANGED FROM 3 TO 4
INCHES IN SOUTHERN PARK COUNTY TO ONLY 1 TO 3 INCHES IN SOUTHERN
LINCOLN COUNTY.

EXTREME DROUGHT /D3/ HAS BEEN REDUCED TO SEVERE DROUGHT /D2/ IN
SOUTHERN LOGAN COUNTY ON THE LATEST U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR. SEVERE
DROUGHT /D2/ WAS REPLACED BY MODERATE DROUGHT /D1/ OVER THE NORTH
CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS INCLUDING CLEAR
CREEK...GILPIN...GRAND...SUMMIT...NORTHWEST AND SOUTHERN
JACKSON...WESTERN BOULDER AND LARIMER AND NORTHWEST JEFFERSON
COUNTIES DUE TO THE BENEFICIAL MOISTURE THE PAST TWO MONTHS.

MODERATE DROUGHT /D1/ CONTINUED ALONG THE NORTHERN URBAN CORRIDOR
INCLUDING DENVER. SEVERE DROUGHT /D2/ AND EXTREME DROUGHT /D3/
ENDURED OVER MUCH OF THE NORTHEAST PLAINS. EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT
/D4/ LINGERED IN SOUTHERN LINCOLN COUNTY EXTENDING INTO THE ELBERT
COUNTY PANHANDLE.

SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...

FROM APRIL 21ST USDA COLORADO CROP PROGRESS REPORT...RAIN AND SNOW
PROVIDED NEEDED MOISTURE TO ISOLATED AREAS ACROSS THE STATE BUT THE
LONG TERM OUTLOOK IS STILL UNCERTAIN. PASTURE CONDITIONS WERE RATED
53 PERCENT VERY POOR COMPARED TO THE FIVE YEAR AVERAGE OF 10 PERCENT.

EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT OR D4 IMPACTS INCLUDE EXCEPTIONAL AND WIDESPREAD
CROP/PASTURE LOSSES...EXTREME WILDLAND FIRE DANGER...SHORTAGES OF
WATER IN RESERVOIRS...STREAMS AND WELLS CREATING WATER EMERGENCIES.

EXTREME DROUGHT OR D3 IMPACTS INCLUDE EXTREME WILDLAND FIRE
DANGER...MAJOR CROP AND PASTURE LOSSES...WIDESPREAD WATER SHORTAGES
AND WATER RESTRICTIONS.

SEVERE DROUGHT OR D2 IMPACTS INCLUDE HIGH WILDLAND FIRE
DANGER...CROP AND PASTURE LOSSES...WATER SHORTAGES AND RESTRICTIONS.

MODERATE DROUGHT OR D1 IMPACTS INCLUDE SOME DAMAGE TO CROPS...SOME
WATER SHORTAGES AND WATER RESTRICTIONS.

HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY...

THE SNOWPACK IN THE NORTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS HAS INCREASED
SIGNIFICANTLY...RISING ABOVE THE PEAK SNOWPACK FOR NUMEROUS YEARS
SINCE 1979. HOWEVER...THE SNOWPACK REMAINS BELOW THE PEAK SNOWPACK
THE NORTHERN BASINS TYPICALLY REACH. THE APRIL 25TH SNOWPACK WAS 110
PERCENT OF AVERAGE OR 95 PERCENT OF ITS MEDIAN PEAK FOR THE UPPER
COLORADO RIVER BASIN...103 PERCENT OF AVERAGE OR 96 PERCENT OF ITS
MEDIAN PEAK IN THE NORTH PLATTE BASIN AND 95 PERCENT OF AVERAGE OR
90 PERCENT OF ITS MEDIAN PEAK IN THE SOUTH PLATTE BASIN.

WHILE THE MOUNTAIN SNOWPACK IS MUCH IMPROVED IN MOST LOCATIONS THIS
SPRING COMPARED WITH LAST SPRING...RESERVOIR STORAGE IS GENERALLY IN
WORSE SHAPE ESPECIALLY WEST OF THE DIVIDE. BELOW ARE THE UNOFFICIAL
2012 AND 2013 PERCENT OF CAPACITY STORAGE AT SOME LARGER RESERVOIRS
IN NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO:

                 PERCENT OF CAPACITY
RESERVOIR      4/30/2012    4/24/2013
---------      ---------    ---------
UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN
 DILLON            94           65
 GREEN MOUNTAIN    56           43
 LAKE GRANBY       74           39
 WILLIAMS FORK     89           45

SOUTH PLATTE RIVER BASIN
 ANTERO            80           81
 CARTER            79           94
 CHEESMAN          88           63
 ELEVEN MILE      102           99
 GROSS             75           62
 HORSETOOTH        89           75

IN LOOKING AT THE USGS COMBINED STREAM GAGE DATA ACROSS
COLORADO...STREAMFLOWS THE PAST WEEK HAVE BEEN AT OR NEAR RECORD LOW
LEVELS. HOWEVER...MUCH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES HAVE KEPT THE
MOUNTAIN SNOWPACK IN PLACE WITH LITTLE RUNOFF. SNOWMELT RUNOFF WILL
START TO INCREASE AS TEMPERATURES WARM THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK
ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS.

CLIMATE SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...

APRIL TEMPERATURES HAVE RANGED FROM 6 TO 10 DEGREES BELOW AVERAGE AT
LOWER ELEVATIONS TO 2 TO 6 DEGREES BELOW AVERAGE IN THE HIGH
COUNTRY. PRECIPITATION SO FAR THIS APRIL HAS RANGED FROM BETWEEN
1.75 AND 5 INCHES NEAR THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TO LESS THAN A HALF
INCH IN SOUTHERN LINCOLN COUNTY ON THE EAST CENTRAL PLAINS.

APRIL 1ST THROUGH 24TH UNOFFICIAL PRECIPITATION TOTALS AT SELECTED
LOCATIONS ARE LISTED BELOW:

LOCATION            2013   AVERAGE   DEPARTURE  % AVERAGE
--------            ----   -------   ---------  ---------
NORTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS
 DILLON             1.96      1.01       0.95       194
 ESTES PARK         3.65      1.60       2.05       228
 GEORGETOWN         3.18      1.65       1.53       193
 GRAND LAKE 6SSW    1.86      0.98       0.88       190
 LAKE GEORGE 8SW    0.42      0.71      -0.29        59
 WALDEN             1.29      0.91       0.38       142
 WINTER PARK        3.67      2.56       1.11       143

FRONT RANGE URBAN CORRIDOR
 BOULDER            4.14      2.29       1.85       181
 FORT COLLINS       2.65      1.58       1.07       168
 GREELEY            2.43      1.38       1.05       176
 NORTHGLENN         1.66      1.41       0.25       118
 PARKER             1.23      1.88      -0.65        65
 WHEAT RIDGE        2.03      1.75       0.28       116

EASTERN PLAINS
 FORT MORGAN        1.02      0.94       0.08       109
 HOLYOKE            1.46      1.42       0.04       103
 HUGO               1.14      0.84       0.30       136
 KARVAL             0.16      0.98      -0.82        16
 NEW RAYMER 21N     2.21      1.32       0.89       167
 SHAW 4ENE          0.95      1.15      -0.20        83

THREE MONTH UNOFFICIAL PRECIPITATION TOTALS FROM JANUARY
THROUGH MARCH ARE SHOWN IN THE TABLE BELOW:

LOCATION            2013   AVERAGE   DEPARTURE  % AVERAGE
--------            ----   -------   ---------  ---------
NORTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS
 DILLON             3.72      2.74       0.98       136
 ESTES PARK         1.47      3.30      -1.83        45
 GEORGETOWN         1.82      3.21      -1.39        57
 GRAND LAKE 6SSW    1.49      2.57      -1.08        58
 LAKE GEORGE 8SW    0.63      1.46      -0.83        43
 WALDEN             0.79      1.98      -1.19        40
 WINTER PARK        3.81      6.69      -2.88        57

FRONT RANGE URBAN CORRIDOR
 BOULDER            3.12      3.77      -0.65        83
 FORT COLLINS       1.61      2.39      -0.78        67
 GREELEY            2.17      2.00       0.17       109
 NORTHGLENN         2.81      1.94       0.87       145
 PARKER             2.71      2.52       0.19       108
 WHEAT RIDGE        2.52      3.22      -0.70        78

EASTERN PLAINS
 FORT MORGAN        1.33      1.15       0.18       116
 HOLYOKE            1.92      1.94      -0.02        99
 HUGO               1.70      1.13       0.57       150
 KARVAL             0.67      1.43      -0.76        47
 NEW RAYMER 21N     1.48      1.65      -0.17        90
 SHAW 4ENE          2.78      1.89       0.89       147

SIX MONTH UNOFFICIAL PRECIPITATION TOTALS FROM OCTOBER 2012
THROUGH MARCH 2013 ARE LISTED BELOW:

LOCATION   PAST 6 MONTHS   AVERAGE   DEPARTURE  % AVERAGE
--------            ----   -------   ---------  ---------
NORTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS
 DILLON             5.45      5.47      -0.02       100
 ESTES PARK         3.03      5.98      -2.95        51
 GEORGETOWN         3.39      6.42      -3.03        53
 GRAND LAKE 6SSW    3.44      5.44      -2.00        63
 LAKE GEORGE 8SW    1.71      2.88      -1.17        59
 WALDEN             2.72      4.51      -1.79        60
 WINTER PARK        8.07     13.10      -5.03        62

FRONT RANGE URBAN CORRIDOR
 BOULDER            5.35      7.50      -2.15        71
 FORT COLLINS       2.81      4.80      -1.99        59
 GREELEY            4.38      4.31       0.07       102
 NORTHGLENN         4.14      4.21      -0.07        98
 PARKER             4.56      5.57      -1.01        82
 WHEAT RIDGE        3.72      6.57      -2.85        57

EASTERN PLAINS
 FORT MORGAN        2.06      2.90      -0.84        71
 HOLYOKE            3.27      4.22      -0.95        77
 HUGO               2.59      2.97      -0.38        87
 KARVAL             1.06      3.08      -2.02        34
 NEW RAYMER 21N     2.95      3.94      -0.99        75
 SHAW 4ENE          3.81      4.03      -0.22        95

THE 8 TO 14 DAY OUTLOOK THROUGH MAY 9TH CALLS FOR ABOVE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES AND BELOW AVERAGE PRECIPITATION.

NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...

THIS PRODUCT WILL BE UPDATED BY MAY 24TH...OR SOONER IF SIGNIFICANT
CHANGES OCCUR.

&&

RELATED WEB SITES...

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CURRENT DROUGHT CONDITIONS MAY BE FOUND AT
THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESSES (USE LOWER CASE LETTERS):

U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR
DROUGHTMONITOR.UNL.EDU/

LOCAL WEATHER...CLIMATE AND WATER INFORMATION
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BOU

COLORADO CLIMATE CENTER/NIDIS DROUGHT PRESENTATIONS
HTTP://CCC.ATMOS.COLOSTATE.EDU/DROUGHT_WEBINAR.PHP

NWS CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOKS
WWW.CPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV

WILDLAND FIRE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM
WWW.WFAS.NET/

NDMC DROUGHT IMPACT REPORTER
DROUGHTREPORTER.UNL.EDU

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
WWW.NASS.USDA.GOV/
WWW.CO.NRCS.USDA.GOV/SNOW/INDEX.HTML

USGS COLORADO DROUGHTWATCH WATERWATCH
CO.WATER.USGS.GOV/DROUGHT/WATERWATCH.USGS.GOV

COLORADO DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES SOUTH PLATTE AND SWSI REPORTS
WWW.DWR.STATE.CO.US/DWRDOCS/PAGES/SPLATTESUMMARY.ASPX
WWW.STATE.CO.US/DWRDOCS/REPORTS/PAGES/SWSIREPORT.ASPX

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...

THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR IS A MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT INVOLVING THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE...STATE AND REGIONAL CLIMATOLOGISTS...U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE...NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER AND THE
NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER. DATA FOR THIS STATEMENT HAS BEEN
GATHERED FROM NWS AND FAA OBSERVATION SITES...COOPERATIVE NETWORK
STATIONS...NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE SNOTEL
NETWORK...COCORAHS NETWORK...COLORADO DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES
AND U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY STREAM GAGES.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS...
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS DROUGHT INFORMATION
STATEMENT...PLEASE CONTACT...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
325 BROADWAY
BOULDER CO 80305

$$
TH
USA.gov is the U.S. government's official web portal to all federal, state and local government web resources and services.