National Weather Service Text Product Display

Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS Pueblo, CO
Versions: 1 2 3 4 5

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DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
236 PM MDT THU JUN 6 2013

...A COOL AND DRY MONTH ACROSS SOUTHERN COLORADO...

SYNOPSIS...

THE PAST MONTH OF MAY STARTED OUT COLD AND WET ACROSS SOUTH
CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. UNFORTUNATELY...THE WET TREND DID
NOT CONTINUE THROUGH THE REST OF THE MONTH...AS MUCH OF THE AREA
RECEIVED WELL BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION ONCE AGAIN FOR THE MONTH
AS A WHOLE. ONE EXCEPTION TO THIS WAS ACROSS THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS
AND PORTIONS OF THE UPPER ARKANSAS RIVER VALLEY...WHICH AGAIN
RECEIVED ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION THROUGHOUT THE MONTH.

WITH THIS IN MIND...THE CURRENT US DROUGHT MONITOR CONTINUES TO
INDICATE MOST OF SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO IN EXCEPTIONAL (D4) DROUGHT
CONDITIONS. THIS INCLUDES SOUTHEASTERN PORTIONS OF EL PASO
COUNTY...CENTRAL AND EASTERN PORTIONS OF PUEBLO COUNTY...CENTRAL
AND EASTERN PORTIONS OF LAS ANIMAS COUNTY...AS WELL AS ALL OF
CROWLEY...OTERO...KIOWA...BENT...PROWERS AND BACA COUNTIES.

EXTREME DROUGHT (D3) CONDITIONS CONTINUE TO BE INDICATED ACROSS
NORTH CENTRAL THROUGH SOUTHEASTERN FREMONT COUNTY...SOUTHERN
TELLER COUNTY AND MOST OF THE REST OF PUEBLO AND EL PASO COUNTIES.
EXTREME DROUGHT (D3) CONDITIONS ALSO REMAIN INDICATED ACROSS
EASTERN HUERFANO COUNTY AND WESTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY.

SEVERE DROUGHT (D2) CONDITIONS CONTINUE TO BE DEPICTED ACROSS
SOUTHERN CHAFFEE COUNTY...NORTHWESTERN THROUGH SOUTHEASTERN
FREMONT COUNTY...NORTHERN TELLER COUNTY...NORTHERN EL PASO
COUNTY...EXTREME WESTERN PUEBLO COUNTY...WESTERN HUERFANO COUNTY
AND EXTREME NORTHWESTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY...AS WELL AS ALL OF
CUSTER...SAGUACHE...RIO GRANDE...CONEJOS...ALAMOSA AND COSTILLA
COUNTIES.

MODERATE DROUGHT (D1) CONDITIONS REMAIN ACROSS THE REST OF CHAFFEE
COUNTY AND LAKE COUNTY...SAVE EXTREME NORTHEASTERN PORTIONS OF
LAKE COUNTY...WHERE ABNORMALLY DRY (D0) CONDITIONS ARE NOW INDICATED.

MORE INFORMATION ON THE US DROUGHT MONITOR CLASSIFICATION SCHEME CAN
BE FOUND AT: WWW.DROUGHTMONITOR.UNL.EDU/CLASSIFY.HTM

SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...

DROUGHT CONDITIONS EXPERIENCED OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS HAS IMPACTED
SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO IN MANY WAYS...INCLUDING
INCREASED WILDFIRE ACTIVITY AND DANGER...FAILED AND POOR YIELD ON
NON IRRIGATED CROPS...CATTLE LOSS AND ABANDONMENT...AS WELL AS
QUESTIONS ON WATER AVAILABILITY AND WATER RIGHTS.

GOVERNOR HICKENLOOPER ACTIVATED THE MUNICIPAL IMPACT TASK FORCE ON
MAY 10TH...2013...IN RESPONSE TO THE DRY CONDITIONS...BELOW
AVERAGE RESERVOIR STORAGE AND IMPLEMENTED WATER RESTRICTIONS BY
MANY MUNICIPAL WATER PROVIDERS. HOWEVER...AS OF JUNE 1ST...FORT
COLLINS HAS LIFTED ITS PREVIOUS LEVEL 1 WATER RESTRICTIONS WITH
THE CITY EXPECTING ENOUGH WATER SUPPLIES FOLLOWING BIG SNOWS
ACROSS THE NORTHERN FRONT RANGE IN APRIL AND EARLY MAY.

THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED TO HELP INDIVIDUALS
DETERMINE WHAT THE RESTRICTIONS IN THEIR SPECIFIC COMMUNITY ARE:
WWW.COH2O.CO

FIRE DANGER IMPACTS...

SOME BENEFICIAL MOISTURE HAS BEEN RECEIVED ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTH
CENTRAL AND SOUTH COLORADO OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS...ALLOWING FOR
SOME SPOTTY GREEN UP ACROSS THE AREA. HOWEVER...FIRE DANGER REMAINS
HIGH ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA...WITH SEVERAL SMALL WILD FIRE STARTS
REPORTED ACROSS THE AREA OVER THE PAST MONTH.

A CONTINUED LACK OF MOISTURE...ALONG WITH INCREASING TEMPERATURES
AND INCREASING COVERAGE OF THUNDERSTORMS...WILL LIKELY KEEP HIGH
FIRE DANGER ACROSS THE AREA AND COULD LEAD TO MORE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
INSTITUTING FIRE RESTRICTIONS OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS.

THE LATEST INFORMATION ON FIRE BANS AND RESTRICTIONS CAN BE FOUND AT:

WWW.COEMERGENCY.COM/P/FIRE-BANS-DANGER.HTML

AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS...

THE LATEST CPC AND VIC SOIL MOISTURE CALCULATIONS INDICATE NEAR
NORMAL CONDITIONS ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PORTIONS OF THE
STATE. HOWEVER...DRIER TO MUCH DRIER THAN NORMAL SOIL MOISTURE
CONDITIONS REMAIN DEPICTED ACROSS MOST OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND
SOUTHEAST COLORADO...WITH THE LARGEST DEFICITS INDICATED ACROSS
CENTRAL PORTIONS OF THE SOUTHEAST PLAINS.

THE LATEST USDA COLORADO CROP REPORT INDICATES THE DRY CONDITIONS
ACROSS THE STATE AS WELL...WITH 61 PERCENT OF TOP SOIL MOISTURE
RATED AT SHORT OR VERY SHORT ACROSS THE STATE. THIS COMPARES TO 54
PERCENT OF TOP SOIL MOISTURE RATED AT SHORT OR VERY SHORT LAST
WEEK AND TO 66 PERCENT AT THIS SAME TIME LAST YEAR. AS FOR SUBSOIL
MOISTURE ACROSS THE STATE...80 PERCENT WAS RATED AT SHORT OR VERY
SHORT THIS WEEK...COMPARED TO 78 PERCENT LAST WEEK AND TO ONLY 63
PERCENT AT THIS SAME TIME LAST YEAR.

THE LATEST PASTURE AND RANGE LAND CONDITIONS WERE RATED 54 PERCENT
POOR TO VERY POOR...COMPARED TO THE FIVE YEAR AVERAGE OF ONLY 33
PERCENT RATED AS POOR TO VERY POOR.

THE CROP REPORT ALSO STATES THAT THE ADVERSE CONDITIONS MAY
PREVENT PLANTINGS OR FORCE PRODUCERS IN SOME AREAS TO ABANDON
PLANTED CROPS.

CLIMATE SUMMARY...

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN PUEBLO FOR THE PAST MONTH OF MAY WAS
0.4 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. PUEBLO RECEIVED 0.73 INCHES OF
PRECIPITATION ALONG WITH 0.6 INCHES OF SNOW THROUGH OUT THE
MONTH OF MAY...WHICH IS 0.78 INCHES BELOW NORMAL AND 0.1 INCHES
ABOVE NORMAL...RESPECTIVELY.

FOR THE SPRING SEASON...MARCH THROUGH MAY...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
IN PUEBLO WAS 1.6 BELOW NORMAL. PUEBLO RECORDED 1.24 INCHES OF
PRECIPITATION THROUGH OUT THE SPRING. THIS IS 2.60 INCHES BELOW
NORMAL AND MAKES THE SPRING OF 2013 THE 7TH DRIEST ON RECORD IN
PUEBLO. PUEBLO ALSO RECORDED 9.7 INCHES OF SNOW THROUGH OUT THE
SPRING WHICH IS 0.3 INCHES BELOW NORMAL.

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN COLORADO SPRINGS FOR THE PAST MONTH OF
MAY WAS 0.4 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. COLORADO SPRINGS RECEIVED 1.14
INCHES OF PRECIPITATION AND 1.8 INCHES OF SNOW THROUGH OUT THE
MONTH OF MAY...WHICH IS 0.89 INCHES BELOW NORMAL AND 1.1 INCHES
ABOVE NORMAL...RESPECTIVELY.

FOR THE SPRING SEASON...MARCH THROUGH MAY...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
IN COLORADO SPRINGS WAS 1.3 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. COLORADO SPRINGS
RECEIVED 1.65 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION THROUGH OUT THE SPRING. THIS
IS 2.80 INCHES BELOW NORMAL AND MAKES THE SPRING OF 2013 THE 6TH
DRIEST ON RECORD IN COLORADO SPRINGS. COLORADO SPRINGS ALSO
RECORDED 9.6 INCHES OF SNOW THROUGH OUT THE SPRING WHICH IS 4.1
INCHES BELOW NORMAL.

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN ALAMOSA FOR THE PAST MONTH OF MAY WAS 2.2
DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. ALAMOSA RECEIVED 0.18 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION
AND NO SNOW THROUGH OUT THE MONTH OF MAY...WHICH IS 0.40 INCHES AND
0.9 INCHES BELOW NORMAL...RESPECTIVELY.

FOR THE SPRING SEASON...MARCH THROUGH MAY...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
IN ALAMOSA WAS 0.9 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. ALAMOSA RECORDED 0.84 INCHES
OF PRECIPITATION AND 5.6 INCHES OF SNOW THROUGH OUT THE SPRING...WHICH
IS 0.86 INCHES AND 3.9 INCHES BELOW NORMAL...RESPECTIVELY.


HERE ARE A FEW OTHER STATISTICS FOR SELECT LOCATIONS INDICATING
OBSERVED PRECIPITATION TOTALS AND DEPARTURE FROM NORMALS:

...............PAST........PAST 3......PAST 6.......PAST 365.........
...............MONTH.......MONTHS......MONTHS.......DAYS.............
...............TOTAL/DEP...TOTAL/DEP...TOTAL/DEP....TOTAL/DEP........
...............INCHES......INCHES......INCHES.......INCHES...........


ALS AIRPORT    0.18/-0.40  0.84/-0.86  1.87/-0.70   5.12/-2.19
COS AIRPORT    1.14/-0.89  1.65/-2.80  2.99/-2.46   8.84/-7.70
PUB AIRPORT    0.73/-0.78  1.24/-2.60  2.23/-2.64   4.47/-8.10

EADS           2.24/-0.02  3.28/-1.35  3.95/-1.85  10.58/-5.10
HASWELL        0.35/-1.84  0.83/-3.68  1.05/-4.60   7.35/-7.99
LAMAR          0.37/-1.65  0.84/-3.34  1.31/-3.94   5.59/-9.61
CAMPO 7S       0.62/-1.48  1.24/-3.19  2.70/-2.93   9.68/-7.28
WALSH 1W       0.46/-1.76  1.45/-3.45  2.98/-3.41  14.74/-4.42
LAS ANIMAS     0.17/-1.77  1.02/-3.09  1.04/-4.23   4.54/-9.19
KIM 15NNE      0.57/-1.29  2.85/-2.00  3.91/-2.60   8.68/-8.16
RUSH 1N        1.90/-0.30  2.78/-1.67  3.62/-1.59   8.68/-6.27
CANON CITY     1.33/-0.08  2.53/-1.55  3.98/-1.59   8.59/-4.88
WESTCLIFFE     1.20/-0.18  2.90/-1.27  4.79/-1.15   9.41/-5.14
WALSENBURG     0.70/-1.12  3.16/-2.80  5.41/-3.42   9.41/-8.63
TRINIDAD       0.24/-1.48  2.19/-1.97  3.10/-2.73   5.82/-10.49
CRESTONE 2SE   1.27/-0.25  2.83/-0.43  4.72/-0.09  11.02/-2.24
DEL NORTE 2E   0.30/-0.53  1.16/-1.33  2.38/-1.41   7.937-3.19
BUENA VISTA 2S 1.67/+0.60  3.46/+0.69  4.59/+0.71  10.55/-0.04
CLIMAX         2.61/+0.69  8.75/+2.09 13.10/+0.77  23.29/-0.69

HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY...

COOL AND WET WEATHER...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE
STATE...OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS ALLOWED FOR THE STATEWIDE SNOW PACK
TO REACH ITS PEAK ON APRIL 21ST...WHICH IS NEARLY TWO WEEKS LATER
THAN NORMAL. THE COOL WEATHER PATTERN HAS ALSO HELPED TO DELAY
SNOW MELT ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS
OWNING TO THE STATEWIDE SNOW PACK BEING AT 92 PERCENT OF AVERAGE AS
OF JUNE 1ST. IN CONTRAST...JUNE 1ST SNOW PACK IN THE SOUTHERN
PORTIONS OF THE STATE IS NEARLY DEPLETED...EVEN AT THE HIGHER
ELEVATIONS.

IN THE ARKANSAS BASIN...THE JUNE 1ST SNOW PACK INCREASED SLIGHTLY
TO 86 PERCENT OF AVERAGE OVERALL. RESERVOIR STORAGE IN THE
ARKANSAS BASIN...HOWEVER...CONTINUES TO RUN WELL BELOW AVERAGE
WITH STORAGE LEVELS AT THE END OF MAY AT 50 PERCENT OF AVERAGE
OVERALL...AND IS ONLY 63 PERCENT OF THE STORAGE PRESENT AT THIS
SAME TIME LAST YEAR.

SNOW PACK IN THE RIO GRANDE BASIN HAS GENERALLY MELTED OUT...WITH
THE JUNE 1ST READING INDICATING THE SNOW PACK WAS AT 2 PERCENT OF
AVERAGE OVERALL. RESERVOIR STORAGE IN THE RIO GRANDE BASIN IS ALSO
RUNNING WELL BELOW AVERAGE WITH STORAGE LEVELS AT THE END OF MAY
ONLY AT 40 PERCENT OF AVERAGE OVERALL...AND IS ONLY 70 PERCENT OF
THE STORAGE PRESENT AT THIS SAME TIME LAST YEAR.

WITH SNOW MELT NEARLY COMPLETE IN THE UPPER RIO GRANDE AND THE
SOUTHERN BASINS...CURRENT STREAM FLOW FORECASTS CONTINUE TO
INDICATE WELL BELOW AVERAGE FLOWS THROUGH THE SUMMER. STREAM FLOW
FORECASTS FOR THE NORTHERN BASINS STILL INDICATE SLIGHTLY BELOW
AVERAGE FLOWS THIS SEASON...ALTHOUGH HAVE IMPROVED CONSIDERABLY
FROM PREDICTIONS EARLIER THIS YEAR.

PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...

THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTERS OUTLOOK ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL AND
SOUTHEAST COLORADO FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS INCLUDES A BETTER
CHANCES OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND A SLIGHT TILT TO BELOW
NORMAL NORMAL PRECIPITATION. THE OUTLOOK FOR THE REST OF
JUNE...JULY AND AUGUST INDICATE BETTER CHANCES FOR ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES AND BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION...ESPECIALLY ACROSS
SOUTHEAST COLORADO.

NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...

THIS PRODUCT WILL BE UPDATED BY THURSDAY JULY 4TH...2013 OR
SOONER...IF NECESSARY IN RESPONSE TO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN
CONDITIONS.

&&

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: HTTP://DROUGHTMONITOR.UNL.EDU

SOUTHEAST AND SOUTH CENTRAL COLORADO PRECIPITATION AND DROUGHT
MONITOR: HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/PUB/?N=NEW_LOCAL_DROUGHT_PAGE.PHP

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...

THE DROUGHT MONITOR IS A MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT INVOLVING
NOAA/S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND NATIONAL CLIMATIC
DATA CENTER...THE USDA...STATE AND REGIONAL CENTER
CLIMATOLOGISTS AND THE NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION
CENTER. INFORMATION FOR THIS STATEMENT HAS BEEN GATHERED
FROM NWS AND FAA OBSERVATION SITES...STATE COOPERATIVE
EXTENSION SERVICES...THE USDA...USACE AND USGS.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS...

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

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
3 EATON WAY
PUEBLO CO 81007
PHONE: 719-948-9429
W-PUB.WEBMASTER@NOAA.GOV

$$

MW

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National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office
