Colorado drought easing up

imported
#1

Water may not be as hard to find along the trail this summer, according to a story today on weather.com:

DENVER (AP) The state is flirting with its first normal year of snowfall since 1997 after daily doses of snow for last two weeks.

Chances are now slim for a repeat of last spring, when warm winds dried up the snowpack before it reached reservoirs, said Klaus Wolter, a climatologist with the Climate Diagnostic Center in Boulder.

Meteorologists who focus on precipitation figures may call an unofficial end to their drought by mid-April if the state’s snowpack hits 100%. February boosted the year’s snowpack from 71% of an average year to 77%.

“So far this year, there aren’t too many places in Colorado below (70% of average),” said Nolan Doesken, a research climatologist at Colorado State University. “Last year, almost the entire state was below the 70% line.”

Still, the moderate snowfalls or even average storms in the spring won’t avert drought restrictions that water providers are planning this year. Reservoirs are still less than half full because of the drought.

Water utilities, such as Denver Water, worry about how much water is in reservoirs and streams, and whether there’s enough stored water to meet population demands.

“Back in 1970, we had 2 million people in Colorado and about the same amount of water storage, so the severity of the drought would not have been felt as badly,” said Ed Pokorney, planning chief for Denver Water. “As more people come and demand starts to catch up with supply – and exceed it at times – your storage doesn’t go as far.”

During the past year, Colorado has been in the midst of a wholesale, multiyear drought that’s touched everyone. The climate researchers, the water providers, the farmers – all have felt the impact of too little moisture.

The snowpack percentage is measured against a 30-year average. Melting snow contributes about 80% of the water in rivers, streams, lakes and reservoirs, which comprise much of the state’s water supply. Eight major Colorado river systems also provide water to 10 western states.

steve hiker

#2

The big snowstorm in Colorado is good news for hikers this summer! Won’t be as hard to find water as it looked a month or two ago. From weather.com today:

“By Monday night, 11 inches of snow had fallen in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. Estes Park, at the eastern edge of Rocky Mountain National Park, had eight inches. The foothills west of Denver also had eight inches.”

“Colorado endured its driest year on record in 2002, and the mountain snows that account for about 80% of the water in the state’s lakes and rivers stood at about 85% of average last week.”

“‘We could get a month’s worth of precipitation in a couple of days or even see an historic storm. And this is not the only storm we are going to get in the next week or two,’” atmospheric scientist Klaus Wolter said.

steve hiker

#3

As some of you know I live less than a mile off the CT in Breckenrdige, Colorado. As of today Breckenridge (Ski Area)has gotten more than 4ft of snow in since Saturday. I personally investigated the amounts over the last few days by Snowboarding Breckenridge Mon, Wed, Thur, and Vail on Tues. We got another 7 inches last night and are expecting more.

Although the drought really did not affect Summit County I can tell you that we recieved less moisture than the areas East of here, at least from this storm.

Conifer, which is between Denver and Brecknridge not too far fromt he CT they got over 90" in 4 days. That is not a TYPO! Rollinsville is reporting 95". The snow on the Front Range is a heavy snow as well which means high moisture content. In other words they got about 8-15’ of water out of this storm. This is great news for the CT and Colroado as a whole. Additionaly The Southern Mountains have had a very good winter and we are not even throught March, our snowiest month, yet. April is also another high moisture month so I am expecting a lot more snow. I will keep personaly investingating tha amounts on a daily basis.

So the usfs may go easy on the fire restrictions this year and hold off on forsest closings. We are not out of the drought yet and wil not be by this summer but it all helps.

Gotta go, Fresh Tracks are waiting. :wink:

PackerFever

#4

I meant that is 8-15" of water. That is inches not feet of water.

Neraly 8 feet of snow in places.

PackerFever

#5

A snowpack drought persists in the southwestern corner of Colorado, and soils are still very dry out West. But here in the Front Range, snowpack levels are above or near normal after three years of below-average measurements.

Spring rains are falling, forecasters predict near-normal moisture this spring and summer…

Still, state climatologist Roger Pielke Sr. said Front Range city officials need to keep the pressure on residents to make smart decisions about watering and landscaping.

Front Range soil moisture levels may be great right now, and bluegrass lawns flourishing, but reservoir levels are still low, and Colorado will always be on the verge of a drought, he said.

“This is our climate.”

…

Some cities, including Boulder and Denver, have tied water fees to the weather, so that heavy water users will pay steeply during droughts.

…

Snowpack in the South Platte River basin, which includes Boulder County, is at 111 percent of the 30-year average, in terms of water content. But despite the great snow and spring rains, reservoirs in the region have yet to recover from the deficits of three bad years, and it will take another couple of average winters to fill them, Gillespie predicted.

As of April 1, the latest measurement available, the 32 reservoirs in the South Platte region were at 46 percent of capacity, though March’s snow probably improved those numbers somewhat.

Seraphina