Heavy rain fell near Conifer, CO yesterday afternoon. Several gauges caught over 3 inches in just over 1 hour. This is a 0.1% Annual Exceedance Prob. event ("1 in 1000yr") using Atlas 14. Note this is ~5 miles from another 0.1% event in Evergreen on 6/24. #cowx @NWSBoulder
There's a 1-hour QPF of 5.6 inches in Colorado today from the RRFS FV3 system. Storm total amount of 9 inches. This would be a 1 in 10,000 year intensity. The FV3 core appears to have many issues w/QPF, so use caution given upcoming changes w/NCEP. #cowx
Today in #cowx, almost all NWP showed a 10-30F bust in 2-m dewpoint temp at 6-hr lead time at DIA. Even at 1-2 hour lead time, there were consistent 5-10F busts. It's a hard-knock life as a met.
Re: "Rio Grande goes dry every year", kind of. Here's the 1896-2026 flow data at Otowi Bridge (sw of Taos). While the river frequently sees low flows, it's extremely rare 'til about late June. Plus, this year's daily avg peak is 831cfs, which is 20% below previous low. #nmwx
Precipitation chances increase today after a week of drier #cowx. Heavier rainfall is possible over the Northeast Plains alongside a severe threat, while NW Colorado should see an extended period of PM precip.
Just another day in #cowx with a 15 degree F range in dewpoint temperature guidance. At 6-hour lead time.
Quick analysis of snow depth versus elevation shows near linear dependence until about 7-8k feet, beyond which snow depth decreased again. We often see that same elevation range emerge as the "winner" in heavy rainstorms too, such as the 2013 Front Range flood. #cowx
Some interesting guidance from our large CAMs wx model ensemble on today's #cowx and #wywx snow-storm. First, there's a very large gradient in "Precip hours" highlighting preferred terrain-dynamics combos. Second, probability of exceeding 1.5in liquid in 24 hours has distinct mesoscale bullseye in Cache La Poudre basin.
Hey #cowx and #wxtwitter, we are searching for a summer intern (meteorologist) to help advance our hydro-meteorological forecast operations and other R&D projects.
Check out the attached posting, and please share with others that may be interested!
Plenty has been said about the incredibly low Colorado snowpack for early April. Most data has used the <45-year @USDA_NRCS SNOTEL record. Looking much further back at several >85-year SNOW COURSE sites reveals the same thing: unprecedented low values. #cowx
If you are a meteorologist, hydrologist or just a casual weather/water geek, consider giving to the CoCoRaHS 2025 Year-End Fundraiser! It's one of the best volunteer-driven networks ever created with 1,000s of high quality measurements per day. #CoCoRaHS #cowx give.colostate.edu/cocorahs-…
(2/3) The peak from the past storm was likely the highest since a major flood in 1911. However, the double peak nature of this storm is notable. Here's a USGS paper that discusses the 1911 event, which focused on the adjacent Animas River. #cowx #coflood
co.water.usgs.gov/projects/C…
The storm formed in an atmosphere w/near record moisture for late Sep, with Precipitable Water near 0.8-0.9 in. Although this value is not overly impressive, the storm occurred at 8,400 ft in elevation, highlighting the ability of terrain to maximize moisture convergence. #cowx























