9/27/22 Tuesday 11:20 am

I was checking out the latest Euro Extended model run that comes out twice per week. It was showing a large negative precipitation anomaly for October. I then looked at the total precipitation forecast for October. It became apparent something was off. The forecast total is 1.52 inches for Durango (I use Durango because there is more historical data for Durango than other locations in the forecast area). It shows a negative anomaly of .72 inches. That is impossible. The 30-year average for October is 2.02 inches. The long-term average for October 1894-1991 is 1.86. BTW most people are under the impression that the 30-year average is drier than the long-term average, not true. I use the long-term average because it is the drier data set.

Applying the forecast to the average October rainfall, you get a negative anomaly of 0.34. Using the wetter 30-year average of 2.02 you get a negative anomaly 0.50. It may not sound like a lot but it is an error of 111% (long term) or 44% (short term) depending on which average you use. I am going to let that model rest up this week and we will see if this is going to be an ongoing issue or if it was a poor initialization.

My Hurricane update will be out around 2 pm.

Thanks for following and supporting the site!

9/27/22 Tuesday 6:20 am

Moisture will be increasing and isolated to scattered showers will be possible each afternoon. The focus for the most active weather will be over the higher terrain. Moisture will further increase from Friday through Sunday. Snow levels should hover around 12,000 feet through Thursday. There is a chance of lowering snow levels for the weekend with a deeper push of moisture. Some models are suggesting snow levels at or slightly below 10,000 feet.  The morning (12z) run of the Euro yesterday showed this.

The overnight run backed off a bit and showed this.

I am hoping for a little more consistency over the next couple of days as I plan to be wherever it is snowing this weekend.

Later this morning I will post an extended outlook. Then I will do an afternoon update on hurricane Ian between 1-2 pm. Landfall will be early Wednesday as a major hurricane.  As of this morning, the biggest threats will be from Sarasota to New Port Richey. If I had to narrow that down, I am especially concerned with Siesta Key, St Petersburg, Clearwater, and Tampa Bay. If Tampa is spared the strongest winds I am worried about the storm surge and heavy 12-20+ inch rainfall. I cannot yet rule out a direct hit on Clearwater, St Pete, and Tampa.

Thanks for following and supporting the site!

9/25/22 Sunday 5:45 am

There is not a lot to talk about right now. We are under a dome of high pressure which should begin to move and allow a little more moisture into the area each day. The result will be hit-and-miss afternoon convection which will favor the higher terrain. Some of the models are hinting at a more active pattern beginning Wednesday or Thursday, it is still too early to tell.

Nationally, I am watching the trough in the east and its potential effects on what will become Hurricane Ian. A couple of models show a track that would lead to some activity along the Gulf Coast of Florida. Florida followers or anyone traveling to the Gulf Coast of Florida early this week should stay tuned.

Back to SW Colorado, the other thing jumping off the forecast maps at me is a better chance of light snow showers this week around or above the 12,000-foot level. Yesterday I drove the new DWG mobile command unit up La Plata Canyon and saw some decent color (finally) around the 11,000-foot level. Another night of strong radiational cooling overnight has resulted in temperatures in the 30s in some of the mid-elevation areas to mid to upper 20s in some higher elevation locations this morning.  Leaves should really get going in the higher elevations by mid-week.

I am still not ready to talk about winter yet, that is neither a good thing nor a bad thing. There are forecasters like myself who subscribe to the idea that there is a correlation between a tropically active October and winter. ENSO (La Nina and El Nino) does have an impact on our winter, but not as much in our forecast area as people think. I see a lot of La Nina-based cookie-cutter winter forecasts floating around out there right now, and I am not necessarily following in those footsteps.

Depending on what I see in the models over the next 24 hours I may or may not post an update on Monday. On Tuesday I will do an extended outlook.

Thanks for following and supporting the site!

9/23/22 Friday 8:45 am

While we did not get the ambitious totals that the models were predicting, overall it is tough to complain about them, especially taking into consideration how much rain we have gotten over the last 4 months.

Here are some two-day storm totals.

Telluride Deep Creek 1.07

Rico 1.00

Silverton 0.91

Vallecito 1.29

Pagosa 1.56

Deer Valley Estates 2.08

Cortez 1.00

Mancos 1.27

Elk Stream Ranch 1.54

Lake Durango 1.36

Upper Durango Hills 1.57

Downtown Durango 1.2-1.5

Skyridge 1.5

Lightner Creek 1.6

Trappers Crossing 1.36

Lower Forest Lakes 1.34

Glacier Club 1.8

Bondad 1.86

Ignacio 2.03

Sundance Hills 2.7

Hesperus 1.5

Things are going to dry out a bit. I am going to take tomorrow off. I will try to get an update out on Sunday.

Thanks for following and supporting the site!

9/22/22 Thursday 8:45 am

Heavy showers will continue this morning before drier air starts moving in this afternoon. Oftentimes, the models are too quick to end the precipitation, just as they were too quick to start the precipitation with this event. Either way, widespread amounts in the 1 to 2+ inch range have already fallen throughout the forecast area. We will check out the totals tomorrow morning so continue to hold off reporting until tomorrow morning.

It looks like a dry weekend will be on tap for us, with just isolated showers in the higher terrain possible. I mentioned yesterday that I expect more rain next week, I will talk about that more over the weekend.

My next update will be mid-morning on Friday. Thanks for following and supporting the site!

9/21/22 Wednesday 3:30 pm

I know we are all thinking that we somehow got missed. I am not ready to throw in the towel just yet. If you have followed me through at least one winter, you know that in a two or more day precipitation event I don’t give up early. The models are still in agreement that a heavy rain event is coming with most totals in the 1 to 3-inch range by early Friday morning. The NWS seems to be doubling down on this in their forecast and Flood Watch. If things don’t pick up before I go to bed I know I will be looking outside several times before the sun comes up.

I am not going to show every model but here are the very latest NOAA blended models showing the precipitation forecast totals beginning at noon today and ending Friday morning. If these latest model runs bust a lot of forecasters are going to questioning future model runs.

NOAA NBM

NOAA WPC

My next update will be on Thursday. Thanks for following and supporting the site!

9/21/22 Wednesday 8:00 am

One mistake I have made in the past is jumping ship too early before a prolonged precipitation event. Every indication is that heavy precipitation is still on the way. Yes, I looked out the window about 10 times overnight and yes, I woke up a bit worried. Then I read the forecast discussion and looked at the overnight model runs. After checking all of that out, aside from the delay, everything still looks good. I will check back in after the morning model runs come out. Please hold off on reporting any totals until Friday morning.

Thanks for following and supporting the site!

9/20/22 Tuesday 1:45 pm

Flood Watch
National Weather Service Grand Junction CO
1047 AM MDT Tue Sep 20 2022

COZ006-009-011-017>023-UTZ022-027>029-211200-
/O.CON.KGJT.FA.A.0007.220920T1800Z-220923T0600Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Grand Valley-Grand and Battlement Mesas-Central Gunnison and
Uncompahgre River Basin-Uncompahgre Plateau and Dallas Divide-
Northwest San Juan Mountains-Southwest San Juan Mountains-Paradox Valley/Lower Dolores River-Four Corners/Upper Dolores River-Animas River Basin-San Juan River Basin-Southeast Utah-Arches/Grand Flat-La Sal and Abajo Mountains-Canyonlands/Natural Bridges- Including the cities of Grand Junction, Fruita, Palisade, Skyway, Montrose, Hotchkiss, Delta, Ridgway, Glade Park, Telluride, Ouray, Lake City, Silverton, Rico, Hesperus, Gateway, Nucla, Cortez, Dove Creek, Mancos, Durango, Bayfield, Ignacio, Pagosa Springs, Blanding, Bluff, Mexican Hat, Moab, Castle Valley, Thompson Springs,
Monticello, Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse Point State Park,
and Fry Canyon
1047 AM MDT Tue Sep 20 2022

…FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING…

* WHAT…Flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be
possible.

* WHERE…Portions of Colorado and Utah, including the following
areas, in Colorado, Animas River Basin, Central Gunnison and
Uncompahgre River Basin, Four Corners/Upper Dolores River, Grand
Valley, Grand and Battlement Mesas, Northwest San Juan Mountains,
Paradox Valley/Lower Dolores River, San Juan River Basin,
Southwest San Juan Mountains and Uncompahgre Plateau and Dallas
Divide. In Utah, Arches/Grand Flat, Canyonlands/Natural Bridges,
La Sal and Abajo Mountains and Southeast Utah.

* WHEN…Through Thursday evening.

* IMPACTS…Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers,
creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action
should Flash Flood Warnings be issued.

My next update will be on Wednesday. Thanks for following and supporting the site!

9/20/22 Tuesday 8:15 am

It is transition Tuesday. Everything is on track and a significant change to the dry weather is on the way. The biggest change in the models over the last 24 hours has been timing. The precipitation for the most part will not get underway until late in the day or this evening.

Aside from the timing, the models have been very consistent in showing excessive rainfall for the entire forecast area over the next 72 hours. Let’s just jump right into all of the model runs. My confidence is pretty high in the forecasted totals.

NOAA blended NBM

NOAA blended WPC

European

This looks a little off to me with the focus over Cortez and the far southern portions of the forecast area, we’ll see.

Canadian

GFS

NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center is all over this event. Here are the excessive rainfall outlooks for the next 72 hours.

Now through Wednesday at 6 am–remember it should not really get started until late today/evening.

Wednesday 6 am through Thursday 6 am

The red is very significant. It means that any area under the red shading has a 40% chance of flash flooding.  I do not remember ever seeing red for our forecast area since I have been doing this. The yellow indicates a 15% chance of flash flooding, which is still a significant number when it is as widespread as they are showing.

Thursday 6 am through Friday 6 am.

I will do a quick model update this afternoon. Thanks for following and supporting the site!

9/19/22 Monday 5:30 am

Moisture is headed our way and most locations in the forecast area will end up with above-average precipitation for September. For today, there will be a slight chance of isolated afternoon showers.  Scattered showers will develop on Tuesday afternoon first over the higher terrain then moving into the middle and finally lower elevation areas. Showers should become more widespread later in the day as abundant moisture arrives. The heaviest rain will fall Wednesday afternoon through Thursday. This is when we may see the greatest chances of flash flooding.

With the exception of the GFS, all of the models are showing totals higher than 2 inches for most of the forecast area this week.

NOAA’s blended models are really spreading the love across the forecast area.

NOAA NBM

NOAA’s WPC

Here is the latest European

Canadian

German

Then there is the GFS–no comment

The European Ensemble model shows an average run of 52 model members. Here is the latest.

This is likely the reason the NOAA blended models are coming in so high. It also gives a boost of confidence to their forecast.

My next update will be out on Tuesday. Thanks for following and supporting the site!