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March Snowfall Trends

Mar 9, 2019
2 min

March Snowfall Trends

After a near record-setting February, March is off to a great start, and more storms are on the way! Snow conditions are polar opposite than last year. Currently at the Upper Upper San Juan SNOTEL site, there is 32.8 inches water stored in the 113-inch snowpack, which is 2.5 times more water than we had last year at this time. Normally at this time, there is 27.2 inches of water, which means we have 5.6 inches more water in the snowpack than normal. More impressively, we'

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Current Snow Situation

Jan 5, 2019
1 min

Current Snow Situation

Waking up to nearly two feet of fresh snow was a great way to start 2019! The New Year's Storm ranks as one of the top storms of the decade! Wolf Creek Ski Area received 34 inches of fluff and nearly everyone in the the Southern San Juan foothills awoke to 1 to 2 feet of new snow. So how does the current snowpack compare to last year and the norm? After a snowy October, November was a disappointment, and so was much of December. Which is why the recent storm was an incred

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What Does a Strong October Mean for the Rest of the Snow Season?

Nov 5, 2018
2 min

What Does a Strong October Mean for the Rest of the Snow Season?

The snow season in the Southern San Juan Mountains is off to a strong start! Wolf Creek Ski Area opened on October 13, only 5 days later than their record (October 8, 2011). What can a strong October tell us about the rest of the snow season? The South San Juans on 11/1/18 (Photo by Chris Rapp) To answer that question, I compiled October precipitation totals between 1979-2018 and plotted them against annual snow accumulation at the Upper San Juan SNOTEL site, located at 10,

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Happy New (water) Year!

Oct 10, 2018
2 min

Happy New (water) Year!

The 2019 water year is off to a great start! Two days into the new water year, moisture from Hurricane Rosa streamed into the Southern San Juan Mountains resurrecting the San Juan River from near record low flow. The steady rain generated more than a 10x increase in streamflow in the San Juan River last week. And a decent moisture supply has continued to drift our way. The best news is the high mountains are already blanketed under a layer of foreign-looking snow! October

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Summer Streamflow and Precipitation Summary

Sep 2, 2018
2 min

Summer Streamflow and Precipitation Summary

As the summer sizzled, the monsoon fizzled, and the streamflow dwindled. The tubing opportunities decreased and now the all the trout are deceased. After a strong start to the monsoon season in early July, high pressure dominated and diverted moisture around the Southern San Juans throughout August, which is typically our rainiest month. Since mountain precipitation generally switches over to snow in fall, and that snow usually doesn't melt until the spring of the next year,

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Current Snow Standings and San Juan River Spring Runoff Prediction

May 2, 2018
2 min

Current Snow Standings and San Juan River Spring Runoff Prediction

Wondering how the 2018 snowpack stacks up against recent years with big summer wildfires? And when and how much streamflow will our meager snowpack generate in the San Juan River this spring? The Upper San Juan SNOTEL site ran out of snow this week on 4/30/18. May 1st is a good date to compare snowpack to the historical record because snow measurements extend back to 1936. Based upon the site's 82-year history, the site has only been out of snow before May 1st one other ti

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Current Snow Standings and San Juan River Spring Runoff Prediction

Apr 23, 2018
2 min

Current Snow Standings and San Juan River Spring Runoff Prediction

Wondering how the 2018 snowpack stacks up against recent years with big summer wildfires? And when and how much streamflow will our meager snowpack generate in the San Juan River this spring? Despite last week's snowstorm, which added 0.2 inches of water to the Upper San Juan SNOTEL site, the snowpack has continued to plummet, which probably solidified this year's rank as the 2nd lowest since 1979. There is only 5.1 inches of water left in the snowpack, which is 17% of norm

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Current Snow Standings and San Juan River Spring Runoff Prediction

Apr 10, 2018
2 min

Current Snow Standings and San Juan River Spring Runoff Prediction

Wondering how the 2018 snowpack stacks up against the worst 4 years in recent history? And when and how much streamflow will our meager snowpack generate in the San Juan River this spring? If you're a kayaker, you might want to drag your boat out mid-week and you might catch some fleeting high water! The 2018 winter started out similar to the dry winters of 1990, 1996, and 2000. Unfortunately, March was a bust, and so far April has not panned out. As a result, we've falle

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Is Spring Early or Late?

Mar 31, 2018
3 min

Is Spring Early or Late?

Before you Google it, I challenge you to look for the answer in the surrounding vegetation or glance towards nearby lake. Rather than asking Siri, listen for the frogs and the birds. Too many of us are out of touch with nature because we spend too much time touching screens. I recently taught a unit on solar power and asked my freshmen students, "If you installed solar panels on a house in Colorado, which direction should the panels face?" There was little consensus so I r

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