DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 1045 PM MDT WED AUG 27 2008 ...AUGUST RAINS BRINGS SOME RELIEF TO PORTIONS OF DROUGHT STRICKEN SOUTHEAST COLORADO... SYNOPSIS... MONSOONAL MOISTURE...COMBINED WITH AN UNSEASONABLY STRONG UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM MOVING ACROSS COLORADO THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF AUGUST...HAS BROUGHT ABUNDANT AND MUCH NEEDED PRECIPITATION TO MUCH OF SOUTHEAST COLORADO THROUGH THE FIRST 26 DAYS OF AUGUST. WITH THIS IN MIND...THE LATEST US DROUGHT MONITOR NOW INDICATES SEVERE DROUGHT CONDITIONS OVER MOST OF BACA AND PROWERS COUNTIES...WHERE EXTREME TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT HAD BEEN DEPICTED FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS. MODERATE DROUGHT CONDITIONS ARE NOW INDICATED ACROSS EXTREME PORTIONS NORTHWESTERN BACA AND PROWERS COUNTIES ALONG WITH ALL OF OTERO...BENT AND KIOWA COUNTIES. MODERATE DROUGHT CONDITIONS ARE ALSO INDICATED ACROSS EASTERN PORTIONS OF LAS ANIMAS AND CROWLEY COUNTIES AND NORTHERN PORTIONS OF TELLER COUNTY. ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS ARE REFLECTED ACROSS EASTERN MOUNTAINS AND EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS...ALONG WITH THE ADJACENT PLAINS INCLUDING THE SAN LUIS VALLEY AND INTERSTATE 25 CORRIDOR. SUMMARY OF IMPACTS... FIRE DANGER IMPACTS. THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE WILDLAND FIRE AND ASSESSMENT SYSTEM INDICATES MAINLY MODERATE TO LOW FIRE DANGER ACROSS MUCH OF SOUTHEAST COLORADO. FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL ACROSS SOUTHEAST COLORADO ARE ALSO INDICATING FUEL CHARACTERISTICS WHICH ARE NOT FAVORABLE TO SUPPORT LARGE FIRE GROWTH AT THIS TIME...WITH FIRE BANS BEING LIFTED ACROSS SEVERAL COUNTIES INCLUDING BACA...FREMONT...OTERO AND PUEBLO. AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS. NON IRRIGATED CROPS AND RANGELAND HAVE SEEN SOME IMPROVEMENT WITH THE RECENT RAINS...WITH PASTURE AND RANGE CONDITIONS BEING REPORTED BY THE USDA AS MOSTLY FAIR TO POOR ACROSS COLORADO. CLIMATE SUMMARY... AFTER A VERY WARM START TO AUGUST...WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE 90S TO MID 100S ACROSS MUCH OF SOUTHEAST COLORADO...MONSOONAL RAINS ALONG WITH AN UNSEASONABLY STRONG UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM MOVING ACROSS THE STATE SHATTERING SEVERAL RECORDS FOR THE LOWEST HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORDED FOR AUGUST 15TH AND 16TH...HAD BROUGHT TEMPERATURES BACK TO AROUND AVERAGE LEVELS. THE PRIMARY SITES AT ALAMOSA AND COLORADO SPRINGS WERE AROUND OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE SEASONAL AVERAGES THROUGH THE 26TH OF AUGUST. THE PRIMARY SITE AT PUEBLO WAS 1.4 DEGREES BELOW AVERAGE THROUGH AUGUST 26TH. PRECIPITATION HAD BEEN GENERALLY ABOVE AVERAGE THROUGH THE 26TH OF AUGUST WITH THE PRIMARY SITE AT COLORADO SPRINGS RECEIVING 4.25 INCHES...WHICH IS 1.22 INCHES ABOVE AVERAGE. THE 4.25 INCHES IS WELL BELOW THE 7.04 INCHES RECORDED IN AUGUST OF 1999...MAKING IT THE 15TH WETTEST AUGUST ON RECORD AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER...THE 4.25 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION RECORDED THUS FAR FOR THE MONTH...WAS OVER AN INCH MORE THAN HAD BEEN REPORTED THROUGH THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF 2008. THE OTHER PRIMARY SITES AT ALAMOSA AND PUEBLO REPORTED 1.09 AND 2.77 INCHES THROUGH THE 26TH OF AUGUST...WHICH IS 0.06 AND 0.77 INCHES ABOVE AVERAGE RESPECTFULLY. OTHER OBSERVATION SITES ACROSS SOUTHEAST COLORADO HAD ALSO INDICATED AMPLE PRECIPITATION THROUGH THE 26TH OF AUGUST...WITH PRELIMINARY REPORTS OF 2.66 INCHES IN EADS...2.35 INCHES AT THE JOHN MARTIN DAM...4.23 INCHES IN LAS ANIMAS...2.45 INCHES 20S OF LA JUNTA...4.33 INCHES IN LAMAR AND AN ASTOUNDING 7.01 INCHES 1W OF WALSH. HERE ARE A FEW PRECIPITATION STATISTICS FOR SELECT LOCATIONS FOR THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF 2008: ...............OBSERVED...........NORMAL.......PERCENT OF NORMAL.. ALS AIRPORT......2.11...INCHES.....3.69...INCHES..........57 COS AIRPORT......3.15.............10.89...................29 PUB AIRPORT......5.41..............7.67...................70 CAMPO 7S.........2.64.............11.14...................24 EADS.............4.70.............10.26...................45 JOHN MARTIN DAM..4.52..............8.77...................51 LAS ANIMAS.......4.73..............8.82...................54 LA JUNTA 20S.....6.32..............9.89...................64 LAMAR............5.05.............10.27...................49 TRINIDAD.........5.75..............9.59...................59 WALSH 1W.........4.53.............11.70...................38 PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK... THE OUTLOOK ACROSS SOUTHEAST COLORADO FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS INCLUDES NEAR TO SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES...WITH GENERALLY NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION. THE OUTLOOK FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLIMATE PREDICATION CENTER FOR REST OF SEPTEMBER...OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER INDICATES THAT TEMPERATURES WILL MOST LIKELY BE NEAR OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL...WITH EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL PRECIPITATION THROUGH THE PERIOD. HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK... STREAMFLOW THROUGH AUGUST 26TH WAS GENERALLY NEAR OR ABOVE AVERAGE. SOIL MOISTURE WAS GENERALLY AT OR BELOW AVERAGE THROUGH THE 26TH OF AUGUST. HOWEVER...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER ANALYSIS INDICATES MUCH IMPROVEMENT IN SOIL MOISTURE AS COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS MONTH...ESPECIALLY OVER THE SOUTHEAST PLAINS. NEXT ISSUANCE DATE... THIS PRODUCT WILL BE UPDATED ON THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 11TH 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: U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR...
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html
SOUTHEAST AND SOUTH CENTRAL COLORADO PRECIPITATION AND DROUGHT MONITOR...
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pub/?n=new_local_drought_page.php
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... 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