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SUMMIT COUNTY — A winter-long trend of above-average snowfall continued in March, as local weather-watcher Rick Bly measured a 10-inch surplus for the month.
Tallying daily totals for the National Weather Service at his backyard weather gauge, Bly said 34 inches piled up in March, compared to the average 25.5 inches, based on records going back more than 100 years.
The monthly snowfall was far from being a record, but the moisture content in the snow keeps adding up, promising a healthy spring runoff. Bly said the precipitation for the month (the amount of water in the snow) totaled 2.6 inches, about 39 percent higher than average (1.9 inches).
That’s on track with the season-to-date total for precipitation, Bly said. Through early April, the snowpack at the Breckenridge weather site contained 13.18 inches of water, 39 percent more than the average 9.43 inches.
For snowfall to-date, Bly has measured 177.3 inches, against the historic average 137 inches.
“It’s still the eighth-snowiest winter on record,” Bly said. With big April snows, the 2007-2008 winter could even move up on the charts, and it’s destined to go into the books as a top-ten winter in any case, Bly said.
Average snowfall in April is 24.7 inches, but the month can bring big snows. the all-time record for April is 72.5 inches in 1900. More recently, it dumped 54.3 inches in 1995. The driest April on record was 1946, with a mere 1.6 inches.
Snowfall at the Dillon weather site was near average for the month, with 17.5 inches of snow, melting out to 1.15 inches of water. That’s about a half-inch below the average precipitation at the Dillon site.
Temperatures at Dillon were also within a few degrees of the historic average, based on records going back to 1909 (although the exact location of the station has changed during that time).
The average monthly high for March was 34.4 degrees, more than five degrees below the average 38.9 degrees.
Daily low temperatures in March averaged out to 3.6 degrees, also well below the historic norm of 7.4 degrees. It was the third month in a row that average daily temperatures at Dillon ranged about five degrees below average.
The warmest day of the month came way back on March 2, with 51 degrees, the only time the thermometer cracked the 50-degree mark. The coldest reading for the month came the next day, with minus 11 degrees.
In the Upper Colorado River Basin, the snowpack is at 129 percent of average. The Gunnison River Basin is 132 percent. The South Platte, crucial to Denver Water’s storage and supply system, is at 111 percent. All the state’s river basins are reporting above-normal snowpack for this date.
Blue River water Commissioner Scott Hummer said he’s been surprised at the amount of low-elevation snow that persists in the county, for example in the Lower Blue. That snowpack could contribute to the risk of flooding later in the season, Hummer said.
<i>Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.</i>
Tallying daily totals for the National Weather Service at his backyard weather gauge, Bly said 34 inches piled up in March, compared to the average 25.5 inches, based on records going back more than 100 years.
The monthly snowfall was far from being a record, but the moisture content in the snow keeps adding up, promising a healthy spring runoff. Bly said the precipitation for the month (the amount of water in the snow) totaled 2.6 inches, about 39 percent higher than average (1.9 inches).
That’s on track with the season-to-date total for precipitation, Bly said. Through early April, the snowpack at the Breckenridge weather site contained 13.18 inches of water, 39 percent more than the average 9.43 inches.
For snowfall to-date, Bly has measured 177.3 inches, against the historic average 137 inches.
“It’s still the eighth-snowiest winter on record,” Bly said. With big April snows, the 2007-2008 winter could even move up on the charts, and it’s destined to go into the books as a top-ten winter in any case, Bly said.
Average snowfall in April is 24.7 inches, but the month can bring big snows. the all-time record for April is 72.5 inches in 1900. More recently, it dumped 54.3 inches in 1995. The driest April on record was 1946, with a mere 1.6 inches.
Snowfall at the Dillon weather site was near average for the month, with 17.5 inches of snow, melting out to 1.15 inches of water. That’s about a half-inch below the average precipitation at the Dillon site.
Temperatures at Dillon were also within a few degrees of the historic average, based on records going back to 1909 (although the exact location of the station has changed during that time).
The average monthly high for March was 34.4 degrees, more than five degrees below the average 38.9 degrees.
Daily low temperatures in March averaged out to 3.6 degrees, also well below the historic norm of 7.4 degrees. It was the third month in a row that average daily temperatures at Dillon ranged about five degrees below average.
The warmest day of the month came way back on March 2, with 51 degrees, the only time the thermometer cracked the 50-degree mark. The coldest reading for the month came the next day, with minus 11 degrees.
In the Upper Colorado River Basin, the snowpack is at 129 percent of average. The Gunnison River Basin is 132 percent. The South Platte, crucial to Denver Water’s storage and supply system, is at 111 percent. All the state’s river basins are reporting above-normal snowpack for this date.
Blue River water Commissioner Scott Hummer said he’s been surprised at the amount of low-elevation snow that persists in the county, for example in the Lower Blue. That snowpack could contribute to the risk of flooding later in the season, Hummer said.
<i>Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.</i>
