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SUMMIT COUNTY — The snow is all but gone in Colorado, but reservoirs across most of the state are full, according to data from Denver Water and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
“June was so warm and dry that all the snow has left our measurement sites — we are now snow-free,” said Chris Pacheco, assistant snow survey supervisor for NRCS.
The timing of the snowpack's disappearance this year was fairly typical, Pacheco said. But some sites in the northern part of the state near the Wyoming border just melted out last week, a little later than usual.
Reservoir levels in Colorado are in good shape, with many river basins above average for this time of year. Statewide, water storage is at 106 percent of average — slightly below last year's figure.
The Upper Colorado basin, which includes Summit County, has the highest reservoir storage in the state, at 113 percent of average. On July 1, Dillon Reservoir was just more than 100 percent full.
The Upper Rio Grande basin has the state's lowest reservoir storage, at 81 percent of average. All other river basins in the state are hovering slightly above average.
Typically, reservoir levels begin to drop at this time of year, as water demands from agricultural irrigation and municipal landscaping increase.
“This is about the time of year when it's easiest to hit the 90s here on the east side of the Divide,” said climate researcher Klaus Wolter of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Boulder laboratory. “With the holiday weekend, people might spend more time watering their lawns.”
Wolter is somewhat optimistic about the moisture picture for the next few weeks. But after that, he predicts about three months of dry weather for the Front Range, which has the potential to decrease reservoir levels.
SDN reporter Julie Sutor can be reached at (970) 668-4630 or jsutor@summitdaily.com.
“June was so warm and dry that all the snow has left our measurement sites — we are now snow-free,” said Chris Pacheco, assistant snow survey supervisor for NRCS.
The timing of the snowpack's disappearance this year was fairly typical, Pacheco said. But some sites in the northern part of the state near the Wyoming border just melted out last week, a little later than usual.
Reservoir levels in Colorado are in good shape, with many river basins above average for this time of year. Statewide, water storage is at 106 percent of average — slightly below last year's figure.
The Upper Colorado basin, which includes Summit County, has the highest reservoir storage in the state, at 113 percent of average. On July 1, Dillon Reservoir was just more than 100 percent full.
The Upper Rio Grande basin has the state's lowest reservoir storage, at 81 percent of average. All other river basins in the state are hovering slightly above average.
Typically, reservoir levels begin to drop at this time of year, as water demands from agricultural irrigation and municipal landscaping increase.
“This is about the time of year when it's easiest to hit the 90s here on the east side of the Divide,” said climate researcher Klaus Wolter of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Boulder laboratory. “With the holiday weekend, people might spend more time watering their lawns.”
Wolter is somewhat optimistic about the moisture picture for the next few weeks. But after that, he predicts about three months of dry weather for the Front Range, which has the potential to decrease reservoir levels.
SDN reporter Julie Sutor can be reached at (970) 668-4630 or jsutor@summitdaily.com.
