July was a very impressive rain month in Colorado. You can verify that by remember the numerous mud and rock slides that covered roads and trapped people in their cars at times. We saw debris flows, urban flooding and destructive flash floods that unfortunately killed a few people.
Needless to say, it was a busy month and all of the weather headlines we saw came from impressive rainfall that hit our state through the month. Here is a list of some of the highest rainfall totals that areas around the state has seen throughout the month of July.
First off, a look at the general state gridded data of how much rain fell.
What you’ll notice when looking at this map is that the central part of the state saw the most rain in July but everyone in the state got at least some moisture. Now, to put that into perspective…
When comparing the amount of rain Colorado received compared to the normal, you’ll notice that the Eastern Plains, portions of the San Juans and the northern tier of the state largely lacked sufficient rainfall. Even in Denver, although we got some decent rains, we did not get what is typically expected for the month. So, even though there was ample moisture around, it was not around for everyone.
For others though, it was a different story as numerous locations saw 3-6″ of rain.
RAIN TOTALS FOR JULY
1.6 NNE Lake City – 5.58″
5.5 W Guffey – 5.28″
0.6 NE Lincoln Park – 5.23″
4.9 N Redstone – 5.12″
2.5 ENE Canon City – 5.06″
6.5 NE Nunn – 5.04″
3.9 NNE Estes Park – 4.94″
0.3 WNW Silverton – 4.92″
7.2 WSSW Aguilar – 4.77″
6.9 S Hesperus – 4.66″
5.1 NW Cripple Creek – 4.66″
5.0 ENE Colorado Springs – 4.50″
16.8 ENE Delores – 4.14″
4.6 NNE Carbondale – 4.01″
1.8 N Greeley – 3.99″
4.8 SSE Cotopaxi – 3.98″
7.2 NW Pagosa Springs – 3.95″
0.8 SSW Durango – 3.82″
2.5 NW Lafayette – 3.79″
1.9 NNE Crested Butte – 3.77″
0.7 WNW Cheyenne Wells – 3.75″
1.9 ENE Trinidad – 3.63″
6.6 S Bonanza – 3.52″
4.2 NW Red Mesa – 3.51″
2.1 W Boulder – 3.45″
0.6 NNE Westcliffe – 3.42″
2.5 SSW Pueblo – 3.41″
0.5 SE Erie – 3.36″
2.9 N Monument – 3.01″
4.0 SSE Aurora – 2.84″
0.7 ESE Highlands Ranch – 2.81″
2.6 E Vail – 2.52″
6.6 N Gunnison – 2.26″
0.4 E Denver – 1.24″
Denver International Airport – 0.34″
Downtown Denver Water Department – 0.87″
Denver/Central Park – 0.99″
It bears repeating that most of the Front Range saw very good moisture this month but the further east you go, the less amount of rain you got – generally.
This is true for Denver county as well. Downtown got 100-200% of normal precip but the airport only received 25-50% of its normal precip. Just another example of how our “official” weather reporting station for Denver doesn’t accurately match what the majority of the population saw.
August is starting off with more monsoon moisture mainly impacting the mountains so beware of more flash flooding concerns through midweek for those areas.
The rain we saw this month will undoubtedly help with the drought concerns we are facing in the western portion of the state. I am eagerly waiting for Thursday when the new drought map is updated. I’m hoping it shows some great improvement.
Finally, I’ll leave you with a video of satellite for the entire month of July. You’ll notice clouds, smoke, thunderstorms, clear days, etc. Enjoy. 🙂
~ Andy
Leave a Reply