DENVER (AP) — One of Colorado’s driest Aprils on record led to diminished mountain stream flow and snow at 76% of the normal amount for this time of year.
The latest federal surveys indicate the paltry snowpack and lack of rain over the past month resulted in lagging water flows in all of the state's major river basins, The Denver Post reports.
Federal monitoring shows more than half of Colorado facing drought, with extreme examples on the southeast plains and in the upper Rio Grande Basin.
As recently as April 20, federal data showed snowpack statewide measuring 104% of the norm. The drop is in line with a climate-driven trend toward increased variability.
Snowpack along headwaters of the South Platte River that feeds northeastern Colorado remained around normal Friday, while snow measured 87% along headwaters of the Colorado River, a crucial water source for 40 million people across seven western states.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service data shows river basins in southern Colorado received less than half of average precipitation, with the Rio Grande River Basin registering 16% of the norm between 1981 and 2010.
Most survey sites in the San Juan Mountains and Sangre de Cristo Mountains recorded the lowest or second-lowest April precipitation on record, the agency's data show.
Northern Colorado river basins received more water but measured below the norm at 77% to 84%.
“Dry soils underlying the snowpack can absorb much of the snow melt in the spring, which has the potential to substantially decrease the amount of water that actually makes it to a stream channel to contribute to runoff,” federal hydrologist Karl Wetlaufer said.
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Dry April leads to reduced stream flow and snow in Colorado - Huron Daily Tribune
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