From The Durango Telegraph (Will Sands):

As Durangoans know, El Niño can be a fickle character. The phenomenon characterized by a warming in the equatorial Pacific Ocean does influence weather patterns in the Southwest United States. However, El Niño does not always show up and bless the Four Corners with abundant moisture. That said, the winter of 2009-10 is turning out to be a benchmark year for El Niño, according to Klaus Wolter, an atmospheric scientist with the University of Colorado at Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Last week’s storm – which pounded Durango for five days and brought more than 3 feet of snow to downtown – was typical of the weather phenomenon.

“El Niño tends to favor the southwest part of our state with additional moisture,” Wolter said. “Not every El Niño delivers, but last week’s storm was classic El Niño.”

From the Crested Butte News (Mike Horn):

As of January 25, the snow-water equivalent totals for the Gunnison River Basin were at 97 percent of average, according to data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The Gunnison Basin stretches over 8,000 square miles of western Colorado, extending from the Continental Divide to the confluence of the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers near Grand Junction. The 97 percent total puts Gunnison ahead of most basins in the state, with the exception of the Upper Rio Grande (108 percent) and the combined San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and San Juan River basins (104 percent). Those numbers sound pretty good, considering the seemingly dry December and early January that preceded last week’s storms. According to Frank Kugel, general manager for the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, “We got a great shot in the arm with these recent storms. As of one week ago, we were at 76 percent of normal. We went from 76 percent to 97 percent in one week.”

Kugel also said water storage levels are doing well, with Blue Mesa at 68 percent of capacity, which is on target for this time of year. “Blue Mesa hits peak storage in June or July, and we try to get as close to full as possible by that time,” Kugel added. He noted it’s tough to forecast future water availability for the Gunnison Basin this early in the winter season.

From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Bobby Magill):

As of Friday morning, the South Platte River Basin, which includes the Poudre River, had a snowpack 13 percent below normal. Other parts of Northern Colorado were the same: The North Platte Basin was 15 percent below normal, the Colorado River Basin 20 percent below normal and the Yampa River Basin 18 percent below normal.