From email from the Western Water Assessment:
Our latest Monthly Briefing was updated today on the Intermountain West Climate Dashboard. The briefing reviews April’s precipitation and temperature conditions; current drought, snowpack, and streamflow conditions; May 1 spring-summer streamflow forecasts; and the latest seasonal climate and ENSO forecasts.
New this month: Thumbnail images embedded in the text allow you to bring up the full-sized climate graphics while reading the briefing. [ed. very cool feature, click through, it’s worth it for you graphics junkies]
Highlights:
Recent snows have improved the runoff picture, but most of the Intermountain West is still facing low or very low 2013 spring-summer runoff with reservoirs already at low levels. April precipitation was mixed for the region, with northern and central Colorado, portions of Wyoming, and eastern Utah being wetter than average, and northern Utah, southwestern Wyoming, and southern Colorado being mainly drier than average. Snowpacks in eastern Utah, much of Wyoming, and northern and central Colorado saw large gains in April, reaching near-normal peak levels. Southern Colorado and southern Utah did not see these gains and meltout began early, from well-below-normal peaks. May 1 forecasts for spring-summer streamflow for the region are still below average or well below average, but are generally improved from the April 1 forecasted flows across Wyoming, northern and eastern Utah, and northern and central Colorado. The NOAA CPC seasonal climate outlooks show a dry “tilt” for spring and summer precipitation for most of our region. In contrast, the “SWcast” for April-June shows a wet tilt over much of Colorado. To view the Intermountain West Climate Dashboard, please click here.