The Fence Post is running a Q&A with Nolan Doesken. Click through and read the whole thing. Here’s an excerpt:
Q: You’ve been Colorado’s state climatologist for a number of years. Have the last couple years — with the 2011 record snowpack, the 2012 drought and the rapid bounce back in snowpack seen last month — represented the most extreme changes you’ve seen? How have other years compared to the volatility we’ve seen recently?
A: The flip flop from very, very wet (winter and spring 2011 and the high waters on the Yampa, Colorado, N. Platte and South Platte) to very, very dry (statewide in 2012) was definitely impressive.
The warmth of the 2012 spring followed by the cold this spring is surely attention grabbing.
In terms of back-to-back, year-to-year change, the high water of 2011 followed by low water in 2012 was the largest change in surface water supplies I’ve seen in such a short time (meanwhile both years were very dry in southern Colorado).