Click the link to read the article on the Summit Daily website (Robert Tann). Here’s an excerpt:
April 23, 2024
This past winter marked the first in three years to experience an El Niño season. But what impact the pattern had on the Rocky Mountains is harder to tell compared to other parts of the state. In Breckenridge, for example, the majority of winter and early spring netted above-average precipitation, something that would be associated with a La Nina year, said Kenley Bonner, meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Boulder. November was the only month to see below-normal precipitation, while the rest of the months through March were above normal, Bonner said. Temperature wise, this past winter was warmer than average, according to data collected in Dillon. The same can be said for much of the Western Slope. In Grand Junction, monthly average temperatures have hovered around 4 degrees above normal since November, said Lucas Boyer, meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Grand Junction…
Snowpack in the Blue River Basin, which encompasses all of Summit County, had a slow start to the season, with levels below the 30-year median for much of November through the first half of January. Snowpack climbed afterwards, trending along the 30-year median line for much of February before rising above normal for all of March and the first two weeks of April.
The same was true for the entirety of the Colorado River Headwaters Basin, which includes some central and northern mountain areas as well as parts of the Western Slope…
According to an April 11 report from the Climate Prediction Center, a transition from El Nino to a neutral system, where ocean temperatures are seasonally normal, is 85% likely to happen between April and June. There is currently a 60% chance that a La Nina system will then develop between June and August. Early reports show the transition could make for a hotter, dryer than normal summer across the U.S…
A three-month outlook released by the prediction center on April 11 shows Colorado has between a 33% and 50% chance of experiencing above-normal temperatures for May, June and July in various areas. The southwestern portion of the state also has between a 33% and 40% chance of seeing below-normal precipitation during that period, while the northeastern portion has equal chances of seeing above- or below-normal precipitation.
