Dust Free So Far and Healthy Snowpack
Greetings From Silverton,
Despite a dry and lackadaisical start to winter, persistent snowcover in Senator Beck occurred on November 21, we have seen a major turn-around with a steady stream of productive storms. We have received eight winter storms so far (Storm #8 Report will follow shortly) that in and of themselves have totaled ~10.0" of water. Snow depth at Swamp Angel is at 4.5’ and the wind effected Senator Beck site is lingering around 1.5’.
Dust Free So Far and Healthy Snowpack
Greetings From Silverton,
Despite a dry and lackadaisical start to winter, persistent snowcover in Senator Beck occurred on November 21, we have seen a major turn-around with a steady stream of productive storms. We have received eight winter storms so far (Storm #8 Report will follow shortly) that in and of themselves have totaled ~10.0" of water. Snow depth at Swamp Angel is at 4.5’ and the wind effected Senator Beck site is lingering around 1.5’.
Dust Free So Far and Healthy Snowpack
Greetings From Silverton,
Despite a dry and lackadaisical start to winter, persistent snowcover in Senator Beck occurred on November 21, we have seen a major turn-around with a steady stream of productive storms. We have received eight winter storms so far (Storm #8 Report will follow shortly) that in and of themselves have totaled ~10.0" of water. Snow depth at Swamp Angel is at 4.5’ and the wind effected Senator Beck site is lingering around 1.5’.
Dust Free So Far and Healthy Snowpack
Greetings From Silverton,
Despite a dry and lackadaisical start to winter, persistent snowcover in Senator Beck occurred on November 21, we have seen a major turn-around with a steady stream of productive storms. We have received eight winter storms so far (Storm #8 Report will follow shortly) that in and of themselves have totaled ~10.0" of water. Snow depth at Swamp Angel is at 4.5’ and the wind effected Senator Beck site is lingering around 1.5’.
Dust Free So Far and Healthy Snowpack
Greetings From Silverton,
Despite a dry and lackadaisical start to winter, persistent snowcover in Senator Beck occurred on November 21, we have seen a major turn-around with a steady stream of productive storms. We have received eight winter storms so far (Storm #8 Report will follow shortly) that in and of themselves have totaled ~10.0" of water. Snow depth at Swamp Angel is at 4.5’ and the wind effected Senator Beck site is lingering around 1.5’.
SUMMARY
Colorado has begun March with “high” conditions completely dominating the range of snowpack conditions among major basins across the Colorado Mountains. This update summarizes snowpack conditions state-wide and evaluates March 1st snow water equivalent (SWE) data from SNOTEL stations associated with our eleven CODOS sites and places them within the framework of the Dust Enhanced Runoff Classification scheme (DERC) developed by CODOS. A summary is presented by individual Basin, and provides a site-specific analyses for each CODOS site (linked below).
After a worrisome October and November when Colorado received very little precipitation and experienced very warm temperatures, winter finally kicked into action and Colorado started receiving abundant snowfall, building the snowpack rapidly during the months of December, January, and into February. One of the big stories this winter season is the atmospheric rivers that fueled these productive storms, which were record breaking in some locations. On the other end of the spectrum, one of the other big stories this winter is the observed warmest March on record. The effects of this hot month (preceded by a very warm February) was a rapid warming of the snowpack and snowmelt at lower elevations and valleys, resulting in most stream gauges observed a 2-3 week bump in stream flow in mid-March thru the first part of April. However, Colorado recovered from the hot/dry spell with a long stretch of regular precipitation beginning around March 23 – April 4. A dry spell was again repeated April 5-19. And, starting the latter part of April regular precipitation (however sparse) was observed steadily but intermittently until June 1.
At the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies’ (CSAS) Senator Beck Basin Study Area (SBB) at Red Mountain Pass, the primary Colorado Dust-on-Snow Program (CODOS) monitoring site, WY2017 produced a total of four separate dust-on-snow events, on the light side of a typical dust loading season based on observations going back to WY2005. Dust season began relatively late in the season. With the abundant moisture in the dust source area, the Southern Colorado Plateau, dust mobilization was kept in check until March when soils started drying out. Dust-on-snow events March 5, 23, 31 and on April 9 were documented. Surprisingly no dust events were observed the rest of April and May, although a couple haze events were noted. On June 12 a big dust storm in the desert southwest was observed with the USGS dust cameras, additional dust on any remaining snow in the Colorado Mountains was not observed at lower elevations, but it is possible some higher elevation snow cover could have received additional dust from this event. Of the four documented dust events, two of these events were pretty heavy in their severity. The end result, even though total mass loading of dust was light, with the location of the dust in the snowpack (i.e. upper portion) and its consequential role in snowmelt, we classified dust severity as “Average”, albeit the lighter side of average at SBB. Northern and some Central CODOS sample sites in Colorado were classified as “Minimum” dust severity. The transition from “Average” to “Minimum” severity took place in Central Colorado, thus some Central and all Southern CODOS sites were classified as “Average”.
Dust Free So Far and Healthy Snowpack
Greetings From Silverton,
Despite a dry and lackadaisical start to winter, persistent snowcover in Senator Beck occurred on November 21, we have seen a major turn-around with a steady stream of productive storms. We have received eight winter storms so far (Storm #8 Report will follow shortly) that in and of themselves have totaled ~10.0" of water. Snow depth at Swamp Angel is at 4.5’ and the wind effected Senator Beck site is lingering around 1.5’.
Dust Free So Far and Healthy Snowpack
Greetings From Silverton,
Despite a dry and lackadaisical start to winter, persistent snowcover in Senator Beck occurred on November 21, we have seen a major turn-around with a steady stream of productive storms. We have received eight winter storms so far (Storm #8 Report will follow shortly) that in and of themselves have totaled ~10.0" of water. Snow depth at Swamp Angel is at 4.5’ and the wind effected Senator Beck site is lingering around 1.5’.
Dust Free So Far and Healthy Snowpack
Greetings From Silverton,
Despite a dry and lackadaisical start to winter, persistent snowcover in Senator Beck occurred on November 21, we have seen a major turn-around with a steady stream of productive storms. We have received eight winter storms so far (Storm #8 Report will follow shortly) that in and of themselves have totaled ~10.0" of water. Snow depth at Swamp Angel is at 4.5’ and the wind effected Senator Beck site is lingering around 1.5’.
Dust Free So Far and Healthy Snowpack
Greetings From Silverton,
Despite a dry and lackadaisical start to winter, persistent snowcover in Senator Beck occurred on November 21, we have seen a major turn-around with a steady stream of productive storms. We have received eight winter storms so far (Storm #8 Report will follow shortly) that in and of themselves have totaled ~10.0" of water. Snow depth at Swamp Angel is at 4.5’ and the wind effected Senator Beck site is lingering around 1.5’.
Dust Free So Far and Healthy Snowpack
Greetings From Silverton,
Despite a dry and lackadaisical start to winter, persistent snowcover in Senator Beck occurred on November 21, we have seen a major turn-around with a steady stream of productive storms. We have received eight winter storms so far (Storm #8 Report will follow shortly) that in and of themselves have totaled ~10.0" of water. Snow depth at Swamp Angel is at 4.5’ and the wind effected Senator Beck site is lingering around 1.5’.
Visiting our Senator Beck study sites on Friday and Monday showed we are about in the same condition as our last report. Mild dust is at the surface and below treeline there is another light dust layer about mid-pack. Dust severity has remained mild this spring which has been a surprise. Over the weekend southern Colorado was hit hard with strong winds and a big dust plume kicked up in New Mexico but fortunately stayed south of the Colorado mountains as it worked it’s way east.
The warm and mostly dry April has whittled away our meager snowpack towards the south at rapid pace. The first part of April it looked like we were going to drop fast to record low levels, and some southerly basins definitely dipped their toes in the lower minimum projections, but we did receive a couple storms this April that gave a modest boost to SWE and temporarily slowed melt.
There is some activity in the forecast over the next week. Here in our neck of the woods we could see upwards of 2” precipitation. This weather will slow snowmelt and cover the surface dust. Not long after this snowy period we will be reporting on our dust-on-snow observations throughout Colorado, so stay tuned.
Below: Swamp Angel on April 28. We measured 18.9” SWE, with depth of 4.2’, and density of 371 kg/m^3. The overall dust severity has not changed over the last few weeks. A couple of light dust layers have merged at the surface and a couple light layers are still buried under the snow.
Below: Senator Beck Study Plot on April 25. Measured SWE was 22.1” with depth of 4.9’ and density of 374 kg/m^3. In the snow profile no dust layers were apparent, but dust was on the surface and concentrated in preferential collection areas across the landscape.
Satellite image of dust plume (bright magenta) making it’s way across New Mexico Sunday night (April 27). Fortunately the plume stayed south of Colorado until it was well east of the mountains.
Below: Labeled on the plot is our physical measurements from the snowpits we dig at Swamp Angel throughout the season. Included as well is a percentile map of the SNOTEL stations across Colorado. To dig in more to percentiles and snowpack trends, read the April post on Colorado Climate Center’s blog here.
Dust Free So Far and Healthy Snowpack
Greetings From Silverton,
Despite a dry and lackadaisical start to winter, persistent snowcover in Senator Beck occurred on November 21, we have seen a major turn-around with a steady stream of productive storms. We have received eight winter storms so far (Storm #8 Report will follow shortly) that in and of themselves have totaled ~10.0" of water. Snow depth at Swamp Angel is at 4.5’ and the wind effected Senator Beck site is lingering around 1.5’.
Dust Free So Far and Healthy Snowpack
Greetings From Silverton,
Despite a dry and lackadaisical start to winter, persistent snowcover in Senator Beck occurred on November 21, we have seen a major turn-around with a steady stream of productive storms. We have received eight winter storms so far (Storm #8 Report will follow shortly) that in and of themselves have totaled ~10.0" of water. Snow depth at Swamp Angel is at 4.5’ and the wind effected Senator Beck site is lingering around 1.5’.
Dust Free So Far and Healthy Snowpack
Greetings From Silverton,
Despite a dry and lackadaisical start to winter, persistent snowcover in Senator Beck occurred on November 21, we have seen a major turn-around with a steady stream of productive storms. We have received eight winter storms so far (Storm #8 Report will follow shortly) that in and of themselves have totaled ~10.0" of water. Snow depth at Swamp Angel is at 4.5’ and the wind effected Senator Beck site is lingering around 1.5’.
Dust Free So Far and Healthy Snowpack
Greetings From Silverton,
Despite a dry and lackadaisical start to winter, persistent snowcover in Senator Beck occurred on November 21, we have seen a major turn-around with a steady stream of productive storms. We have received eight winter storms so far (Storm #8 Report will follow shortly) that in and of themselves have totaled ~10.0" of water. Snow depth at Swamp Angel is at 4.5’ and the wind effected Senator Beck site is lingering around 1.5’.
Dust Free So Far and Healthy Snowpack
Greetings From Silverton,
Despite a dry and lackadaisical start to winter, persistent snowcover in Senator Beck occurred on November 21, we have seen a major turn-around with a steady stream of productive storms. We have received eight winter storms so far (Storm #8 Report will follow shortly) that in and of themselves have totaled ~10.0" of water. Snow depth at Swamp Angel is at 4.5’ and the wind effected Senator Beck site is lingering around 1.5’.
SUMMARY
Colorado has begun March with “high” conditions completely dominating the range of snowpack conditions among major basins across the Colorado Mountains. This update summarizes snowpack conditions state-wide and evaluates March 1st snow water equivalent (SWE) data from SNOTEL stations associated with our eleven CODOS sites and places them within the framework of the Dust Enhanced Runoff Classification scheme (DERC) developed by CODOS. A summary is presented by individual Basin, and provides a site-specific analyses for each CODOS site (linked below).
Dust Free So Far and Healthy Snowpack
Greetings From Silverton,
Despite a dry and lackadaisical start to winter, persistent snowcover in Senator Beck occurred on November 21, we have seen a major turn-around with a steady stream of productive storms. We have received eight winter storms so far (Storm #8 Report will follow shortly) that in and of themselves have totaled ~10.0" of water. Snow depth at Swamp Angel is at 4.5’ and the wind effected Senator Beck site is lingering around 1.5’.
