CODOS UPDATE June 16, 2025: Snow Gone at Senator Beck Study Plot
Greetings from Silverton,
On Friday, June 13, the snowpack fully ablated around the tower at Senator Beck Study Plot (12,200’). This is typically a very good indicator that the majority of snow is gone from the high country, at least enough to see streamflows start to recede. Our stream gauge at the outlet of the study basin noted the occasion with a daily average discharge of 9.5 cfs, the same peak discharge observed the end of May when Swamp Angel (11,000’) hit snow-all-gone, a pretty low discharge compared to the median. The peak discharge in many southwestern watersheds occurred a little later than most expected for the amount of snow we had and the high melt rates that are becoming common. The delay was very much helped by well timed spring storms that brought more precipitation and modest albedo resets. The peak also got an extra little boost by rain during those last few days of May. The higher elevation (>12,000’) melt out was not much of a surprise as we knew there was a disproportionality a greater amount of snow in the higher elevations relative to the mid elevations. Also too, a few inclement days of rain/overcast conditions (the southern and western part of the state received as least 200% normal precipitation the first two weeks of June) slowed things down. The wet first half of June has been a welcome sight across Colorado making everything green and lush. Many hydrographs across the state are showing this pattern described above as well.
We hope to have the season summary posted to our website in a couple weeks.
Take Care
