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Durango records wettest May on record; more rain is likely

It’s not just your imagination – Durango already has experienced its wettest May in at least 16 years, and more rain may be on the way.

By Tuesday, 2.9 inches of precipitation had fallen at Durango-La Plata County Airport. Records at that location date to 2000. The second-wettest May came in 2011, when 1.29 inches fell.

With five days remaining in the month, Durango could easily break the 3-inch barrier. Last year saw only 0.68 inches of May precipitation.

“It’s actually going to be a wet week as well,” said Megan Stackhouse, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Grand Junction.

She added: “We’re expecting scattered showers popping up in the late evening hours” before a break late Saturday and early Sunday.

A wet system from the Pacific Northwest is on its way to Southwest Colorado, Stackhouse said. “It’s just digging down into our area. ... Pretty much it’s going to be a wet rest of the month, unfortunately for some people.”

A high-pressure system bringing warmer temperatures is on track to arrive Sunday, she said.

All of the moisture is gradually improving drought conditions throughout the Mountain West. Most of La Plata County is in “moderate drought,” the second-least severe rating, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. A sliver of the county near the New Mexico border remains in “severe drought.”

cslothower@durangoherald.com



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