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May showers bring green spring so far

Precipitation is on par with average
A “blue bird” day Monday after recent moisture made for ideal rafting conditions down the Animas River as seen from the Ninth Street Bridge.

Rain, mud and green hillsides have signaled spring for the local drought-plagued region.

May rain has brought the area’s precipitation for the year up to 5.7 inches, which is a little bit more than the historical average of 5.03 inches, said Tom Renwick, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.

“It’s keeping things green for sure,” said Sterling Moss, district conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Durango.

The month of May, generally one of the driest months of year for the Durango area, already has exceeded the average of 0.4 inches by more than double. So far this month, the Durango area has received about 1.22 inches of precipitation, according to measurements taken at the Durango-La Plata County Airport.

Storms in the region that brought rain Wednesday through Sunday dropped about 0.13 inches of precipitation.

More rain is expected Tuesday afternoon and during the weekend, Renwick said.

The weekend rain and snow in the mountains also could provide a little bit of extra runoff in the Animas River, said Rob Genualdi, division engineer for the Colorado Division of Water Resources.

Runoff began in March and ran at 140 percent of the average. In April and May, the runoff slowed down and has been running at about 70 percent of the average, he said.

It recently peaked May 7 at 1,380 cubic feet per second. The Animas may not see another peak depending on how fast the temperatures rise, Genualdi said.

But with the snowpack waning, Winfield Wright, a local hydrologist with Southwest Hydro-Logic, doesn’t expect runoff levels to be very impressive this year.

“I think the peak has come and gone,” he said.

Historically, the river’s runoff has peaked much later in May and in a good year, 7,000 cubic feet of water per second could flow through town, he said.

Most reservoirs are not prepared to store water in the winter, and an early runoff can make it difficult for small farms that need the irrigation water later in the season, he said.

“We need to figure out how to store water in the winter,” he said.

While the early warm weather hurt runoff, it did help the landscape green up earlier and prevent dust from blowing in the southwest part of the county, Moss said.

“Compared to last year, what a difference,” Moss said.

But the soil, parched from years of drought, will require much more precipitation to restore normal moisture levels to soil several feet below the surface.

“Things can dry out pretty quickly,” Moss said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com



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