The sun will come out again. Just don’t count on it much for the next few days.
The general monsoon pattern that has brought steady rain to La Plata County recently should start transitioning into thunderstorms and showers today.
“We’ll stay in a wet pattern,” Jim Daniels, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Grand Junction, said Tuesday. “But through the weekend, it should be showers and thunderstorms.”
Steady rain, a blessing in a drought year, could bring undesired consequences – flooding.
In fact, a flash flood warning is in effect for the entire Western Slope and much of Utah, with a more serious flood warning posted for two local areas of eastern Utah.
For Durango, the forecast shows a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms today and a 60 percent chance Thursday. High temperatures will be in the mid-70s and lows in the mid-40s through Sunday.
If the forecast holds, Monday may be the first big break. It calls for mostly sunny skies with a high temperature of 78.
The summer’s frequent rain still hasn’t added up to record amounts.
National Weather Service meteorologist John Kyle did some quick math Tuesday to find that the 30-year average rainfall, based on reports from weather observers in Durango, was 1.79 inches in July, 2.68 inches in August and 0.81 inches through the first 10 days of September.
This year, based on three sites in and around Durango but not including Durango-La Plata County Airport, 1.37 inches fell in July, 2.93 inches in August and 0.35 inches so far this month, Kyle said.
Elsewhere in La Plata County on Tuesday, weather observers found moisture in their gauges ranging from 0.06 to 1.25 inches of rain. Pam Snyder in Hesperus recorded 1 inch from Monday morning to Tuesday afternoon; Briggen Wrinkle in Durango found 0.06 inches as of 8 a.m. Tuesday; Bill Butler in the Rafter J subdivision recorded 1.25 inches in the 24 hours ending Tuesday afternoon; and Sandy Young on the Florida Mesa recorded 0.55 inches from Monday through Tuesday.
Monsoon rain occurs when hot weather in Arizona and New Mexico – and to a lesser degree in Colorado and Utah – draws moisture from the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean off Baja California into the interior, Daniels said.
“The heating of the Southwest draws in moisture,” Daniels said. “The weather in late August and early September has been warmer (than normal).”
Leaves change color in Southwest Colorado from late September through early October in response to shorter days and lower temperatures, a U.S. Forest Service release said. The color changes as leaves lose chlorophyll.
daler@durangoherald.com
