January 14, 2016 (Micro-Briefing)

  • December's precipitation was a mixed bag for the region. Western and northeastern Colorado, south-central Utah, and southwestern Wyoming were much wetter than normal, while western Utah, southeastern Colorado, and north-central Wyoming were much drier than normal. So far in January, the storms have favored southern Utah, southwestern Colorado, and central Wyoming.
  • Since early December, snowpacks have held steady or improved, relative to normal, over nearly the entire region. Currently, the snowpack is near normal (>90% of median) or above normal in all of Utah except the Wasatch Front, in all of Colorado except the northwestern basins, and in far southeastern and southwestern Wyoming. Conditions in northern Utah and most of Wyoming are below-normal, especially in north-central and northeastern Wyoming.
  • The first official seasonal runoff forecasts, as of January 1, were issued in early January by NRCS and NOAA. They call for near-average (90-109%) or above-average (>100%) spring-summer runoff in all of Colorado's basins except the Yampa; in southern and central Utah, and in southeastern and northwestern Wyoming. Runoff elsewhere in the region is forecasted to be below average (70-89%; northern Utah and southwestern Wyoming) or well below average (50-69%; central and north-central Wyoming).
  • El Niño conditions have very likely peaked and are declining in strength, but remain very strong. NOAA CPC precipitation outlooks for late winter and spring show a wet tilt for the southern portions of our region, due to El Niño’s expected continued influence.

Sign up to be on our email list!

Get news and updates from Western Water Assessment.

© 2024 Western Water Assessment