John McGinley, Peak to Peak. Conditions were way too warm and dry this May, not encouraging as we approach fire season. Upper level flow was generally westerly with a lack of strong systems moving in. Polar air was generally a no-show. This resulted a mean temperature that was 5 degrees above normal. Precipitation was lacking: a full inch below normal. Drought conditions that had been high in southern Colorado slowly crept northwards through the month. As we approached the end of the month, southwesterly flow set up, very similar to our monsoon except two months early. The result was scattered afternoon thunderstorms.

Precipitation: Rainfall totaled 1.26 inches, about an inch below normal. With the warm conditions snow total was only 0.5 inches, 10 inches below normal. The big event was 0.49 inches of rain on the 24th when a strong upper level low moved in and coupled up with some upslope. Thunderstorms became more active in the last half of the month.

Temperature:  Way above normal with an average high of 65F and a low of 37F. These combined to put us 5 degrees above normal. We had three days in the 80s, which is rare for May. The highest high was 81 on the 29th, the lowest high was 44F on the 24th. The coolest day was 26F on the 6th.

Winds:  Only three windy days, none which exceeded 60mph.

Other Features: Just a lack of strong systems that usually show up in May. The storm track stayed to our north most of the month.

Outlook for June: June is critical for setting up what kind of fire season we can expect. Normally the first two weeks are wet with drying in the latter half. This year it looks like the whole month might be warm and dry. With increasing temperatures, fire danger will increase. In a normal June the average high is 71F with a low of 40F. We see 1.79 inches of precipitation. The long-range models indicate a return of monsoon-like conditions on the 4th with a strong upper level wave on the 6th and again on the 9th. It’s hard to say how much precipitation will fall. Beyond that, warm and dry conditions will be the story for the rest of the month.

[Apologies for running weather late this month. It came in right on time and I didn’t get it into print until this week. -Barbara Hardt, Publisher]

(Originally published in the June 18, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)