John McGinley, Peak to Peak. June 2019: Summer snow, freezing temperatures,  hail, heavy rain, and something that looked like an early monsoon made June an interesting month. With 18 days of measurable rain June ended up well above normal for precipitation. While it seemed that June was on the cool side, the first two weeks were warmer than normal, week 3 much cooler than normal, and the last week brought highs in the 80s. When we averaged all this out it made the month just about normal for a typical June. Hard to believe but a cold-core upper low brought some snow to the area two days after the Summer Solstice. Feet of snow were observed on the Western Slope. Only a fraction of an inch fell locally. The fact is that June averages nearly an inch of snow, more a result of a 5-inch snow every 5 years. We had two hail storms, one on the 17th and one on the 30th. Winds were well behaved with only one day with gusts 40mph or more.

Precipitation: Precipitation for the month was 2.52 inches, 0.70 inches above normal. We had two days of pea-sized hail on the 17th and 30th. I had a trace of snow on June 23, which may have accumulated if the temperature hadn’t been in the high 30s. The month came to an end with a flow of moisture from the south (looking very monsoonal) that brought us some strong storms on the 30th. The storm total of 0.70 inches was the highest daily amount for the month. This had a big negative impact on Sunday’s High Peaks Art Festival.

Temperature: Warm, cold, then hot days combined to give us an average high of 70F with an average low of 42F making the month just about normal. Highest high was 85F on the 28th, lowest low was 29F on the 10th. Lowest high was a cool 51F on the 22nd and 23rd. 

Winds:  Another nearly windless month with only one day at 40mph.

Other Features: For most of the month we were still well connected to the westerly storm track that brought some frontal upslope and precipitation. A strong upper level low transited Colorado the first few days of summer and brought amazing snow totals over the central part of the state. The final week of the month saw the establishment of a typical summer upper-level ridge pattern that brought some heat, and surprisingly a flow of tropical moisture and attendant thunderstorms. 

Outlook for July:  Climatology shows average highs of 77F and average lows near 47F. We get 2.8 inches of rain. July’s precipitation depends heavily on establishment of the monsoonal flow  out of northern Mexico. With forecast models predicting a trough on the west coast that will set up a southwesterly flow into Colorado,  it looks promising for an early monsoon. This implies a wetter and cooler early July. By the last two weeks conditions could become hotter and drier.

(Originally published in the July 4, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)