Snow and rain pushed Colorado into a comfortable position for water ahead of the wildfire season and dry months when farmers rely on mountain snowpack for crops.
The latest federal data Sunday showed snow levels above the median across the northern half of the state. Snowpack hit 116 percent of the median in the South Platte River Basin, which supplies metro Denver and northeastern Colorado, compared with 95 percent last year.
The heavily-tapped Colorado River Basin held snowpack at 114 percent of the median.
In southern Colorado, Arkansas River Basin snowpack measured 109 percent of the median — just as Colorado Springs begins drawing more heavily from Pueblo Reservoir. Southwestern Colorado snowpack in the San Miguel and San Juan river basins held at 87 percent of the median snowpack. Snowpack along headwaters of the Rio Grande River was at 94 percent.
Spring floods depend on temperature, and National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Fredin said metro Denver will hit the 70-degree range this week. Mountain temperatures will stay cooler. “At this point, we’re not looking at flooding. You’d need higher temperatures in the mountains. We’re still several weeks from that — if it happens,” he said.
Moisture boosts tree growth in forests, increasing fuel for wildfires. “That doesn’t mean we’re not going to have a fire season, but it can hold off fire season a little longer,” he said. “It is three or four months away.”
