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<br />,'" -.. - ., <br /> <br />002246 <br /> <br />--~ . (. <br /> <br />c~m~~mmuz~' <br />WA'" '""",Y OUTLOOK roR ill'PER COLO","O ""'IN ,j,l~ r '.1 ! j Iry", D <br />as of February 1, 1985 ~ -{;iJI.(lfIADO WATER <br />C:.;.\!S:=~:!IJ}\,~'!ON BDJ"RD <br /> <br />/. <br /> <br />COLORADO RIVER above CISCO, UTAH: Seasonal water supply for the Colorado Basin <br />remains above normal to much above normal. The cold, dry weather during January <br />caused streamflow forecasts to ~5 to 10 ~nt throughout the basin. Most <br />forecast flows range betwee~_~an~~ercent of normal. These lower <br />forecast volumes have eased the threat of spring snowmelt flooding. A moderate <br />potential still remains for some low lying and flood prone areas to experience <br />some high water conditions. depending on the character of the spring snowmelt <br />regime. <br /> <br />Prp-cipitation during January was generally near ilol~al over much of the basin. <br />However, above Glenwood Springs and below Grand Junction amo4PtS were 50 to 80 <br />percent of normal, while in the upper reaches of the Gunnison basin precipita- <br />tion was above normal. Seasonal precipitation, October thru January, ranged <br />from near normal along the Continental Divide to much above normal on the <br />mainstem of the Colorado River below Glenwood Springs. <br /> <br />Snow surveys conducted on February 1, indicated a 15 to 35 percent reduction in <br />the average basin snow water content in relation to normal from those measured <br />on January 1st. On February 1 the upper Colorado basin was 128 percent of <br />normal - down 17% from January 1st, and the Gunnison Basin was 117 percent - <br />down 35 percent. Other basin averages include: Dolores - 117%, White - 121% <br />and Yampa - 103%. <br /> <br />Runoff during January <br />The January flow on <br />165 percent of normal, <br />percent of normal. <br /> <br />continued to be well above normal throughout the basin. <br />the Colorado River at Cisco, Utah, was 289,400 acre-feet, <br />while the seasonal flow has been 1,380,000 acre-feet, 171 <br /> <br />Reservoir storage on January 31, 1985 in the four major reservoirs above Cisco, <br />Utah, (Granby, Dillon, Green Mountain and Blue Mesa) was 1.30 million acre-feet, <br />76 percent of capacity, 138 percent of average and about 150,000 acre-feet lower <br />than a month ago. Storage at Lake Powell i~ 22.0 million acre-feet, about the <br />same as last year at this time. The April-July forecast to Lake Powell is 11.0 <br />million acre-feet, 147 percent of the 20-year (1961-1980) average. <br /> <br />GREEN RIVER BASIN: Streamflow forecasts declined 5 to 15 percent but still <br />remain near or above average. Forecast flows range from near 90 percent above <br />Flaming Gorge to 130 percent on the Duchesne River. Below Flaming Gorge <br />Reservoir, forecasts for tributaries of the Green River average 120 percent. <br /> <br />January precipitation for the Green River Basin above Flaming Gorge was near 70 <br /> <br />NOAA - NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE <br />Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, Salt Lake City, Utah <br />Gerald Williams, Hydrologist in Charge <br />