IntermtntClimateSummaryJune2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

INTERMOUNTAIN WEST CLIMATE SUMMARY -'J.~ '* t9~(') ~(!)~e.l.lk. \9r;e:.0 't ,.,.~ ,.J;l!}rP ~ '.l!f ~\'MW I ~ ~Lll r{1 by The Western Water Assessment l1l;:r Gzr0 1pJ "O:a.~ if. ~Gw(j Issued June 21, 2006 June 2006 Climate Summary Hydrologic Conditions: Drought status has worsened in eastern Colorado and is likely to persist in eastern and southern Colorado and parts of Wyoming. Water supply fore- casts for the season are lower than May 1 st due to warm, dry conditions in most areas, although storage in many reservoirs is higher than average for this time of year due to early runoff. Temperature: Temperatures were above average for much of the region for May, and contributed to early melting of snowpack. Precipitation/Snowpack: Precipitation has been below average since May1 for most of the region. June is climatologically dry for much of the region, before summer rains associated with the monsoon begin. To see how to track progress of the monsoon, see the precipitation outlook page. ENSO: ENSO-neutral conditions are favored to prevail throughout 2006 with an 800/0 chance of continuing through June-August; ENSO is not a significant factor in U.S. climate for the summer. Climate Forecasts: CPC outlooks project above average temperatures for all or most of the Intermountain West region through September forecast periods, and equal chances of above, around normal, or below normal precipitation for all but a small area of the region. RELEASES BENEFIT ENDANGERED FISH IN THE REGION Reservoirs on two river systems made releases this spring to improve habitat do\vnstream for endangered native fishes of the Colorado River, as part of the Up- per Colorado River Basin Endangered Fish Recovery Program. The Colorado pikeminnow, humpback chub, razorback sucker and bony tail are all native to the Colorado River and once had abundant populations. Accord- ing to a USBR ne\vs release on May 19, 2006 (http://w\v\v.usbr. gov /ne\vsroom/ne\vsrelease), five Upper Colorado River Ba- sin reservoirs made releases in late May to augment the natu- ral peak of the Colorado River near Cameo, Colorado. The par- ticipating reservoirs all "bypassed" sur- plus inflo\v on downstream, meaning that they did not store inflows during this pe- riod. Coordination is required to ensure that flo\vs reach the river near Cameo in the same period to achieve the maximum effect. The Coordinated Reservoir Op- erations Team tracks snow pack and pre- dicted runoff for the Colorado River basin to determine, each year, \vhether or not these releases can occur. Conditions have allo\ved for the program to operate only three times in the past ten years. On the Green River near the border of Wyoming and Colorado, spring peak releases were made from Flaming Gorge Reservoir beginning on May 16th. Flo\vs of the Yampa River were forecasted to peak above 12,000 cfs on May 22nd. The USBR began ramp- ing up releases to full po\ver- plant capaci ty in order to aug- ment the natural peak, and to attempt to achieve 18,600 cfs in the Green River measured at Jensen, Utah for one day. As a result of re- leases at full capacity as well as bypass re- leases, Green River flo\vs achieved 18,600 cfs for approximately 4 hours and peaked at 18,700 cfs. Green River flo\vs peaked again the next day above 18,600 as a result of heavy precipitation in the Yampa River Basin late on May 22nd. IN THIS ISSUE 1 June 2006 Climate Summary 2 Feature: New Streamflow Recon- structions For the Upper Colorado River Basin RECENT CONDITIONS 5 Temperature 6 Preci pi tati on 7 U.S. Drought Monitor 8 Reservoir Status 9 Regional Standardized Precipitation Index 10 Colorado Water Availability 11 Wyoming Water Availability 12 Utah Water Availability FORECASTS 13 Temperature Outlook 14 Precipitation Outlook 16 Seasonal Drought Outlook 17 EI Nino Status and Forecast Focus PAGE 18 Advances in Soil Moisture Science: New measurements from NRCS On the Web: http://wwa.colorado.edu Contact Us - Send questions or feed- back, or to sign up for our summary e-mail announcement, please e-mail us at: WWASummary@wwa.colorado.edu. Brad Udall - WWA Director Andrea Ray - Editor/writer Bobbie Klein - Assistant Editor/writer Eileen McKim - Assistant Editor/writer Barb DeLuisi - Graphic Designer Disclaimer - This product is designed for the provision of experimental climate services. While we make every effort to verify this information, please understand that we do not warrant the accuracy of any of these materials. The user assumes the entire risk related to the use of this data. WWA disclaims any and all warranties, whether expressed or implied, including (without limitation) any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The Intermountain West Climate Summary is published monthly by Western Water Assessment, a joint project of the University of Colorado and the NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory/, Physical Sciences Division/Climate Diagnostics Branch, researching water, climate and societal interactions. ~ CIRES ~ ~