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<br />IV. CLIMATIC FACTORS AND HYDROLOGY <br /> <br />Weather of 1994-1995 <br /> <br />During the "winter" portion (November - March) of the winter of 1994-95, Pacific and <br />Arctic storm tracks provided the Colorado mountains with generally mild weather. Typical <br />winter storms from the Pacific area moved infrequently across the southern and central Colorado <br />mountains, causing a less than average snowpack to accumulate. Meanwhile, the central and <br />northern mountains and the eastern high plains received little snow accumulation from Arctic <br />storms from Canada and Alaska. <br /> <br />Then in April, particularly beginning in the middle of the month, it began snowing <br />frequently in the mountains and along the Front Range. A series of persistent storms (snow <br />and/or rain) began to occur with regularity. These storms depo~;ited healthy accumulations of <br />snow (and/or rain) every 4-5 days somewhere across the state. The storms lasted almost through <br />the second week of June. As the snowpack rose, the moisture c<'ntent of the snow rose fastel, <br />since spring snowstorms are characteristically "wetter" than winter storms. <br /> <br />The V.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) monitors snowpack in <br />Colorado's mountain watershed through a network that includes automated sites and sites that <br />require manual recording. At the beginning of each winter month the manual sites are visited <br />and statewide and basinwide snowpack figures are computed. On April 1, 1995 the statewide and <br />basinwide figures (the percent of the 20-year average) were low to slightly above normal, as <br />shown below. <br /> <br />Table 1 <br /> <br />Location <br /> <br />Percent of Average <br />April I May 1 June I June 15 <br /> <br />South Platte River Basin 77 122 374 657 <br />Arkansas River Basin 112 183 338 628 <br />Rio Grande Basin 126 167 257 367 <br />Upper Colorado River Basin 106 132 304 413 <br />Gunnison River Basin 125 161 481 991 <br />Southwestern Colorado 125 159 334 405 <br />