Snowpack disappearing fast under record heat

[CShine]

As record-setting heat settled over Colorado this week, the sparse snowpack remaining in the mountains has dwindled to an alarming 12 percent of the 30-year average. Denver had a second day of record-breaking temperatures with a high Monday of 98, which broke the record of 97 set in 1884. A day earlier, Grand Junction, Pueblo and Montrose set or tied records. After a dry March, April brought several storms that helped with the state’s snowpack, but May was dry again.

“Our snowpack has essentially melted out,” said Mike Gillespie, snow survey supervisor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

<snip>

“From this point forward, evaporation rates normally exceed precipitation, so that every rain we get that may soak into the ground gets quickly taken up by the vegetation,” said Nolan Doesken, assistant state climatologist for research. “You don’t get much runoff for stream flow.”

Streams in parts of the state are running at 45 to 50 percent of average, Gillespie said. That figure varied from 60 percent to 100 percent last year.

Compared with 2002, when stream flow was at 25 percent, “50 percent sounds pretty good,” Doesken said. “But in normal circumstances, at 50 percent, we’d be horrified.”

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~23447~2199932,00.html

[struggle4progress]

1. Kyoto, Mr. President, Kyoto!

[phantom power]

2. it's a race between oil and water...

which shortage will collapse our economy first? We should start a pool...

[jus_the_facts]

3. sure seems like the jet stream is dyin' already.....

....I've noticed the patterns of clouds and formation of storms as quite anomolous lately too....our desire to be lazy and comfortable has destined us for misery we can't even begin to comprehend! :evilfrown: