from the SDN-
Snowpack
The late-season snows and cool temperatures helped maintain a surplus snowpack in the local mountains. According to the statewide snowpack was at 111 percent of average as of June. The Colorado River Basin was at 146 percent of normal on the same date.
The highest local reading is from the Snowtel site at Copper, with snowpack sitting at 223 percent above average, according to Blue River Basin water commissioner Scott Hummer. The deep snow at the site holds 6.7 inches of water, compared to average three inches for early June.
The Hoosier Pass snowpack is at 195 percent of normal, with 7.8 inches of water (average, 4.0 inches).
The four Snowtel sites above Dillon Reservoir average a snowpack of 140 percent above average.
“It hasn't warmed enough to move anything up high,” Hummer said, anticipating that peak spring runoff is still ahead.
Stream flows
All local streams are flowing above historic levels, Hummer said.
The Blue River below its confluence with the Swan was running at 545 cubic feet per second early in the week, compared to historic mean flow of 306 cfs.
Tenmile Creek reached a daily peak flow of about 1,000 cfs on June 4, just after midnight, according to Hummer.
The timing of daily peak flows on local streams depends on daily weather cycles. Tenmile peaks in the middle of the night because it takes several hours for the snow to melt, collect and run down of the mountains. Essentially, the snow that melts during the warm afternoon surges through town about six hours later.
By contrast, peak daily flows in the Colorado River at Dotsero occur each day aroun 12 p.m., Hummer said.
Breckenridge stats
In Breckenridge, weather observer Rick Bly measured 21.7 inches of May snow, double the historic average based on records going back more than a century.
For the year to date, Bly tallied 167.7 inches, still the seventh-snowiest on record. Snowfall for the winter of 2008-2009 reached average way back at the end of March, Bly said.
June is the second-driest month after October. Bly said average precipitation for the month is 1.37 inches, but there have been at least 30 times when June has been without even a trace of measurable precipitation, Bly said.
And snow is not out of the question. As much as 16 inches of the white stuff has fallen during that month in Breckenridge.
