Water Supply Outlook from NWS, Pueblo

As of June 1, the 2013 snowpack was almost gone over the Upper Rio Grande Basin.  For the Arkansas Basin, a decent amount of snow remained over the headwaters portion of the basin, but the snowpack was nearly gone over the remainder.    In the Arkansas basin, the snowpack was at 86% of median overall, up from 82% of median a month ago, and up from almost now snow a year ago at this time.  Almost all of the snow in the Arkansas Basin was confined to points north of Monarch Pass. 

Water year precipitation is running below average across both the basins.  As of June 1, the Upper Rio Grande Basin reported 66% of average precipitation, down slightly from 67% of average a month ago and below 87% of average a year ago at this time.  The Arkansas Basin reported 73% of average precipitation, down from 70% of average a month ago and less than 77% of average a year ago at this time. 

Overall reservoir storage is running well below average across southern Colorado.  Storage in the Upper Rio Grande Basin at the end of May was at 40% of average overall, down from 54% of average a month ago and below 70% of average a year ago at this time.  In the Arkansas Basin, storage was at 50% of average overall, down slightly from 52% of average a month ago and well below 94% of average a year ago at this time.  For the Arkansas Basin, streamflow volumes for the runoff season are outlooked to be well below average.  Following are the latest available streamflow forecasts for selected locations in the Arkansas Basin, assuming normal precipitation during the remainder of the runoff season:

LOCATION                                               % OF AVERAGE               RUNOFF PERIOD

ARKANSAS RIVER
GRANITE                                                            71                                 APR-SEP
SALIDA                                                                66                                APR-SEP
CANON CITY                                                      59                                APR-SEP
ABOVE PUEBLO                                                53                                APR-SEP

CHALK CREEK
NEAR NATHROP                                              58                                 APR-SEP

GRAPE CREEK
NEAR WESTCLIFFE                                         28                                 APR-SEP

HUERFANO RIVER
NEAR REDWING                                               55                                  APR-SEP

CUCHARAS RIVER
NEAR LA VETA                                                  28                                  APR-SEP

PURGATOIRE RIVER
TRINIDAD                                                           26                                   APR-SEP

These forecasts reflect natural flow only.  Actual observed flow will likely be affected by upstream water management.  This outlook is based on recent observations of snowpack and assumes normal precipitation for the remainder of the runoff season. 

Users of this information are encouraged to contact the National Weather Service in Pueblo for continued updates on the water supply situation.  Meteorological conditions could develop that would have a significant impact on water supply forecasts. 

For additional hydrologic products available on the World Wide Web, visit the Pueblo National Weather service at weather.gov/pub.