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Sept. 7, 1999 By Jim Mimiaga "Wet enough for ya?" That’s the mantra heard around town lately as above-average rainfall continues to soak the region, bringing with it classic "Colorful Colorado" sunsets, brilliant rainbows, and some spectacular lightning shows. Nearly two inches of rain fell in August, and that’s a half-inch above normal for the month. The figure puts the year-to-date rainfall above normal as well, reports local meteorologist Jim Andrus. "We’re at 105 percent for the year," he said. "The cold reservoir of water off of the Pacific Coast (known as La Nina) is making for continued weird weather around the Southwest." So far in 1999, 8.74 inches of rain have fallen into the rain gauge at the Department of Agriculture offices in Cortez. The first two weeks in August saw 1.41 inches; a half-inch deluged the town on August 11 alone. Normal precipitation for the region’s high-southwestern desert is 13 inches per year. The weekend reprieve brought sunny skies, although converging tropical depressions – one off of he Pacific, and one heading east from the Gulf of Mexico – might feed more rain into the area this week, prognosticators say. "It’s something that is worth watching, and could resume the monsoon season here," Andrus said. The saturated ground has contributed to "wet, slick, and muddy roads and trails in the San Juan National Forest," report land managers. The fire danger is considered low. All rivers in the San Juan Basin are flowing much higher than normal for this time of year, according to statistics compiled by the United States Geological Survey for all Colorado rivers. "In the last 20 years I have seen these rivers peak this high, but never stay as consistently high as they have this year," said Andy Corra, owner of Four Corners River Sports. As of September 6 the Dolores River was flowing at 602 cubic feet per second in town. On Sept. 3 it peaked there at 1,025 cfs. The Mancos River, measured at Towaoc, was recorded at 66 cfs for Monday, and 215 cfs for Aug. 31. McElmo Creek above Trail Canyon was recorded at 127 cfs Sept. 6, and 215 cfs four days earlier. The Animas River at Durango was measured at 1,740 cfs on Labor Day; it hit 3,000 cfs last Friday. |
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