A late season snowstorm that hammered Colorado Springs trees and power lines could help the area recover a bit from drought and ensure more water flows into creeks, rivers and reservoirs in the Arkansas River basin ahead of a dry summer season.
Colorado Springs received 1.36 inches of precipitation over the last five days, bringing the total for the month up to 1.63 inches, well above the .01 inches the area received in April, the National Weather Service reported.
"It will definitely have an influence on the drought," said Paul Wolyn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. But it does not signal a departure from the overall hot and dry trends.
The 30-day and 90-day outlooks both predict above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation, he said. Summer in Colorado Springs is historically fairly wet, with averages of 2.27 inches of rain June and 3.12 inches in July, Wolyn said.
The city paid for the break in the drought with more downed tree branches than it saw during the dramatic December windstorm, said Dennis Will, city forester. While the wind pushed over more trees completely, this storm likely took down more tree biomass total, he said. The brunt of the damage was done south of Constitution Avenue, west of Academy Boulevard, north of Airport Road and east of Old Colorado City, he said.
While the damage was widespread, the snowstorm damped severe fire danger that could have been much worse.
"We were so close to having a disastrous fire and I am just glad we had the snow," he said.
In terms of overall damage to the city's canopy, Will is more concerned about the drought, now in its third year, than recent storm destruction.
"The drought stress is the winner in terms of impact on our urban forest," he said. It would take a year or two of average precipitation for the soils and trees to recover.
The storm also brought some respite for the mountains with towns such as Buena Vista and Leadville receiving more than two feet of snow. In the Arkansas Basin, snowpack was 76% of average on Monday, up from 31% on May 16.
The storm was a small bump for the season as a whole, but still valuable, said Brian Domonkos, snow survey supervisor with the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
"These little bumps make big differences," he said.
The additional moisture in the soil and cooler weather will also help more water make it into streams, rivers and reservoirs instead of being soaked up. Colorado Springs Utilities and water from the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project that flows into Lake Pueblo rely heavily on water making it into those rivers so that it can be brought in for residents on the eastern side of the state.
"Cool, wet weather always drives imports higher," said Garrett Markus, water resource engineer with the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District. The district is the largest importer of water in one project in Southeast Colorado.
The district is expecting about 80% of its regular water supply to arrive, said Chris Woodka, senior policy and issues manager.
Utilities is preparing for about 90% of the water it would normally expect to reach reservoirs, The Gazette reported previously.
For those still cleaning up storm damage, residents can report downed city trees to coloradosprings.gov/page/citizen-request-gocosprings-app or 719-385-7623. City trees are those between the sidewalk and the street. The city does not help remove privately owned tree debris.
The city is currently working through hundreds of requests for help with down tree debris, Will said.
Later this year, the city forestry department will transition out of the parks department and into Public Works so that it can receive additional financial support. Those resources should help storm cleanups in the future move faster, said Travis Easton, director of Public Works.
Related Links
Colorado Springs ranks as the nation's No. 2 city in annual Best Places to Live report
What's next for these empty retail buildings in Colorado Springs?
Colorado Springs home prices soar to a new round of record highs in April
If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.
