And on the seventh day….

The sun came out.  Whew, I was beginning to think we were living in the Pacific Northwest.  After having a very dry March for what seems like the third or fourth year in a row, the storm doors have swung wide open in late April, and rain and snow have come in abundance.  We’ve had a string of gray, rainy (and snowy) days, with cooler temperatures.  Flood warnings were posted across the Front Range on Saturday.   I think for all of us who went through the September, 2013 flood, we start to get a little on edge when the rain continues to fall at a steady pace.  Thoughts of devastation start to creep into our mind, could it happen again?  Yet finally, yesterday, the sun came out and how glorious it was.  With our average of 300 days of sunshine here, we get spoiled here in Colorado , and it felt like forever since we had had  sunny day.

On the plus side, all the rain that fell in the valleys, fell as snow on the high peaks.  It’s the quintessential Rocky Mountain View right now, with a blanket of snow covering the Indian Peaks and the higher mountains of Rocky Mountain National Park.  It could be somewhat challenging opening Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park for its projected opening on Memorial Day weekend, especially given the weekend forecast of yet more snow for the higher elevations – time will tell.

We ended up getting around 6-7 inches of new snow at our house, putting us over 150 inches for the season.  Bryon, being the weather geek that he is, tracks our snowfall, rainfall, and all things weather throughout the year.  For the last four years, we are averaging around 150 inches of snow per season, although the way it falls any given year is quite different.  The recent trend seems to be be for late spring snow storms.  Since so much of the southwest is dependent on our snow pack, it’s good news not just for Colorado, but for everyone in those southwestern states.  Looking at snow pack levels today, the recent surge in moisture has pushed the snow pack in northeastern and southeastern Colorado to above average levels — good news!

Still hoping to get in that one last ski day at Arapahoe Basin.  More snow forecast for this weekend at the higher elevations, so may go next week.  In the meantime, headed down to the Colorado Springs area for some camping, and minor league baseball the next couple of days.

Posting some pictures of recent weather events for all to see:

Boulder Canyon above Boulder Falls