The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“March was like May, and May was like March”
By Alissa Johnson
May has been wet, cold, snowy, and rainy, prompting many locals to sigh, smile in a melancholy sort of way, and say, “It’s okay, I know we need it.” And while the grey days might take their toll, the good news is that all this precipitation is paying off. Local water supplies are on the rise.
“The forecasts have improved dramatically in the last few weeks due to this rainfall,” said Frank Kugel, general manager for the Upper Gunnison River Watershed Conservancy District. He explained that the exceptionally wet May has had a positive impact on snowpack, aquifers and local reservoirs.
“It’s slowing down snowmelt runoff, and at the same time adding to the snowpack and adding to the aquifers with all the rainfall we’ve gotten at lower and mid elevations in the valley. It’s a tremendous benefit to our water supply,” Kugel said.
Current projections show Taylor Reservoir will fill, and there will be increased releases to prevent it from spilling. In an update from the Bureau of Reclamation, hydrologist Erik Knight noted, “The latest plan shows the reservoir filling to a content of 104,000 acre-feet, one foot from the spillway crest. Releases have been increased in the schedule to handle the additional forecasted runoff, with releases projected to max out at 400 cfs (cubic feet per second) in June.”
His report also indicated that the plan could change with the weather. “With all the rain that has occurred and may still be coming, changes in the June runoff forecast may require further adjustments to the current release schedule,” he wrote.
According to Kugel, inflows into Blue Mesa Reservoir are also on the rise. A May 1 forecast put inflows for the April-through-July runoff period at 65 percent of normal. By May 26, it had increased to 520,000 acre-feet of unregulated inflow, which is 77 percent of normal.
This kind of increase in water supply over such a short period is not common. “We are having an exceptionally wet May,” Kugel said, noting that perhaps the old adage should be updated: May showers bring June flowers.
To put the amount of precipitation into perspective, weather observer billy barr says that for the past 41 years, the average snowfall for May is 30.1 inches in Gothic. By May 27, there had been 63 inches. “Average water from snow in May is 1.91 inches,” he said, “and so far there has been 5.03 inches of water from this month’s snow, with four and a half days to go.”
There have also been .8 inches of rain. And Zach Guy, forecaster for the Crested Butte Avalanche Center, says that all this precipitation has had a noticeable impact on the snowpack. “Above 11,000 feet or 11,500 feet the snowpack is growing,” he said.
“For this time of year, it’s unusual to have nice, fresh snow, but we’re also seeing some avalanche activity with it, and it’s not quite the typical stable, spring skiing everyone looks forward to. The good skiing is above tree line, and when it’s snowing there’s no visibility.”
Yet even as all the rain and snow takes its toll on spring skiing and mountain bike riding, after such a dry winter, the exceptionally wet May is welcome. As Kugel said, “We’re delighted. March was like May, and May was like March.”
