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Denver
poised for more record heat Saturday as record wildfire surpasses
100-square-mile mark
Denver's
record-breaking heat Friday sets the stage for a potentially hotter
day today, warns the National Weather Service
26
April, 2012
The
city beat the record of 98 degrees just after 1 p.m., then climbed to
102 degrees before 4 p.m. Friday, eclipsing the high mark for June 22
set in 1874.
Today's
high in Denver is forecast to be 102 degrees, which would tie the
record for the date set in 1954.
The
searing heat should continue into Sunday, with a forecast high of 98
degrees, and remain in the mid-90s through the next workweek,
forecasters say.
With
the high heat, single-digit humidities and gusty winds across much of
the state, a critical "red flag" fire danger warning
started Friday at noon, which lasts until 8 p.m. today. Officials
characterize the risk for wildfires as "extremely high."
The
official city monitor site at Denver International Airport hit 100
degrees and set a record Monday, as well. The normal daily highs for
this time of year are in the mid-80s, but so far this month daily
temperatures have averaged nearly 6 degrees warmer than the 30-year
average.
Although
the heat seems unusual, it's somewhat normal, but framed by months of
extremely hot and extremely dry months, it seems worse, said National
Weather Service meteorologist Frank Cooper.
The
Rockies tend to heat up and dry out before the summer monsoon season
from mid-July to mid-August.And some of it has just been tough
meteorological luck, he said.
"We've
just been on the wrong side of these storm tracks," Cooper said.
Nearly
all of Colorado is in a drought, after a weak snowpack in the
mountains followed by an abnormally warm and dry spring.
Colorado
weather forecast: Record heat, critical fire danger concerns Friday
23
June, 2012
KUSA
- As of 4 p.m. Monday, DIA reported a high of 102 degrees; a record
for the date. The old record was 98 degrees set in 1874. The average
high Friday was 85 degrees.
High
pressure settled over the region has pushed the storm track north of
the area. This means several days of mostly sunny skies, gusty winds
and low relative humidity values. Because of this, RED FLAG WARNINGS
for high fire danger have been issued for this weekend.
Fire
danger will remain high, at least over northwest Colorado, through
Saturday. A RED FLAG WARNING will continue for areas near Steamboat
Springs, Craig, Meeker and the western slope until 8 p.m. Saturday.
Temperatures
along the Front Range will not be dropping anytime soon either. The
record high for Saturday is 102 degrees set in 1954, but there is a
big chance we could tie that temperature or break it by 3 pm. The
triple digit temperatures will continue through Sunday and then
remain hot for the rest of the week in the 90s with the next chance
for storms until Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in Minnesota...
Duluth
‘mega flood’ sets new records
24
June, 2012
10.10"
– Highest observed rainfall total
(Reported
by an NWS employee 4 mi NE of Duluth)
7.24"
– Preliminary storm total at Duluth NWS office
(Likely
the all time greatest 24 hour rainfall total on record for Duluth)
5.79"
– Previous all time 24 hour rainfall record in Duluth (August 22 &
23, 1978)
16.6
feet – New "flood of record" on the St. Louis River at
Scanlon
(Reached
early Thursday morning)
15.8
feet – Previous flood of record from 1950 (62 years ago)
Counting
Catastrophes:
Let
the record counting begin.
Weather
forecasting is what you see out the windshield, current conditions
are what's in the sunroof, and climate is what's in the rearview
mirror.
Meteorologists
had our day Wednesday trying to keep up with frantically changing
conditions in and around Duluth and the North Shore. Today,
"climatologists" get to pick up the pieces and tell us what
it means.
All
time greatest 24 hour rainfall for Duluth? Looks like it.
Highest
flood ever on the St. Louis River and many other North Shore streams?
Likely.
What
just happened?
In
every disaster there's usually one photo that captures the essence of
the event. The photo of the scared looking seal swept away from the
Lake Superior Zoo by floodwaters does the trick for me on this one.
I'm tempted to call this "The Great Duluth Seal Flood of 2012."
Here's
a good preliminary account of the Duluth Mega Flood from the Duluth
NWS.
Three
day rainfall amounts of 8 to 10 inches were common across the
Minnesota Arrowhead and northwestern Wisconsin from June 17th through
June 19th. The heavy rain took its toll on the road infrastructure
and caused rivers and streams to flood.
A
cold front approached Minnesota from the High Plains on Sunday, June
17th and this front set off numerous thunderstorms through the
evening. Duluth NWS received nearly an inch of rain (0.71"). The
rains that fell on Sunday had inundated the soil, and created more
saturated conditions than normal, which primed the Duluth area for
runoff in the extreme rain event that we received. On Tuesday, June
19th another front slowly approached northeastern Minnesota. This
front continually formed thunderstorms that developed over east
central Minnesota and tracked northeast into the Duluth area, the
north shore of Lake Superior and into northwestern Wisconsin. The
official rainfall in Duluth on the 19th was 4.14 inches up until 1
am. The thunderstorms finally ended when a strong cold front moved
through Wednesday afternoon. The rainfall on the 20th was 3.10".
Total rainfall for the large rainfall event was 7.24".
Numerous
roads were washed out from the deluge of rain from Carlton County
through the Duluth metro area and into Douglas County and Bayfield
County in Wisconsin.
A
state of emergency was declared in Duluth, Hermantown and Superior,
WI.
The
Fond Du Lac neighborhood of Duluth and the Thomson Township in
Carlton County were evacuated due to the quickly rising St. Louis
River. […]
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