Summer 2016 Climate Review and Fall Preview

The Summer of 2016 (June, July and August) started out very warm and mainly dry across south central and southeast Colorado, as the weather throughout much of the month of June was dominated by a large ridge of high pressure. This allowed for very warm and generally dry conditions to persist across the state through the month, save for a few minor disturbances moving across the area through the middle and end of the month, owning for scattered showers and storms to roll off the higher terrain and out across the eastern plains. For the month as a whole, above to well above normal temperatures and generally below normal precipitation was experienced across south central and southeast Colorado for the month of June, save for spotty areas of above to well above normal precipitation, especially across the eastern plains, due to slow moving thunderstorms. With that said, June of 2016 was the 2nd warmest June on record in Alamosa and the 3rd warmest June on record in Colorado Springs and Pueblo. Colorado Springs also tied its all-time record high temperature of 101F on June 21st.

Weather across south central and southeast Colorado was warm and relatively wet through the first week of July of 2016, as monsoonal moisture made a brief visit across the region with upper level high pressure parked just south and east of the state. The upper high slowly moved west of the state through the middle of the month, leading to warm and relatively dry conditions across the area persisting through the end of July, save for a few minor disturbances moving across the region, owning for scattered showers and storms to roll off the higher terrain and out across the eastern plains. For the month as a whole, above to well above normal temperatures and generally below normal precipitation was experienced across south central and southeast Colorado for the month of July, save for spotty areas of above normal precipitation, especially across the eastern plains, due to slow moving thunderstorms. With that said, July of 2016 was the second warmest July on record in Pueblo, and the 6th and 7th warmest July’s on record in Alamosa and Colorado Springs, respectively. In addition, on July 28th, a strong and slow moving thunderstorm produced hail to the size of baseballs and created widespread damage to cars and homes across southeastern portions of Colorado Springs. A later insurance industry report indicated the Colorado Springs July 28th, 2016 storm was the 6th most damaging event in Colorado state history, with over 350 million dollars in damage claims.

August of 2016 was a relatively cool and wet month, especially for areas over and near the higher terrain, with monsoonal moisture in place much of the month helping to develop afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms across the area most days. In addition, a few weather systems moved across the Rockies throughout the month, with upslope flow behind their associated fronts helping to taper temperatures across the eastern plains.  For the month  as a whole, at or below normal temperatures and generally at or above normal precipitation was experienced across south central and southeast Colorado for the month of August, save for areas of below normal precipitation across the eastern plains.

For the summer season as a whole, south central and southeast Colorado saw generally above normal temperatures and near to above normal precipitation, save for portions of the I-25 Corridor, which saw below to well below normal precipitation. The following graphics depict preliminary departures from normal for both temperature and precipitation for the summer of 2016 across the state.

The preliminary average temperature for the summer of 2016 in Pueblo was 77.1 degrees. This is 4.0 degrees above normal and makes the summer of 2016 the 4th warmest on record in Pueblo, just behind the 77.7 degrees, the 77.4 degrees and the 77.2 degrees recorded through the Summers of 1970, 2012 and 2011, respectively.  Pueblo recorded 3.15 inches of precipitation throughout the Summer, which is 2.59 inches below normal.

The preliminary average temperature for the summer of 2016 in Colorado Springs was 71.2 degrees. This is 2.9 degrees above normal and makes the summer of 2016 the 6th warmest on record in Colorado Springs. This, however, remains well below the average temperature of 73.3 degrees recorded in the Summer of 2012. Colorado Springs recorded 6.51 inches of precipitation throughout the summer, which is 2.17 inches below normal.