A cocktail of increased temperatures on top of big snowpack may swell area rivers over the weekend.
The Colorado Basin River Forecast Center recently put out a forecast expecting peaks on all of the high-elevation watersheds in their area this weekend. The center based its forecast on current cool temperatures, which have prevented snowmelt, along with predicted upcoming high temperatures that would kickstart more runoff.
If you had a bird's eye view, the CBRFC's forecast would have you seeing simultaneous peaks in several Upper Colorado basin rivers: the Fraser, Williams Fork, Upper Colorado into Granby, and Blue into Dillion.
The Colorado River at the Cameo gage (between De Beque and Palisade) may have its second peak, possibly higher than the one we saw June 7.
The center is most concerned about Northern Utah, Northwestern Colorado and Southwestern Wyoming. A few streams in Utah and Wyoming, for example, are expected to hit record flows. The forecast also stated that flooding is occurring and will likely continue to occur along rivers where there's still high-elevation snow.
The CBRFC does not forecast Northern Water's East Slope tributaries, but we expect the climate to have similar effects on our snowpack.
2011 RUNOFF UPDATE
