Warning Issued for One State as Temperatures Rise

National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists are advising residents in Colorado that flooding is possible in parts of the state this week given early snowmelt.

The "biggest snowstorm of the season" hit central Colorado earlier this month and smothered many regions of the state in over 1 foot of snow. Snowfall exceeded 3 feet in some places. Prior to the heavy fall this week, Denver's strongest snow-related storm produced 5.5 inches of snow in early February.

The storm contributed to the state's snowpack levels, which were already more than 100 percent of average. In the spring, snowmelt contributes to the state's water resources such as the Colorado River, but if snow melts too quickly, it can lead to flooding.

In a hydrologic outlook, NWS meteorologists said that early snowmelt could cause flooding in Teller County and western El Paso County for elevations between 7,500 and 11,000 feet.

"The potential for increased runoff and inundation of low-lying areas, due to accelerated snowmelt potential, is higher than normal in Teller County and western El Paso County," NWS Pueblo added in the specialized weather message. Newsweek reached out to the NWS office in Pueblo by phone for comment.

Warmer-than-average temperatures contributed to the accelerated snowmelt, as did a late weekend storm that hit on Sunday and lasted through Monday. A post on X, formerly Twitter, by NWS Pueblo said that Wednesday temperatures were expected to peak in the mid-50 degrees Fahrenheit.

"This system has the potential to produce rainfall over this melting snowpack before transitioning to snow during the evening and overnight hours," the NWS weather alert said.

Colder overnight low temperatures and cloudy conditions slowed snowmelt rates during the storm, but the additional precipitation is expected to increase snowmelt runoff potential during the day as temperatures warm midweek.

Spring snowmelt typically begins in April, but can begin earlier if weather allows for it. Despite the recent snowmelt occurring in central Colorado, there's still time for the region to increase its snowpack before spring takes hold of the region.

"We still have some time to continue to increase the snowpack," Aldris Strautins, NWS senior service hydrologist, previously told Newsweek. "We can get storms that help with the water and snowpack all the way into May in the mountains, so there's still some potential."

An abnormally wet winter in 2023 led to Colorado snowpack that was 142 percent of average in March of last year after years of drought. Prior to the above-normal snowpack in 2023, the Upper Colorado River Basin had below-normal snowpack in 2022 and 2021, contributing to the region's water struggles. Although snowpack is above normal this year, it's not comparable to 2023 levels.