Sticking with Moderately Dry today. May go back to Severely Dry if we don't get appreciable precipitation in the next couple of weeks. Dry and very warm lately. Many of the native grasses are getting green and buds are swelling on my native shrubs. The native Townsendia hookeri (Hooker's Townsend daisy/Easter daisy) have started profusely flowering in the past couple of days and we have some Anemone patens (pasqueflower) starting to send up blooms. Aspen trees in my yard are getting catkins. Saw my first Western bluebird this week and the chipmunks have come out just today. Have not seen WY ground squirrels yet, but expecting them any day. Birds are using the birdbath daily. Up until the last couple of days the Deer have been browsing on ponderosa needles but have now been grazing on the newly greened grasses. Precipitation situation has not improved since last week. I am sitting at 77% MTD, 67% YTD, and 59% WYTD of PRISM Normals. River gauges are showing well above average flows for this date. At least 2 times normal for 2 of 3 gauges I am monitoring. I believe this is a function of the very warm temperatures (75F yesterday) we have been experiencing and not any recent precipitation. Looking at snow on the high peaks they are definitely NOT as snow-covered as normal, and there is no snowpack anywhere in my neigborhood and very little up on Giant Track mountain. We went for a hike yesterday through Lumpy Ridge. Disheartening to see so little snow and ice on the ground; a patch here and there in very protected locations. I have not ventured higher in elevation so not sure what the snow situation is up higher, but the avalanche danger is moderate in all there elevation zones. Snowpack SWE per NWCC iMAP in my area shows 58% for my 6-Digit HUC and 68% for my 8-Digit HUC of 30-year Median. The Estes Valley Fire Protection District has just increased fire restrictions to ban outdoor open-burning - Wood burning recreational fires NOT in a permanent enclosure or portable device designed to
contain fire, pile burning and other prescribed fire. The National Park remains under Stage 2 restrictions.