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Condition Monitoring Report  
Station Number: CO-LR-1272
Station Name: Estes Park 1.7 SW
Report Date: 5/17/2026
Submitted: 5/17/2026 11:50 AM
Scale Bar: Severely Dry
Description:
Sticking with Severely Dry in spite of the moisture we have received in the past couple of weeks. We have been without meaningful precipitation for so long, and the snowpack SWE is so below Median that it will take a while to catch up. Snow pack SWE is being reported as 7% of Median for my 6-Digit HUC and 3% of Median for my 8-Digit HUC. River flows in 2 of three gauges I am watching are nearly average, but there isn't much in the tank for the longer term. The yard looks much greener this week but I don't know if it is a direct result of the recent moisture or if it is the light. Many of the shrubs do appear to be leafing out and the current bushes at least are getting their blooms. Deer and elk have been through the neighborhood regularly browsing and grazing. Lots of birds frequenting the bird bath and the hummers are hitting their feeder pretty heavily as well. The snow that was on the higher peaks is visibly less than after the last storm but we are supposed to get more precip over the next couple of days so hoping to see improvement there. Fire restrictions for the county now extend to above 9000' in addition to all lower elevations. I think that is new since last week but I may have missed that it was already in place then. The National Park remains in their permanent Stage 1 restrictions. Estes Valley Fire Protection District remains in Stage 2 restrictions. My location is sitting at 147% of PRISM Normal MTD, 63% of PRISM Normal YTD, and 60% of PRISM Normal WYTD.
Categories: General Awareness
Fire
Plants & Wildlife
Tourism & Recreation
Water Supply & Quality
Photos
Hail Obs Photo
Hail Obs Photo
Hail Obs Photo
Hail Obs Photo
Hail Obs Photo