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Alamosa (station #50130) Highlight Archive

March 2013
Temperatures were warmer than normal by day and cooler than normal by night for Alamosa during the month of March. The average high was 52.6° compared to the normal of 50.1°. The average low for the month was 14.9° compared to the normal value of 16.9°. Extremes ranged from a high of 70° on the 15th to a low of -4° on the 24th. It was a fairly dry month in this part of the San Luis Valley with 0.34 inches of precipitation recorded. The normal value is 0.53 inches. There was 3.4 inches of snow during the month with a maximum snow depth of 3 inches on the 10th.
February 2013
The month brought a continuation of below normal temperatures and precipitation to the San Luis Valley. The average high at Alamosa was 38.1° compared to the normal high of 39.9°. The average low was 3.7° compared to the normal low of 5.7°. Temperature extremes ranged from a high of 48° on the 5th and 17th to a low of -7° on the 21st. Precipitation for the month was 0.15 inches compared to the normal value of 0.26 inches. There was 2.4 inches of snow recorded for the month with a maximum snow depth of 1 inch measured on the 1st-5th and the 21st-24th.
January 2013
January 2013 was a dry and very cold month in the San Luis Valley with temperatures running well below normal. The average high for the month at Alamosa was 24.7°. The normal high is 34.3°. While January nights are known for being chilly in this part of the state, 2013 was exceptionally cold. Overnight lows averaged -15.6°, well below the normal value of -1.7°. Temperature extremes ranged from a high of 46° on the 27th to a low of -34°on the 4th and 13th. Alamosa had 8 days in January with a morning low of -30° or colder. Precipitation was below normal for the month with only 0.07 inches measured. Total snowfall for the month was 1 inch. A typical January brings about 0.26 inches of moisture to Alamosa. A snowpack of at least 1 inch was measured for the entire month.
December 2012
It was a chilly and wet month in the San Luis Valley, with temperatures running well below normal, especially at night. The average high for December 2012 was 31.7° and the average low was -8.4°. The normal high is 35.2° and the normal low is 0.5°. Extremes ranged from a high of 57° on the 2nd to a low of -27° on the 21st. The Alamosa weather station recorded 0.81 inches of precipitation for the month. Normal precipitation is 0.35 inches. There was 12.1 inches of snow during the month, with a maximum snow depth of 4 inches on the 15th.
December 2011
September 2011
April 2011
With record snowpack elsewhere in the state, precip for the San Luis Valley region remains just under the long-term average, with the Upper Rio Grande Valley at 73% of average. At a Water Sub-district #1 board meeting in Alamosa, water attorney David Robbins noted that the peaks of the nearby Sangre de Cristo ranges have snowfall cover more similar to May than April. The Rio Grande is predicted to provide 505,000 acre-feet of flow for the year through the Colorado town of Del Norte, which is 78% of average. Even this reduced amount will rely on some summer precipitation - drought conditions could reduce the flow further.

Read more online at: Coyote Gulch

March 2011
January 2011

For more information, see the Climate Updates from the Colorado Climate Center.

Cloud photo courtesy of Carlye Calvin.