“Severe drought” conditions persist across Archuleta County.
Wednesday – 2 Sep 2026 – 7:15am
August summary…
The average high for August is 80 and the average low is 45. The record high of 97 occurred on 5 August 1940. The record low of 28 occurred on 30 August 1978. Precip in August averages 2.69″ and the average snowfall is zero. Wolf Creek Pass averages 4.32″ of precip and zero snow.
At Stevens Field the highest temp was 92 on 6 and 7 Aug and the lowest temp was 44 on 16 Aug. There were two new record highs set on 6 and 9 Aug.
There were 10 days with winds at or over 30mph. The highest wind was 40mph on 10 Aug.
How did we do?
Drought and river levels…
The US drought map on the right shows that much of the US is experiencing drought conditions.
September outlook…
The average high for September is 74 and the average low is 37. The record high of 98 occurred on 6 September 1955. The record low of 15 occurred on 27 September 1908. Precip in September averages 2.00″ and the average snowfall is a trace. Wolf Creek Pass averages 4.26″ of precip and 4″ snow.
The precip outlook on the right shows a 33-40% chance for above average precip.
August verification: The Euro expected 3.95″ and the GFS expected 3.85″. We got 0.99″ so both models over-forecast precip.
Arleen’s September outlook…
Welcome to meteorological fall! We’re also heading into the last month of monsoon season.
The earth starts to tilt away from the sun, so we see general cooling. With that the subtropical ridge that supports our monsoon flow weakens. However, the eastern Pacific waters are warm and open for business. We’ve already seen a few tropical storms and hurricanes in the eastern Pacific. With the long wave trough hanging out to the west, it is just a matter of time before some remnant tropical moisture gets picked up and swept northeast into our area.
The subtropical ridge is currently to our east and will remain strong till the mid-month point. The second week of September could be the best precipitation producing week of the monsoon season. However, the ridge will weaken after that and so will the rain produced.
We can expect to see tropical cyclone moisture at least once, during the final two weeks of the month and that will put us up to average moisture for the month.
The longwave trough to the west will temper our temperatures which will keep us near average for the month. It will be nice to have those hot days behind us.
Finally, with the long wave trough hanging out to the west, a cold front is likely to slip southeast at the end of the month bringing our first few snowflakes, especially up at Wolf Creek!
A HUGE thanks for your precip reports and pictures! Reports help verify our forecasts and make us better forecasters.
Another HUGE thanks to our donors and sponsors! You help cover the cost of this web page and our weather subscriptions, necessary to provide you accurate weather reports!
- Shawn
