June 16, 2023 |
Photo – Flood Warning Map for June 16, 2023 – Courtesy National Weather Service
Carbon County will be green in July. The National Weather Service says 2023 has been wetter than average. For some, that has put a damper on an early start to summer fun.
It seems like it has been raining a lot. While the rain is always welcome in arid Wyoming, some are beginning to question how much precipitation our area has received. National Weather Service Lead Forecaster Gerry Claycomb said this year, Rawlins has gotten nearly twice the average amount of precipitation.
For those keeping count, since January 1st, Rawlins has received 3.95 more inches of precipitation than normal. Claycomb said in just June, Rawlins has exceeded the average rainfall by slightly more than a quarter of an inch.
Claycomb said the National Weather Service relies on volunteer observers in every town to report the rainfall totals for each month. Because of that, Claycomb said he doesn’t have up-to-date precipitation data for Saratoga. The lead forecaster said Encampment and Sinclair have both received around an inch of rain in the past two weeks.
According to US Climate Data, Encampment usually receives 1.14 inches of rain in June. Rawlins, shows an average June rainfall of 1.03 inches. According to Claycomb, both towns already have received their average amount of rain for June in the first two weeks so far this month.
Claycomb said he has worked for the National Weather Service for 13 years. He said the only time he has seen this much rain was in 2013, when Fort Collins flooded with 5.3 inches of rain in a single week. The resulting flood covered over 4,500 square miles across the Front Range and resulted in nine deaths. Claycomb said Carbon County’s rainfall totals are comparable to the 2013 numbers.
Claycomb said more rain is in the forecast. He said we are expected to get another ¼ inch today. Yesterday, the National Weather Service in Cheyenne issued a warning for the Mullen burn scar, saying the risk of a flash flood was moderate.
For Carbon County, the risk of flooding from heavy snowfall his winter has passed, but rainfall is keeping riverbanks running high.
