October has been a good month for precipitation in the Four Corners. However, more is needed - but preferably not in the heavy fashion that it came down east of Montezuma County.
Longtime local weather observer James Andrus says an inch and a half of rain fell in October in Cortez. Almost all of that from October 10 through 14.
That alone put October above the 30-year average for the month here.
In La Plata and Archuleta counties, the rains absolutely poured down during that period. According to the Colorado Climate center, over seven inches of rainfall fell in seven days north of Bayfield and northwest of Pagosa Springs.
The upper San Juan SNOTEL site recorded 10.2 inches of precipitation. In a blog, the Colorado Climate Center says, "There aren't any fall rainstorms that come anywhere close to rivaling it" since 1978, when the site was established.
The deluge led to flooding and destruction of some homes in
La Plata and Archuleta counties. However, it also improved drought conditions and boosted the levels in reservoirs such as Vallecito.
Meanwhile, more rain is expected this week, and officials with the San Juan National Forest warn that access to many flood-damaged roads, trails, and bridges in the Columbine and Pagosa ranger districts is still limited or closed.
Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.
