Why is Colorado seeing so much rain this spring? (Fort Collins: to live in, car)

[Colorado Rambler]

From the Fort Collins Coloradoan:

Dave Barjenburch, National Weather Service meteorologist in Boulder, said our moisture streak is much more related to where high- and low-pressure ridges are located than to the transition from a La Nina pattern to El Nino.

Typically, he said, Colorado weather this time of year is dominated by a high-pressure ridge in the Southwest, which produces warmer and drier conditions for Colorado. This spring, that high-pressure ridge has moved north into the upper Midwest, which has blocked or slowed our storm track over Colorado while creating above-average temperatures and below-average moisture in Canada, resulting in devastating wildfires.

It feels like we have gone from spring to summer monsoon season and forget about "normal" June weather in Colorado. I had planned to go out and put the annuals I just bought into their planters that I put out every summer - usually by late May. However all this rain and cooler weather makes it feel like the beginning of May here rather than the beginning of June, and this afternoon a thunderstorm arrived and then turned from thunder to steady rain. No more putting flowers out today and I'm loving it!

I'm sorry for the folks up north but I'm glad that the onset of fire season here in Colorado will be delayed this year. If we're lucky, the monsoon will arrive soon and we could have a summer with fewer wildfires all around our state. Fingers crossed...

[Mike from back east]

Annuals are out.
Mud Pies are in.

[LHS79]

Just a normal weather pattern- at least the WIND was not nearly as bad as last year.

The rain will be missed later in the summer when the heat sets in.

[BarryK123]

Variance

[Indigo Cardinal]

I had my sprinkler system turned on Mother's Day weekend, as usual. Aside from running it that first day to check for any issues, I haven't needed to turn it on since.

[Miss Hepburn]

On the News they talked about TICKS...here? Great...Mosquitos and fleas, oh boy.
But still ...I'm not complaining!! Not with the temps in the 100s this week in San Antonio, where I used to live in
SUCH heat!

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by LHS79

Just a normal weather pattern- at least the WIND was not nearly as bad as last year.

The rain will be missed later in the summer when the heat sets in.

This isn't a normal weather pattern for June.

[LHS79]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

This isn't a normal weather pattern for June.

OK- in your expert opinion what is the "normal" pattern?

Growing up here every summer was wet in the afternoons- usually every month it would rain later in the day which was great. Cooling the temps in the afternoon is never a bad thing. Hard to keep your car clean though (!)

[Phil P]

The other thing is that since it's been so wet further west, that raises the humidity and makes it more likely to rain as the winds blow things east. It's rained pretty much every other day here in Taos as well, and you can just watch the clouds start to form as things evaporate in the morning.

[otowi]

Originally Posted by LHS79

OK- in your expert opinion what is the "normal" pattern?

Growing up here every summer was wet in the afternoons- usually every month it would rain later in the day which was great. Cooling the temps in the afternoon is never a bad thing. Hard to keep your car clean though (!)

This pattern is abnormal according to past data. The rain has been earlier in the season and much greater than typical. We are several inches over average for precipitation. It is far too early for the monsoon pattern you remember from your childhood and this isn't monsoonal precipitation. We're in an anomalous pattern currently where the moisture that would more often be up in Canada/PNW has been here instead - hence the drought and wildfires going on there.

We are also looking to be transitioning to a likely El Nino pattern from several years of La Nina which means things will probably stay on the wetter side this year, which is good for ending our drought.