Colorado Basin River Forecast

The mission of the National Weather Service Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC) is to produce river, flood, and water supply forecasts for the Colorado Basin and the Great Basin in support of saving lives and property and to enhance the region’s environment and economy. The Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC) geographic forecast area includes the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB), Lower Colorado River Basin (LCRB), and Eastern Great Basin (GB). You can access their website HERE.

In this article, I am providing a summary of their Water Supply Forecast Discussion released on March 19, 2024.  The situation has improved but there is a lot of variability. It is not the usual north (dry) to south (wet) pattern that one expects with El Nino but more of a north (dry) center (wet) south (dry) pattern related to the storm track where it is wetter than north or south of the storm track.  It shows up in terms of the Upper versus Lower Colorado Basin. Due to a wet winter last year, the reservoirs are mostly in good shape.

 

I have also included information on the current BOR reservoir storage levels including some that are outside of the Colorado River Basin. I also provide information on New Mexico which is partly in the Colorado Basin and mostly outside of the Colorado Basin.

The image below shows part of the area covered in the CBRFC Report.  The map shown here is only the Colorado Basin. The Eastern Great Basin is to the west of this map. The maps shown in the article cover both basins but are not as scenic as this map.

Map showing both the Colorado Basin and Eastern Great Basin.

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