The 2014 Water Year for Western Colorado and Eastern Utah: Impacts and Mitigation

The snow season of 2014 started off with a very active storm track which produced an anomalously heavy snowpack across most of the region into the early winter months. This precipitation also augmented high precipitation totals which occurred over Intermountain west during the late summer months. Snowpack in early April remained well above average, with only the southern quarter of the region showing below normal snowpack. This study will investigate the potential and eventual outcome for spring flooding and meteorological factors that impacted the spring runoff and impacted the recent drought across the region. Additionally, any actions of the National Weather Service in Grand Junction, local governments, and emergency managers to mitigate the flood damage will be examined.