Laurine Lassalle

Data dashboard: Roaring Fork basin snowpack is down to 80% of normal

by Laurine Lassalle January 8, 2024January 8, 2024

• Snowpack at McClure Pass reached 67% of normal with a snow-water equivalent of 4.8 inches on Jan. 7, which slightly up from last week’s 4.7 inches.
• High air temperatures at ASE went as low as 20°F on Dec. 25 before going back up to 39°F on Jan. 2.
• Lake Powell was 35.9% full on Jan. 7, down from 36.2% last week.

Local Public Data

Data dashboard: Snowpack at Indy Pass reaches 62.5% of normal

by Laurine Lassalle January 2, 2024January 2, 2024

• The monitoring station at McClure Pass recorded a snow-water equivalent of 4.7 inches on Jan. 1 or 71% of median. That’s up from 4.6 inches on Dec. 25. but down from 9.1 inches of water last year.
• Lake Powell was 36.16% full on Jan. 1, down from 36.37% a week ago.
• Aspen air quality remains “good.”

Local Public Data

Data dashboard: Above-average air temperatures at ASE

by Laurine Lassalle December 26, 2023January 2, 2024

• Snowpack at Indy Pass is at 64.2% of median on Dec. 25.
• High air temperatures at ASE went from 39°F on Dec. 11 to 48°F on Dec. 20, or about 17 degrees above normal.
• Lake Powell was 36.37% full on Dec. 25, down from 36.55% last week but up from 23.84% last year.

Local Public Data

Data dashboard: November occupancy in Aspen slightly up from last year

by Laurine Lassalle December 18, 2023December 26, 2023

• Snowpack at McClure Pass went from 3.9 inches of snow-water equivalent on Dec. 10 to 4 inches on Dec. 17.
• Overall winter occupancy is down from last year with 41.1% of rooms booked for November through April for Aspen and Snowmass combined, down from 2022-23’s 43%, but more rooms have been booked and added to the lodging inventory.
• High air temperatures at ASE went from 25°F on Dec. 10 to 42°F on Dec. 13.

An MHIRJ maintenance facility in Tucson, Arizona

Environment

Imminence of CRJ-700 retirement overstated in initial airport expansion studies

by Laurine Lassalle December 16, 2023November 2, 2024

Consultants studying the airport for Pitkin County predicted in 2013 that the CRJ-700 fleet would be phased out “sometime in the next decade,” with retirements beginning in 2018. Half the fleet would be retired by 2021, with planes no longer in use by 2025, according to presentations delivered to Pitkin County commissioners in 2013 and 2014. That prediction about the CRJs being well on their way to retirement by now hasn’t borne out in the time frame presented. SkyWest, which operates flights for the three commercial carriers serving Aspen, is flying about 16% fewer CRJ-700s today than in 2018.

Local Public Data

Data dashboard: Roaring Fork basin snowpack reaches 114% of median

by Laurine Lassalle December 11, 2023December 11, 2023

• Above-average snowpack at Ivanhoe and North Lost Trail. Snowpack at McClure Pass reached 100% of median on Dec. 10.
• Lake Powell was 36.72% full on Dec. 10, down from 36.91% last week.
• High air temperatures at ASE went from 25°F on Dec. 2 to 46°F on Dec. 6.

Local Public Data

Data dashboard: Roaring Fork Basin snowpack is close to normal

by Laurine Lassalle December 4, 2023December 11, 2023

• Snowpack at Indy Pass reached 68.9% of median on Dec. 3 and 88% of median at McClure Pass.
• The Fork ran at 102.5% of average at Emma on Dec. 3, up from 87.2% of average last week.
• On Nov. 26, minimum air temperatures at ASE dropped as low as -2°F.

Local Public Data

Data dashboard: Summer occupancy was lower this year than in the past couple of years

by Laurine Lassalle November 27, 2023November 27, 2023

• October occupancy in Aspen peaked in 2021 after the 2020’s slow down due to the pandemic as the October occupancy reached 54.4% that year.
• The USGS sensor below Maroon Creek recorded the Fork running at 91 cfs on Nov. 26, or 91.5% of average. On Nov. 19, the river was running at 117 cfs.
• High air temperatures at the Aspen airport dropped from 55°F on Nov. 15 to 38°F on Nov. 20.

Local Public Data

Data dashboard: Streams are flowing faster than last week

by Laurine Lassalle November 20, 2023November 27, 2023

• The Fork ran at 17.6 cfs on Nov. 19 or 56.8% of average. That’s up from last week when the river ran at 15.7 cfs and 47.6% of average.
• Lake Powell was 37.18% full on Nov. 19, down from 37.27% on Nov. 12.
• High air temperatures at ASE went from 41°F on Nov. 9 to 58°F on Nov. 13 before going down to 55°F on Nov. 15, which is about 14 degrees above normal.