• The Fork ran at 842 cfs or 200% of average on June 23 at Stillwater before dropping to 559 cfs or 138% of average on June 25.
• Lake Powell’s elevation went from 3,576.2 feet on June 16 to 3,581.4 feet on June 25.
• High air temperatures reached 80°F on June 22, or about four degrees above normal.
Author Archives: Laurine Lassalle
Laurine Lassalle is Aspen Journalism’s data desk editor, where she works to catalogue and analyze local public data. She also heads our our “Tracking the Curve” project, documenting COVID-19 in Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield counties. She has a master’s degree in data and investigative journalism from UC Berkeley with an emphasis on environmental reporting.
Data dashboard: Roaring Fork River flowing at almost 850 cfs above Aspen
• Overall summer occupancy is down from last year with 28.8% of rooms booked for May through October as of May 31 for Aspen and Snowmass combined, down from 2022’s 33.4%.
• Lake Powell’s surface elevation up to 3576 feet.
• Aspen’s air quality index reached 50 on June 12 and June 18.
Data dashboard: Most local streams are running well above average
• Snowpack at Snowfield Pass held 14.4 inches of water on June 11.
• Air temperatures at ASE are close to normal.
• Lake Powell’s storage reached 37% full on June 11, up from 33% two weeks ago.
Soil-moisture data points to moderate levels
Looking across the Roaring Fork Basin, soil moisture on Nov. 2, 2022, measured 70% of average for the higher elevations sites and 100% of average at lower elevations. That is wetter than in November 2020, when soil moisture was mostly between 50% and 70% of average.
Data dashboard: Streams flowing well above average
• The USGS sensor below Maroon Creek recorded the Fork running at 1,160 cfs on May 29, or 186.2% of average. That’s up from 816 cfs on May 21.
• The monitoring station at Independence Pass has been recording a snow-water equivalent of zero inches since May 28.
• Lake Powell’s elevation on May 29 was 33 feet above the target elevation of 3,525.
The outsized impact of REMP residences
Mitigation strategies that offset all exterior energy use have not always been possible or sufficient. Local governments are considering additional measures to help meet climate goals, including potentially reducing the maximum allowed house size in the county.
Data dashboard: Snowpack drops sharply as some streamflows double
• The Fork ran at 113% of average at Stillwater and at 163.5% of average below Maroon Creek on May 21.
• Snowpack at Indy Pass reached 2.9 inches of snow-water equivalent on May 21.
• Lake Powell’s elevation jumped from 3,538 feet last week to 3,547 feet on May 21.
Data dashboard: Winter occupancy down from last year
• The air quality in Aspen was “good” last week except on May 10 when the AQI index for ozone reached up to 64.
• Winter occupancy was down from last year with 53.8% for Aspen and Snowmass combined, down from 2022’s 60.2%.
• The Fork ran at 120% of average below Maroon Creek, while the Colorado reached 211% of average near the Colorado-Utah stateline.
Data dashboard: Air temperatures and streamflow on the rise
• The Fork ran at 354 cfs or 118.8% of average below Maroon Creek on May 7. That’s up from 187 cfs last week.
• Snowpack at Indy Pass was at 86.7% of median on May 7. That’s down from last week’s 100.6% of normal.
• High air temperatures reached 70°F on May 1 at ASE.
Data dashboard: Spring runoff boosts streamflows
• The Fork ran at 78.9% of average on April 30 below Maroon Creek and at 102.2% of average at Emma.
• Lake Powell’s elevation reaches the target elevation of 3,525 feet on April 30.
• Air quality in Aspen has improved since last week.