• 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.
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.
• 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.
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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
Since new permits became available in September and October, Aspen has issued 790 as of April 3 and 111 licenses were issued in unincorporated Pitkin County as of April 20, for a total of 901 licensed STRs between the jurisdictions. That appears to be well below the total number of properties involved in short-term vacation renting prior to the new permit regulations, when neither jurisdiction had strict limits on STR proliferation.
• Lake Powell’s elevation reached 3,525.3 feet on April 23. That’s the first time since December that the reservoir’s water levels are above target elevation.
• The Fork at Stillwater ran at 40.1 cfs or 65.7% of average on April 23. That’s down from 117.4% of average last week.
• The air quality in Aspen was “moderate” last week. The AQI index reached up to 84 for ozone on April 23.
