Wet May Boosts Snowpack In Most Of Colorado's River Basins
DENVER (AP) - A wet May boosted the snow across most of Colorado's mountains, putting the state in good shape for the spring and summer runoff.
Water officials said Tuesday the snowpack in six of the state's seven river basins is well above normal for this time of year. The deeper snows range from 150 percent of normal in the Yampa and White Basin in northwestern Colorado to 235 percent in the South Platte Basin in north-central Colorado.
The exception is southern Colorado's Rio Grande Basin, which is 85 percent of normal.
Snowmelt flows into reservoirs and provides most of the state's water. City officials and irrigators monitor the snowpack to predict how much water will be available through the dry summer months.
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Snowpack also helps firefighters gauge the risk of major blazes.
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