Some Front Range cities were spared during weekend rainstorm, why?

DENVER ( KDVR ) — While a heavy rainstorm passed through the Front Range on Saturday, areas outside the foothills didn’t see the same amount of rain that fell in the Mile High City.

Boulder received about half the amount of rain that fell in Denver . Meanwhile, Erie only received trace amounts on Saturday, based on citizen reports to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network .

This isn’t the first time a storm has missed the town east of Boulder. A viewer told FOX31 this happens a lot in Erie when a storm comes in from the West and over the mountains.

According to Pinpoint Weather Meteorologist Greg Perez, this is because of downsloping.

“Storms move from upper elevations to lower elevations. As the storms move down the mountainside and its elevation decreases, the air warms and dries, which means that there’s almost no moisture to work with by the time the system moves over Erie,” said Perez.

Similar effects occur in other towns.

In Pueblo, it’s known as the “ Pueblo Precipitation Doughnut Hole .”

In short, cities at lower elevations, like Pueblo, Cañon City and Fountain, get less rain because they receive downsloping wind, leaving no room for precipitation to form.

While downsloping from the mountains prevents some rain from hitting towns like Erie, it really depends on the system, according to Perez. Downsloping played a role in the rain totals this weekend, but that’s not always the case.

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