FORECAST CITY
Sign in
Shaded-relief map of Orchard, Colorado: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
COLORADO · MORGAN COUNTY

Orchard

76 people, 4,410 ft above sea level in Morgan County.

4,410 ftElevation, city center
76People, 2024 estimate
0 sq miLand area
Clear 43°
Clear now Dew point 43° · ESE 16 mph · high 47°
City of Orchard River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Orchard plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Orchard

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 4:00 PM MST
RIGHT NOW Fort Morgan Municipal Airport (KFMM) · 4:55 PM
Clear
43° Clear Feels like 35° · high of 47° near 5 PM
WindESE 16 mphno gusts
Humidity100%rising to 100% by morning
Pressure29.88 in →steady
Visibility6 mihazy
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 43° · Dry32° by Monday: drier air arrives
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Showers
Friday50% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 30.13 in · 11 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Morgan County
NWS Denver and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 5:18 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:41 AM4:40 PM ↓
9 h 59 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 27% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
54
MODERATEAir quality index · fine particles
Tomorrow: None, moderate. No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
TEMPERATURE °F
47°
34°
56°
32°
60°
32°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
16
14
12
8
5
5
6
9
9
8
7
5
5
4
4
7
11
11
8
5
5
4
4
5
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 35 to 43° ↑ Humid air returns Drier: 36° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 80° / 62°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
47° 33°
10% rain — SE 15, gusts 29 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
57° 31°
0% rain — SSE 6 B
MON Nov. 16 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
61° 32°
0% rain — SE 5 B
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
60° 34°
0% rain — E 6 B
WED Nov. 18 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
58° 29°
10% rain — NNE 8 C
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
57° 32°
0% rain — SE 14, gusts 28 C
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
57° 30°
50% rain up to 0.4″ NNW 14, gusts 28 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Orchard about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Great Basin three days ago, and over the southern Rockies a day ago, about 590 miles back along its path. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

MILE2
THE GROUND

What Orchard stands on

Orchard’s center stands about 4,410 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 4,380 ft to 4,560 ft, a difference of 180 ft: gently rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Judson Hills, about 4,900 ft, 12 miles northeast.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Modern alluvium (unconsolidated), from the Quaternary, less than 2.6 million years old.

The section below crosses 4 rock units mapped at the surface.

Orchard, cut in half from southwest to northeast

A section southwest to northeast, 24 miles through the town center
4,400 ft4,600 ft4,800 ft ORCHARD4,410 ftSouth Platte Riverabout 4,420 ftHigh point of the line4,900 ft ← SWNE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 39×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Eolian deposits

Sand, silt. Age: Quaternary, less than 2.6 million years old. About 11 mi of the line.

Modern alluvium

Unconsolidated. Age: Quaternary, less than 2.6 million years old. About 7 mi of the line.

Pierre Shale--Upper unit

Shale. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old. About 4 mi of the line.

Fox Hills Sandstone

Sandstone. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old. About 1 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Orchard’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Orchard reaches the Gulf of America by way of the South Platte, the Platte, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 2,300 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Orchard≈ 2,300 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF ORCHARD ≈ 2,300 mi to the Gulf of America South Platte → Platte → Missouri → Mississippi

1,170 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Orchard; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Orchard on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Evans CO · 33 MI 33 miles west Greeley CO · 35 MI 35 miles west Fort Collins CO · 52 MI 52 miles west Aurora CO · 54 MI 54 miles southwest Denver CO · 56 MI 56 miles southwest Colorado Springs CO · 107 MI 107 miles south
FORECASTCITY
Map of Orchard, Colorado. Explore the plate
COLORADO · MORGAN

Orchard

76 people, 4,410 ft above sea level in Morgan County.

4,410 ftElevation
76People
0 sq miLand
Clear 43°
ClearDew point 43°
1

Today in Orchard

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly cloudy night 47° 7%
8p mostly cloudy night 43° 3%
11p mostly cloudy night 39° 2%
2a partly cloudy night 37° 1%
5a partly cloudy night 35° 1%
8a fog 38° 1%
Showers
NEXT RAINFriday · 50%
→
Sat10%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
33
47
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
31
57
B
Mon0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
32
61
B
Tue0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
34
60
B
Wed10%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
29
58
C
Thu0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
32
57
C
Fri50%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
30
57
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
2

What Orchard stands on

Orchard’s center stands about 4,410 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 4,380 ft to 4,560 ft, a difference of 180 ft: gently rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Judson Hills, about 4,900 ft, 12 miles northeast.

Orchard, southwest to northeast Orchard4,410 ftSouth Platte Riverabout 4,420 ft ← SWNE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 73×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center4,410 ft
Within 3 miles4,380 to 4,560 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (180 ft of relief)
High point nearbyJudson Hills, 4,900 ft, 12 mi northeast
Rock at the surfaceModern alluvium
Its ageQuaternary, less than 2.6 million years old
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 2,300 mito the Gulf of AmericaSouth Platte → Platte → Missouri → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Orchard reaches the Gulf of America by way of the South Platte, the Platte, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 2,300 river miles.

1,170 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.