Chinook Winds

One of the most amazing weather phenomena we have east of the Rocky Mountains is Chinook winds, those westerly breezes that blow down the slopes of the mountains, making the snow disappear almost like magic.

As the wind moves down the east slopes of the rockies, the air becomes so warm and so dry that in most cases, the snow doesn't melt, it goes directly from snow to water vapor (which may be why some call these winds "snow eaters").

In any case, they'll be blowing for the next few days in southern Colorado, so expect rapidly disappearing snow and above-average highs.

By the way, we aren't the only place in the world that experiences these winds. The general category of "downslope" warming winds is "Foehn", from Austria, where they were first categorized. The Santa Ana of California works by the same process.

Northerly winds and snowfall totals

The current storm is a good case-in-point for the effect of northerly winds in the NewsFirst 5 viewing area, and the key principle is, where the wind forces the air uphill, you get more snowfall, where it's moving downhill, there's less.

Everybody got the cold and the wind, but keep in mind that a northerly wind moves to lower elevations (it's going downhill) from Monument, through the Colorado Springs Metro area to Pueblo, and the snowfall totals reflect that. They're higher in Monument, Palmer Lake, Black Forest, Pine Creek, northern Briargate, etc, and in the eastern part of El Paso county along Highway 24, because these cities are on or close to the Palmer Divide (which forces the wind uphill). They're lower (or almost nothing) from Fountain to Pueblo.

It's also interesting to note that higher elevations around the Colorado Springs Metro area picked up more snow than downtown. A few that come to mind are Kissing Camels, and eastward near Powers.

This rule works for MOST storms that produce northerly winds from the Continental Divide eastward in our state. For the rare exception, always err on the side of caution.

Weather summary for Sunday, 10/25

Historically, this is a memorable day, as 12 years ago on this date, we had "The Blizzard of '97", with drifts up to 15 feet in some areas.

For today, with one storm moving out, and another moving in, I didn't have time to put the "official" statewide statistics on the weathercast, so here they are...

City High Low Precip through 6 PM
Alamosa 48 31 Trace
Canon City 52 34
Colorado Springs 40 32 .08"
Denver 40 32 .06"
La Junta 48 41 .44"
Lamar 50 41 Data Missing
Leadville 30 16 .25"
Limon 42 34 Trace
Pueblo 44 39 .29"
Trinidad 40 33 Data Missing

and while we're on the subject, how about a few snowfall totals?
6" 2 west of Rye in Pueblo county
5" Beulah in Pueblo county
4" 2 S. of Cuchara, Huerfano county; 4 NE of Florissant, Teller county;
3" Woodland Park, Teller county; 3 WSW of Colorado Sprins, El Paso county
5 WSW of Walsenburg, Huerfano county
1" 2 N of Black Forest, El Paso county

Netbook Vs. Notebook.

It's a Saturday night, a cold front is racing in, the pressure is falling (and I can feel it in my joints....maturity is not for the faint of heart ).

First of all, thanks to all of the Colorado Springs Independent readers who cast your votes for Mike Daniels and me for best weathercasters. This year, he took the gold, and I have the silver. We've flip-flopped on those over the past decade or so....we both appreciate the votes of confidence.

Now then, on to the technical musings...

I've been using an Acer Aspire One netbook as my carry-along computer for quite some time now, so here's a quick update on how viable going for a notebook to a netbook is for everyday mobile computing...VERY.

Keep in mind that they don't come with an optical drive (to read CD's and DVD's), but you can pick up an external model for a reasonable price, and they work well. What they usually DON'T tell you is that many of the external drives won't run off the power available in a single USB port on your netbook (or your laptop, for that matter either). The solution is fairly simple, you pick up a special cable that allows you to plug your external drive into 2 usb ports at the same time.

This usually does the trick. It provides enough power, your system recognizes the drive (mine kept thinking it was a flash drive...REALLY annoying), and it chugs along smoothly, reading, writing and providing DVD movie power to your portable. Just got finished watching a movie on the acer, with an I/O Magic external reader/writer, and it looked GREAT on that little screen. OK, it's not the largest viewing surface available, but it's bigger than the iPod Touch you've been watching those TV shows on.

As to the Acer itself, once you get used to the smaller keyboard, you can type almost at your peak speed. I use OpenOffice for my word processing and spreadsheets, and performance has been flawless. WiFi is good and other than the fact that the unit has a fan that sounds like the shuttle landing, I just don't have any substantive complaints.

If you find a good deal (I got mine refurbished for $180), don't hesitate. It's nice to cut down on the weight in your computer bag without giving up the functionality.

I've discovered some really great Podcasts recently...in future entries, I'll share those with you, and I'd appreciate it if you'd share your favorites with me.

Snow totals for southern Colorado 10/21/09

While for many in the NewsFirst 5 viewing area, it was more rain, fog, drizzle and the occasional snowflake, in the areas where it snowed, it was impressive. Here are the most recent totals...

17.00" - 2 S of Cuchara
14.00" - SE of La Veta
12.00" - 6 NE of the Spanish Peaks; SW of Beulah
11.30" - La Veta
11.00" - 2 S of La Veta Pass
10.40" - Maysville
10.00" - WNW of Walsenburg and WSW of Walsenburg ; 2 W of Rye; 2 WSW of Rosita
09.50" - WSW of Boncarbo
09.00" - 4 NE of Florissant
08.00" - 1 W of Farisita; 1 WNW of Walsenburg; 10 S of Cokedale
07.00" - 1 W of Antonito
06.00" - 8 N of Trinidad; Woodland Park
05.40" - Beulah
05:00" - Fox Run (East of Baptist Road); 1 WSW of Woodland Park; Woodland Park
04.50" - La Junta; 6 E of Monument
04:40" - Maysville
04:00" - 2 N of Black Forest
03.90" - 6 W of Westcliffe
03.80" - 4 WNW of Buena Vista
03.00" - 4 ENE of Stonewall; 1 W of Farisita
02.90" - Westcliffe

In addition, Pueblo reported record precipitation for the date. At least .92" since midnight. Old record - .36" set in 1979

New records in Colorado Springs/Pueblo

Those Chinook winds boosted highs to record levels on Sunday, 10/18 in southern Colorado.

Colorado Springs had a high of 82, replacing the old record of 81 set in 2003

Pueblo tied it's record of 88 set in 2003.

Both cities reported gusty winds. Peak gusts were 28 mph in Colorado Springs (at the airport) and 38 mph in Pueblo (also at the airport)

Memorable Halloween nights in Pueblo

From the history books (thanks to the NWS Forecast Office in Pueblo)...

The last impressively cold Halloween was in 2002. According to the records, the day started at at 23 degrees, with ice covered roads. It only warmed up to 29 that day, with cold, freezing drizzle for the evenings activities.

Then there was 1991. The day started with 7 inches of snow on the ground, and an additional 3.2 inches during the day. The high just inched to 34 degrees during the day, and plummeted to a recrod 14 degrees that night.

Back to the year, I graduated from High School, 1972. the day started with a trace of snow on the ground, but that was just the beginning. A record 12.6 inches fell that day, with a high of 29.

These records date back to 1888, with data as recent as 2008.

Halloween weather in Pueblo

The past few blogs, we took at look at average Halloween conditions in Colorado Springs. Today, we'll begin a look at the same thing for Pueblo. The data comes from the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Pueblo, with snowfall and temperature records going back to 1888.

Over all of those years, there have been 15 holidays with a trace or more of snow; 5 times with an inch or more. The average high for the date is 62, with 28 the average low.

Sunday: some of the more memorable weather the city has seen on Halloween

Some memorable Colorado Springs Halloween's

One of the reasons people get the idea that it snows EVERY Halloween in southern Colorado is that when it does snow, it's memorable. Here are a few from the record books (courtesy of the records kept by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Pueblo, Colorado).

In 2002, the day started out at 20 degrees, with a dusting of clouds, and it only got 4 degrees warmer during the day, leading to freezing drizzle and snow that night.

Not impressed? Well, let's go back to 1991, when I took the kids trick-or-treating on a day that started with 6 inches of snow on the ground, and an additional 1.2" during the day. After a high of only 20 degrees, the mercury fell to 10 above for a record low.

The all-time champion, though, was 1972. 13.8 inches of snow fell, and the high only made it to 25 degrees.

No question that those are impressive Halloween nights, but they're the exception, not the rule. The average high for the day is 57, the average low is 28.

Still too early to tell whether this year will be "normal" or "memorable", but I'll keep a weather eye on it for you. Tomorrow, the statistics for Pueblo.

Does it really snow every Halloween?

After the short answer, which is NO, here are a few statistics that might help you decide whether to dress the kids as tropical islanders or polar explorers.

Fact number one...while it doesn't always snow on Halloween, when it has in the past, it's been so memorable that it sticks in our minds.

From the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Pueblo...a little information from records dating from 1948 until now.
For Colorado Springs:
In all of those years, it's snowed a trace or more 15 times. Only 6 times with an inch or more. The chance of a trace or more is 12%, and the chance of an inch or more is 4%.

Tomorrow...memorable moments in Colorado Springs Halloween history.

Not just cold, but record cold

It was so cold in both Colorado Springs and Pueblo, that each city set a new record low maximum for the date.

Colorado Springs was officially 25 degrees (though the daytime high was only 22). The record low maximum up to this point was 36 degrees set in 2005.

For Pueblo, the official high was 32 (daytime high of 28), shattering the previous record for the date of 42 set in 2005...and the official low (so far) of 24 replaced the old record of 26 for this date, originally set in 1992.

Aftermath of the lunar crash

After my blog entry of 9/8, I thought it was only fair to bring you an update on the LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) mission.
1) The impact occurred right on schdule, producing a crater 60 feet wide and 13 feet deep.
2) Scientists got good measurements, and think they have the data they have to address the question of whether or not there's ice in the permanently shadowed areas of the lunar south pole, where the sun hasn't shone for at least 2 billion years.
3) It will take awhile for the scientists to analyze the data and answer the question, possibly months.
4) The impact(s) failed to produce the huge plume of debris that was expected, prompting some to speculate that the craft may have hit rock, instead of ice.....over time, we'll see.

A moon crash is planned for Friday morning

2 days in a row of space news....and today's entry is an exciting one. NASA plans to crash a spacecraft into the moon at 5:30 MDT Friday morning to try to determine if there's water ice at the bottom of at least one crater near the moon's south pole.

When the 79 million dollar spacecraft crashes into Cabeus crater, it's expected to send a plume of whatever is at the bottom of the crater into the lunar sky, where scientists can analyze it. If it turns out that there IS water ice on the moon, it could be a BIG boost to the space program.

What I seem to be missing in most of the news presentations of this topic is why it's so important. (In fact, "ha ha ha, we're going to bomb the moon" seems to be the most popular approach)...but IF, in fact, there's ice in the deeper craters or just below the surface of parts of the moon, it opens up a world of possibilities for space exploration, including the potential to refuel a spacecraft with hydrogen from a sufficient supply of ice. Doesn't seem quite as much of a joke now, does it?

This is a follow-up to several other unmanned missions to the moon that have either suggested, or tried to confirm the existence of water ice.

In 1994, the Clementine satellite was launched (called "Clementine" because it carried only enough fuel to complete its mission, after which it would be "lost and gone forever", like in the song), and recorded some data that seemed to indicate what might have been water ice near the moon's south pole.

4 years later, in 1998, Lunar Prospector returned to try to verify the presence of ice, but the results were negative (which might mean, we just missed the right spot).

Now, scientists are optimistic that the "big boom on the moon" will settle the question, and perhaps open up some options for returning manned missions to the only other object in the solar system where humans have walked (and driven dune buggies and hit golf balls, etc.) by 2020.

NASA plans to televise the impact in it's cable/satellite channel, and there are plenty of outlets on the Web that will let you see it as well...and if the sky is clear, and it's still dark in your time zone when the impact occurs, you should be able to see it for yourself, even with a fairly modest telescope.

New ring discovered around Saturn

Technology triumphs again! The Spitzer Space Telescope has spotted the huge, cold ring that circles the planet, and is tilted 27 degrees from the other rings.

It's 3.7 million miles away from the planet, and extends outward another 7.4 million miles.

Its entire volume could hold a million earths.

It hasn't been spotted before now because the ice and dust particles that make it up are so far apart, that it's hard to see. It also doesn't reflect a lot of light, but using the infrared sensor on the Spitzer Scope, scientists were able to see the minus 316 degree F feature.

Where the elements come from

In the stellar astronomy class I teach, we've been studying the life cycle of stars...from their birth out of clouds of dust and gas to most of their lives in a stable state, to their deaths ranging from just fading to white and black dwarfs or ending as a spectacular supernova explosion.

The bottom line is that every single element in the universe, other than hydrogen and helium, is manufactured in the fiery interior of a star, including the elements you're made of.

Need a lift to your day? Just remind yourself that you're made up of "star stuff"

Another frosty start to Saturday Morning

Another record low for Pueblo on Saturday morning. A 27 degree reading broke the old record for the date of 28, set in 1995, and tied in 1999.

Here are a few more of this morning's readings.

Alamosa - 19; Limon - 20, Leadville/Woodland Park - 21; USAF Academy - 24; Mueller State Park/Lamar - 27; Salida/Briargate/Fowler - 28; Garden of the Gods/ Fort Carson - 30; Trinidad - 31; La Junta - 32; Falcon - 34.

It should NOT be that cold for the next few nights.

Friday's Frosty Lows

As skies cleared and high pressure settled over southern Colorado, lows dropped to record levels across southern Colorado Friday morning, including some records. Let's start with those...
New Records...
Denver - 26; Pueblo - 25; Alamosa - 12

And then a selection of lows from around the region...
Leadville - 19; USAF Academy/Lamar - 24; Monument - 25; Briargate - 26; Fowler/Limon/Trinidad - 27; Fort Carson - 29; Downtown Colorado Springs - 30; Falcon - 32; Walsh - 34; Pueblo West - 35.

Another hard freeze is likely Friday night into Saturday morning, and record lows are possible again.