Heading to our Littleton, Colorado, farm, we left Columbia this morning, enveloped in a steady rain. The copious precipitation, falling through chilly air, had developed along a cold front that was pushing through Missouri. It would not end until we reached Kansas, where a dense overcast and a gusty north wind signaled that we were now behind the front.
The strong, northerly wind, produced by a large pressure gradient between the high pressure dome to our west and the storm's low pressure to our east, raked eastern Kansas, from the Missouri border to the rust-colored grasslands of the Flint Hills. Once we passed Salina, the winds diminished and the turbines of the Smoky Hills Wind Farm spun lazily in a light northwest breeze. As we neared the calm center of the high pressure dome, the clouds began to dissipate and intense sunshine prevailed through most of western Kansas and eastern Colorado. Nearing Denver, we could see clouds building behind the Continental Divide, a sign of upslope from the west and a promise that downsloping, southwest winds will sweep across the urban corridor over the next few days, pushing afternoon highs near 70 degrees F.
Tomorrow, before we enjoy that mild, sunny weather, we'll head to the polls. I'll cast my vote for environmental protection, military cutbacks, universal health care, social justice and freedom from the tyranny of right wing zealots.
