I left Metro Denver yesterday morning under sunny skies. However, dark clouds stretched across the western and northern horizons, signaling the approach of the first winter storm of the season. Up to 5 inches of snow are expected in Metro Denver as the cold front plunges from the Rockies and expands southeastward across the High Plains. Lows in the teens F and a foot or more of snow have already been reported across the Northern Plains of Montana and North Dakota.
Staying ahead of the front, I drove through sun-drenched but chilly air as I headed eastward toward Missouri. Though I hoped to see migrant flocks of cranes and geese, escaping the sub-freezing air behind the front, none were encountered. I spent the night in Hays, Kansas, where the overnight low has dropped into the upper 20s F.
Still facing a six hour drive to Columbia, I certainly expect to observe those migrant flocks of waterfowl as the winter storm moves eastward. An update tomorrow.
Update: Despite a brilliant Hunter's Moon in the western sky this morning (which I took to be a positive omen), I encountered only one flock of snow geese on my six hour drive; about 60 of the travelers were flying south just east of Topeka, Kansas. No other migrant geese were observed, though I did see a few thousand starlings!
