Two nights ago, strong winds awoke me about 3 am; as expected, these were winds behind a potent cold front that had dropped across the Colorado Front Range. Though it was supposed to bring snow as well, the storm system was centered too far north and dawn brought cold air but clear, sunny skies.
As it turned out, the snow and high winds were most intense across the Northern Plains, where blizzard conditions developed. Our strong winds, coming from the north, abated by yesterday afternoon as the storm quickly moved off to the east. Had the central low been farther south, we might have received upsloping northeast winds and the snow that they usually bring.
While the cold air is expected to linger for a couple more days, the intense Colorado sun has pushed afternoon highs into the forties and low fifties (F); on the other hand, overnight lows have dropped into the mid twenties. Down at South Platte Park this morning, ice had begun to form along some of the shallow ponds but the number and variety of waterfowl remained impressive. Northern shovelers were most abundant, spooked into a massive aerial flock as an immature bald eagle soared overhead. Winter has arrived in the Valley!
As it turned out, the snow and high winds were most intense across the Northern Plains, where blizzard conditions developed. Our strong winds, coming from the north, abated by yesterday afternoon as the storm quickly moved off to the east. Had the central low been farther south, we might have received upsloping northeast winds and the snow that they usually bring.
While the cold air is expected to linger for a couple more days, the intense Colorado sun has pushed afternoon highs into the forties and low fifties (F); on the other hand, overnight lows have dropped into the mid twenties. Down at South Platte Park this morning, ice had begun to form along some of the shallow ponds but the number and variety of waterfowl remained impressive. Northern shovelers were most abundant, spooked into a massive aerial flock as an immature bald eagle soared overhead. Winter has arrived in the Valley!
