Last evening, as strong southwest winds raked Metro Denver, it was 73 degrees F under sunny skies. Overnight, the temperature fell to 28 degrees and at least 3 inches of snow blanketed the region. By tomorrow, mild, sunny weather will return and afternoon highs are expected to approach 80 degrees F within a few days.
Such is spring along the Colorado Front Range. While many areas of the country report that their weather often changes rapidly, few experience the reliable gyrations that we encounter here, along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountain corridor. As the regular Pacific storms of spring move in from the west, we initially receive downsloping, southwesterly winds that warm and dry out the air. Once the storm front crosses the Continental Divide, the winds shift from the northeast, producing the upslope snowstorms of March and April; then, as the storm system moves off to the east, the downsloping winds redevelop and warm, sunny weather returns.
As I have discussed in previous posts, weather in the Mountain West is all about elevation and wind direction. This week's weather highlights that fact and is more the rule than the exception.
