Overnight, a cold front dropped southward along the Colorado Front Range, temporarily disrupting our hot, sunny summer. A dense gray overcast shrouds the urban corridor and a light, cool mist coats the heat-stressed vegetation.
Except for those who might have planned a family picnic or outdoor wedding, this summer chill is a welcome reprieve, expected to persist for the next two days. Our high temperature should peak in the upper 60s F and afternoon thunderstorms might produce significant precipitation.
The refreshing chill and temporary cloudiness are, themselves, products of the local elevation and topography; behind the cold front, an "upslope flow" develops, cooling the air, lowering its dew point and ringing out its moisture. In this semiarid ecosystem, such cool, rainy interludes are vital to both the welfare of native plants and animals and to the emotional comfort of human residents.
