Colorado Strikes Again

Posted October 21, 2007

Ah, Colorado. Don't like the weather? Wait a few minutes, it'll change. You hear that said about a lot of places. I always felt it was particularly apropos for my home town, Cincinnati. But then, I thought Indiana was the middle of nowhere. Drive through Kansas or Nebraska, you'll see the middle of nowhere. I don't even want to drive through Nevada.

As for weather, I thought it was a big deal for a 20 degree difference in temperature from one day to the next. Here, you can get that in a matter of hours, and it's not that unusual. Lack of humidity, temperature drops dramatically at night.

At this latitude, October may or may not be warm. That much I experienced back home. You planned your costume around your winter coat, since Halloween could be 70, could be snow. Same with Christmas. That much I'm used to. What I'm not used to is the dramatic changes from one day to the next.

Yesterday, October 20, it was nice and warm, about 70. It's mid-October, but that's no big deal. It's been warm for a week or so. We still haven't had more than one night below freezing. Well, not until last night, anyway.

I wake up this morning, expecting it to be colder. The wind blew through here like angry spirits, exposing any leaks in the windows and walls. I just finished weatherstripping my front door and patio door, so I don't have many leaks. Kinda proud of that, actually. Nice and tight. Just have to get the windows.

But I digress. I knew it was going to be cold, about 30-40 degrees cooler than yesterday. Not that unusual, I've been here long enough. And yet, it still throws me. As I got out of bed, I saw through the window across the room. I was trying to determine just how late I'd slept. Didn't want to miss CBS pre-game show. I had just a few minutes to get to a TV. Without my glasses, I'm pretty blind, so I don't generally try to actually see out the window. However, I noticed that it was particularly bright this morning, brighter than it should be, even with full sun. That could only mean...no, it couldn't...that's ridiculous...

It's true! Snow! Seventies yesterday, snow today. Nothing much, maybe half an inch on some spots, light and fluffy stuff. But it's snow!!! That, I've not yet gotten used to.

When I talk to people from other areas, they assume it's always snowing here. Well, it's not. Yes, in the mountains, it snows from September on, the ski areas open as early as possible, sometimes in mid-September. They're at a higher altitude, usually 9000 feet or higher. Colorado Springs is only at 6000 feet or so (that's right, higher than Denver). One thing you'll notice if you drive around out here, the west is obsessed with altitude. Never saw altitude on signs back home, but once I crossed into Colorado, nearly all city signs, even cities with populations of 6 - and they exist - have the altitude on them.

Anyway, altitude is a factor in the weather. So is location. East of the mountains, where most of the people live, is drier than in the mountains. The first snow I heard reported Frisco, Colorado, just over 9000 feet. It's not too far from South Park - real place. Mining town.

A few years ago in July, I drove from the Springs to I-70. All I was doing was wandering around, just wanted to get to know my new state a little better. It was in the mid-eighties here in the Springs. I drove through Denver on I-25 and then connected to I-70 from there. Pleasant drive once you're out of Denver traffic. I-70 is a very busy interstate, on par with I-75 from Michigan to Florida. Could be two in the morning and it's still crowded. One big difference, though. To get a weather change like I experienced, you'd have to drive from Michigan to at least Kentucky. Not here.

I drove from Colorado Springs, 70 miles or so north to Denver, then 60 miles west to the Eisenhower tunnel. Less than the distance between Detroit and Cincinnati. It's a bit of an eyesore, compared to the landscape, but if you're into that sort of thing, really interesting history and construction. Well, I found it fascinating, anyway.

Denver is at 5280 feet (hey, that's a mile...), Colorado Springs at just over 6000. Eisenhower tunnel is over 11,000. It was in the eighties in the Springs, about the same in Denver. It was snowing at the Tunnel. Not just snowing, but blizzard. Nearly white-out conditions, actually. This wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't have the top off of my car, or if my tires weren't bald as Howie Mandel.

Did I mention it was July?

Colorado Strikes Again. It doesn't snow much in Colorado Springs, especially not compared to the mountain towns like Grand Junction. The temperature is usually pretty mild in the winter, unlike the heat sink of Leadville and Gunnison. But once in a while, you get a day like this, where it was 70 yesterday, and snowing today.