Welcome, Autumn! The heater is back on :)

On Labor Day weekend, summer officially ended. Not per the calendar, but per nature. That weekend, we had a cold front roll in, complete with precipitation (a rare thing, these days)! Since then, temps got into the low 80s once, maybe twice in the 80917 zip code. Only yesterday, the 14th of September, we had record breaking rain fall amounts. It rained over 4 1/2 inches in Colorado Springs in 24 hours. Keep in mind, we generally get around 17 inches of precipitation per year. We basically got a fourth of our yearly rainfall amount in 24 hours. My poor sister's basement flooded as a result of this deluge. Today, we were graced by beautiful fog, and periodic rain. It was lovely.

One HOT Summer!

This summer has been miserably hot, like much of the U.S. this year. From Mike Madson's blog, http://cordillerablogs.com/mmadson/, he states that, "The weather service tells me that the average high for the summer (in Colorado Springs) to this point has been 88 degrees. If it stays that high when August is over, (no guarantees), it WOULD make it the warmest summer on record." Holy cow! I guess global warming isn't fiction, after all - LOL.

Today, however, is the first of September, the first Burr month of 2012. And sadly, the highs are predicted to be in the lower 90's. On the plus side, the temps at night and in the evening/morning have been getting cooler.

A La Nina March, aka, Dry and Warm

Because of the la nina, our fall, winter, and spring have been very mild. March is typically the snowiest month of the year in Colorado. Not this time. In fact, we did not have single snow "storm" this month! Sure, there were flakes on occasion, but nothing to write home about. As I write this, the high today is predicted to be 73 degrees. It has been very windy this month, but that is typical of spring. The majority of trees in COS are still gray, but buds are on all of them. There is one type of tree that has actual leaves on them, but that is it. Grass is starting to turn green, the iris plant has shoots popping up, measuring about 4-5 inches high. Spring is definitely here!

On a different note, I am not suffering at all with seasonal allergies thanks to the allergy immunizations I've been taking for the past 9 months. Woo hoo!

Rain...in January AND February?

January's and February's weather was marked by record highs and lows. January started out extremely cold with some precipitation. But, by the months end, a strange thing happened - it rained! Of course it rained as soon as I drove the car out of the car wash, thus ruining the wash job. The fact that it rained in January, in Colorado Springs, is bizarre. Typically, because of our high elevation, when it precipitates, it turns to snow. Not this time.

February was also extremely cold in the first week due to an arctic blast that came down and froze most of the country. But, like January, a couple weeks later, and suddenly it was in the upper 60's! Only a few nights ago, clouds gathered one evening and it rained - again! Complete with lighting and thunder. The fact that we got rain in winter/spring is too weird. The fact that it rained after dark is too weird.

Goodbye, 2010!

On the second to last day of 2010, we finally got a real snow storm, and what a storm it was! On youtube.com, there is a video of the 20+ car pile-up on South Carefree and Powers, due to the icy, freezing cold conditions. Today's high was around 12. Tonights forecast says to expect a low of 9 below! Brrr! Despite the icy roads and numerous road closures, our total snowfall amount around here was about 3 inches. Not much, but when combined with arctic cold it made for very treacherous road conditions. My plans for visiting my sister this New Years Eve have been cancelled. Alas, we will be staying at home where it is safe and warm.

On another note, local meteorologist Mike Madson, reported on his blog, http://cordillerablogs.com/mmadson, that the reason this fall/winter has been so very dry is because we are in an el nina. Ocean temperatures are lower than normal, which make the great plains of the Rocky Mountains dry and mild. In fact, we are back in drought status thanks to the excessive dryness. My skin can attest to that.

First Snow 11/10/10

We finally got our first snow on the 10th of November. It was a mere dusting and melted off as soon as the sun burned away the clouds. But, it was exciting!

The Heater Has Been Turned On!

On October 12th, the heater had to be turned on for the first time this Fall! Summer lasted a loooong time this year, and I'm happy to have cool weather back again.

October thus far

Here we are at October 2nd, and finally, finally! we have fall weather temperatures. Today's high was 75, tomorrow's is 71. Early on in the week we're looking at lower 80's (ugh), but then it drops back down to lower 70's. Thank goodness!

Never-ending Summer

Here we are in the last days of September and record highs are expected today. Currently, the temperature is 86 degrees, which is 10-15 degrees above average! Sheesh! Go away Summer! I'm done with you!

Rain!

On the late afternoon of the 22nd of September the skies opened up and it finally rained! Not just a sprinkle either. It rained all afternoon, evening, and night. From my best estimation, it's been about 5-6 weeks since our last rain here in Colorado Springs, a sum of time my dry skin can attest to!

Windy September

It is only the 6th of September, but Autumn's presence is felt in the air already. Mainly, in the form of wind. The trees are also starting to lose their color, and the aspen leaves have yellow halo's around the edges. Night temps are ten degree's colder than they were last month (lows now are in the 40's). But the temp during the day can still be just as miserably hot as they were in July and Aug. It's also been very dry these past few weeks. The local forecast has no rain in our 10 day future. I don't think we've had rain since the middle of August.

August, 2010, thus far...

This month has been hot, cold, dry, humid, rainy, sunny, and has been killing me with allergies! Besides all that, the unusually moist air has been friendly to the grasses of Colorado Springs. Heck, even my neighbor's front yard across the street, who never waters his lawn, or mow's it, is like an emerald carpet. Unfortunately, I'm allergic to grasses, and weeds, which are all flourishing right now. Come on, allergy shots! Do your magic!

July Weather In Colorado Springs

Hurricane season is just beginning, and we can feel the effects of it way up here at 6,000 feet above sea level. When the seasons first hurricane, Alex, blew up in Mexico and Texas, a day or two later, it was very windy, rainy, and cold here. Late yesterday morning, Bonnie, downgraded to tropical depression, made landfall, and around 1:00 a.m. Saturday morning, the winds kicked up, and the temperature dropped significantly. In fact, the high today is only 68!

Crescent Waxing Moon Set

Time: 8:45 p.m., moon is setting over the hills. Probably about a quarter of the way from setting. Very beautiful! On a weather note, it's been freaking cold! For the past 3 days, temps haven't gotten into the 70's at all. Low's have been in the 40's, and fresh snow at elevation 9,000 ft and higher.

Sun Set Position: 06/07/10

Last night, while I was driving home from a therapeutic drive to the mall, I noticed the sun's setting position, which was very, very far north, reminding me that the Summer Solstice is almost upon us. At any rate, the set was over on the sloping mountain that graces the Tri Lake area. I believe that is where Rampart Range Road is.

Moon Set Position

At 10:55 a.m. on 06/04/10, the moon was high above Pikes Peak, on its way to setting. Moon was at about a 90 degree angle towards the set. It is in the last quarter right now, the shadow on the left side was at about 8 o'clock, the shadow on the right was at about 2 o'clock. The entire shadow was on the bottom half of the moon.

Tree Seeds This Year

This year it appears that all of the trees are producing seeds. I'm thinking it's because we had a relatively wet winter. Dad says that the maple trees haven't produced seeds each year, rather every 2 or 3 years. I know that the cotton is still floating around like crazy.

Waning Gibbous, May 30, 2010

The waning gibbous moon is rising in the mid southern sky. Time: 12:30 a.m. Shadow curvature: upper part at 11 o'clock, lower 5 o'clock. Appears to be about a quarter of the way through the cycle. estimated time of moon set: 5 a.m. This is about 1 day or 2 after the full moon, so the rise is still relatively early for a waning cycle.

Moths, icky, icky Moths

I saw a rouge moth flying about in my living room last night, just in time for me to think hey, maybe there won't be moths this year! I did wonder if the moths arrive in late May, early June, rather than late April, early May. It would appear it is the latter :(

on the upside, I killed the moth that invaded my living room this morning! One down, 5 billion to go.

Windy May

It's the 24th of May and the wind has been kicking it for the past three or four days now. Temps were in the 80's the past three days, and now the temps are dropping back down in the 70's until later in the week. My belief is the wind kicks up in the Spring so that plants and trees can better pollinate by way of their seeds spreading all over the place. Which is nice for nature, but sucky for us humans.