Recent snows along with high winds have raised the avalanche danger in the high country to “considerable” in many areas according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. This was highlighted yesterday when a 27 year old man was killed just outside of Vail in an area known as the East Vail Chutes. This is the second avalanche death of the season, the first being on December 2nd in Larimer County. In the most recent case, these skiers had done everything right including having avalanche beacons but that was not enough.
Everyone who intends to ski or hike in the high country, particularly outside of established areas, needs to be aware of the danger avalanches pose. Recent weather has made the conditions ripe for these events. The Forest Service National Avalanche Center points out that nearly all avalanches that involve people are triggered by the victims themselves or a member of their party. The good news about that is that means that education can help to reduce the number of accidents we see each year. To learn more, please see:
As we finish what has been a relatively wet December, cold and dry are the key words to remember when it comes to January. The month is the coldest of the year and the second driest as well. What does history show us and what can we expect for January 2008? 
The 2007 hurricane season officially ended on November 30th and in the Atlantic, a total of 14 named storms were produced, including six hurricanes, two of which became major hurricanes. The good news is that only one hurricane, one tropical storm and three tropical depressions struck the United States so we escaped relatively unscathed. This does however make one wonder about the accuracy of hurricane forecasts. This is the second year in a row that predictions indicated above normal activity when the opposite turned out to be true. 
Round 2 of the snowstorms has come and gone and left Thornton with around 5″ of the white stuff. As a result, we have now moved into the #10 spot of the snowiest Decembers on record which works out well as it helps to make up for the dry season we have had prior to this. It will be cold today with some nasty windchills but we should start to see some melting tomorrow and into next week. 
It started snowing this morning around 4:00am and the storm appears to be intensifying. There is a 
As the kids wake up early this morning to see what Santa left them, we are seeing a bit of a nasty storm system move across the area. The National Weather Service has issued a Snow and Blowing Snow Advisory that will remain in effect until 5:00pm Christmas Day. Forecast models are a bit unclear as to how much snow we can expect – anywhere from one to five inches depending on which models we look at. The biggest problem will be the wind blowing things around and causing travel issues for those visiting folks on the holiday. Be sure to be safe and as always, stay tuned to ThorntonWeather.com for the latest.
An interesting article from USA Today today discusses the fact that despite the snow we have recently enjoyed, we can’t rule out drought in 2008. In part it says:
We are pleased to announce that 
Colorado is ranked # 2 in lightning related deaths (1997 – 2006) so the danger this presents to life and property is very significant for us. It is interesting to note though that Colorado ranks only 31st in the number of cloud to ground strikes over that same period. This highlights the fact that, quite frankly, folks here in Colorado are ignorant about the dangers lightning presents and they simply do not take proper steps to protect themselves. For this reason, we have created a 
Updated, 12/22/07, 2:15pm – Back up and running! We have obtained another console, have it all configured, and the site is running as it should. Thank you to all for your patience.