The dates for the 11th annual National Storm Chaser Convention have been announced. The event will be held February 13th to the 15th at the Red Lion Inn in Parker. As usual there looks to be a great lineup of speakers and of course it will certainly be informative and fun. The agenda is still being finalized but some of the highlights announced thus far include:
This year’s convention promises to be the biggest and best yet! The convention is held each year in Denver, Colorado, and is geared for you, the storm chaser, spotter and storm enthusiast, to be the premiere gathering of the year. Because of the intense severe storm and hurricane season that 2008 brought, we have been able to gather some of the best scientists and forecasters in the world to present at this year’s convention. Dr Steve Lyons, hurricane expert for The Weather Channel, will be this year’s keynote speaker. From the National Hurricane Center, we welcome lead forecaster Dr Jack Bevens.
On the severe storm side, we welcome Dr Greg Forbes from The Weather Channel, and are also excited to welcome back Dr Howie Bluestein. We are also excited to have Rich Thompson, lead forecaster at the Storm Prediction center, as well as meteorologist Jon Davies. Tim Marshall will once again bring is attention getting presentation to our convention. We have several other speakers that you won’t want to miss!!! So sign up early and tell all your friends to come to the 2009 National Storm Chaser Convention.
For more information, visit the convention website at: http://chaserconvention.com/
A Red Flag Warning has been issued for most of the state as warm temperatures and low humidities have increased the danger of fires getting out of control. This was witnessed first hand last week with the four wildfires in southern Colorado that quickly got out of hand.
April marks a transition between winter and summer for most of the country but for Denver it is especially true as we can see a stunning variety of weather. The proverbial April showers are certainly a possibility for Denver. Snow? Tornadoes? Thunderstorms? You bet – all can happen! For good measure throw in a chance for hail and even dust storms and April gives every type of weather condition you could like – or hate. 
First, the good news. With the extraordinary amount of snow the mountains have experienced this winter, the chances of drought are negligible for most of the state. The southeastern corner of Colorado however could see some risk.
This week NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center announced that from December 2007 to February 2008 temperatures across the United States and the globe were their coolest since 2001. In the contiguous United States, the average winter temperature was 33.2°F which ranks it as the 54th coolest winter since national records began in 1895. Globally, the combined land and ocean surface temperature was the 16th warmest on record for the period.
