Performing prescribed burns is an important way to clear brush and renew wildland and are often done without any excitement. Mother Nature had other plans last week however as whirling winds propelled a fire beyond its containment lines at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.
The amazing video of the event on March 14 was taken by a firefighter from South Metro Fire and showcases how quickly weather conditions can change and how even when well-planned, fires can quickly get out of control.
The fire is seen burning through the grasslands of the refuge when swirling wind develops – a common phenomenon caused by the heat quickly rising from the fire. Soon the fire begins to rage and tumbleweeds and burning debris are sent flying in a circular path.
Thomas Rogers, the man behind the camera, said on YouTube the fire burned an additional acre as crews backed off to gain the upper hand.
Refuge Manager David Lucas said on Facebook, “What we saw and how we reacted is exactly what we want out of our fire crews — well planned with plenty of on-site resources to manage contingencies, safety first, and well trained folks who got after it quickly.”
Satellite imagery provides bird’s eye view of Earth at the change of seasons.
Pretty neat imagery and explanation from NASA:
Enjoy the Equinox!
Every year, there are two equinoxes. One is in March; the other is in September. In 2014, the March equinox falls on March 20, 2014. On the equinoxes, the sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night is nearly equal. Seasons are opposite on either side of the equator, so the March equinox is called the spring (or vernal) equinox in the northern hemisphere. But in the southern hemisphere, it’s known as the fall (autumnal) equinox. What do equinoxes look like from space? The Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) on EUMETSAT’s Meteosat-9 captured these four views of Earth from geosynchronous orbit. The images show how sunlight fell on the Earth on December 21, 2010 (upper left), and March 20 (upper right), June 21 (lower left), and September 20, 2011 (lower right). Each image was taken at 6:12 a.m. local time. Notice how on March 20 and September 20, the terminator — the divide between day and night — is a straight north-south line, and the Sun is said to sit directly above the equator. Equinox means “equal night” in Latin, capturing the idea that daytime and nighttime are equal lengths everywhere on the planet.
I have always been a shutterbug ever since my parents gave me my first SLR one Christmas when I was in high school. It wasn’t until recent years however that I began to hone the craft and now I have launched Tony’s Takes Photography.
Certainly I have no illusion of becoming a professional photographer or having the skills of one. This is purely a hobby for me. However I think I do a pretty passable job and decided I would like to share my images. Up until now that has been confined to this website and on social media with friends and family.
Over at Tony’s Takes (www.tonystakes.com) I will be sharing the images I capture. These will usually be focused on the subjects which interest me most – extreme weather, landscapes and wildlife. Certainly some of these photos will make their way here as always but that will be the primary spot where I post them.
Don’t worry though. Weather is still a passion of mine andThorntonWeather.com will be staying around as always and remaining your one and only spot for truly local Thornton weather news and information!
You can find Tony’s Takes Photography at any of the links below and I would truly appreciate you spreading on the work:
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck the Los Angeles area Monday morning in the pre-dawn hours. While a relatively minor quake, it was strong enough to rattling residents and send morning TV news anchors under their desks.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS) the quake was centered 6 miles west of Beverly Hills and at a depth of 5.3 miles. Occurring at 6:25 a.m. local time, a light aftershock of magnitude 2.7 was recorded at 7:23 a.m.
Residents stretching from Mission Viejo to the south and Oxnard to the north reported feeling the initial temblor. Beyond waking residents that were still sleeping and grabbing the attention of those already awake, initial reports indicate no significant damage.
Television stations were in the middle of their morning broadcasts when the quake hit.
KTLA news anchors Chris Schauble and Megan Henderson reacted quickly announcing that they were feeling the quake. The two acted appropriately and dived under their anchor desks for the short duration of the quake.
Video from the station shows the overhead lights shaking and Henderson noting that dust or ceiling material was falling down.
We headed out this morning looking for bald eagles at Cherry Creek State Park. Certainly saw LOTS of them but also enjoyed a beautiful morning with the snow-covered trees and blue skies.
The United States begins Daylight Savings Time at 2:00am on Sunday, March 10, 2013.
The biannual ritual of changing our clocks to adjust for Daylight Savings Time occurs this Saturday night providing yet another signal of the changing of seasons.
The United States will ‘spring forward’ one hour at 2:00am Sunday morning, March 9, as we begin Daylight Savings Time.
The ritual of changing our clocks twice a year can be met with some resistance as some people struggle to adjust their body’s internal clock. The start of Daylight Savings Time can be particularly problematic given the one hour less sleep people receive on the night of the change.
However, longer days as we head into the milder months are a very real benefit and for many worth the inconvenience of a lost hour of sleep. The time change definitely has big effects on how much daylight we enjoy during our normal waking hours.
On Saturday, prior to the change, sunset will occur at 6:00pm but on Sunday the sun won’t disappear over the horizon until 7:01pm. This affords folks more time in the evening to get started on those spring-time chores and allows us to get outside and enjoy the warming weather.
The spring equinox is also on the horizon. Spring officially begins at 10:57am on March 20.
This year Daylight Savings Time will come to an end on November 2.
Some of the recent history of Daylight Savings Time (from Wikipedia):
Daylight saving time in the United States was first observed in 1918. Most areas of the United States currently observe daylight saving time, with the exceptions being the states of Arizona and Hawaii along with the territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
From 1987 to 2006, daylight saving time in the United States began on the first Sunday of April and ended on the last Sunday of October. The time was adjusted at 2:00 AM (0200) local time (as it still is done now).
Since 2007, daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November, with all time changes taking place at 2:00 AM (0200) local time. In 2011, daylight saving time began on March 13 and will end on November 6.
Late winter in Colorado can bring a wide variety of conditions, oftentimes within a very short time span. This was fully evident yesterday and last night as we went from a high of a daytime 62 degrees to receiving a healthy dose of snow before midnight.
Thornton received a total of 2.9 inches of heavy, wet snow from about 9:00 p.m. on March 4 through 1:00 a.m. on March 5. A healthy 0.45 inches liquid precipitation was recorded from the snow.
The time lapse video below captures the event from its start through sunrise. Below that is a satellite imagery time lapse from 7:00 a.m. to noon to show just how fast that snow disappeared.
Screenshot of an amazing time lapse video showing mountain wave clouds. (YouTube / BasehuntersChasing)
Watching clouds in real time can be fascinating however it is when they are sped up via time lapse that we can oftentimes truly see the subtle motions that we otherwise miss. A time lapse video released by some local storm chasers provide a stunning visual of wave clouds near Boulder.
Posted to YouTube today by Basehunters Chasing, the video showcases scenes captured over a couple of days along the Front Range.
Rolling mountain wave clouds serve as a backdrop to cows in a field. Watching closely, snow can be seen falling on the highest mountain peaks. Zoomed in views of a wave cloud follow showing the amazing motion.
Lastly a sunset is seen with the clouds starting pastel orange, then turning brilliant bright orange before fading away.
The video is set to a very soothing flute-type instrumental. Check it out below.
Icy roads Saturday morning led to a massive 104 car pileup on Interstate 25 through central Denver killing one person and injuring 30.
The chain reaction accident began just before 11:00 a.m. near University and Downing on the northbound side of the interstate. Cars, unable to stop on the ice and snow covered highway, began piling up.
One woman was killed in the accident. Her name is currently being withheld. The woman’s vehicle struck the back of a semitrailer, peeling the roof back as it lodged under the trailer.
Thirty people were injured and transported to area hospitals including Denver Health, St. Anthony’s and Swedish Medical Center. Among the injured were adults and children.
Like all months in Colorado, February 2014 did have some warm periods but those were few and far between as compared to the cold we experienced. Those cold temperatures did not translate to precipitation however.
The month started out quite cold with 9 out of the first 10 days seeing below normal temperatures. Two of those days saw ‘high’ temperatures only in the single digits. Seven of those 10 days stayed below freezing and four saw low temperatures below zero.
Warmer weather courtesy of downslope flow did finally arrive and most of the rest of the month was warmer than average. Of the last 18 days of the month, only two had below normal temperatures.
Overall Thornton’s monthly average temperature for February 2014 was 28.5 degrees. This was four degrees below Denver’s February average of 32.5 degrees. Officially Denver’s average for the month was close to ours at 28.2 degrees.
While clearly a cold month, February 2014 failed to reach ‘top 10 coldest February’ status. Number 10 on that list is February 1905 with an average temperature of 25.2 degrees. The coldest February was in 1899 with an average of 17.6 degrees.
Temperatures ranged from a high of 68.3 degrees on the 16th down to a low of -12.6 degrees on the morning of the 5th. Out at the airport, Denver saw its highest temperature of 68 degrees and its lowest of -19 degrees on the same dates.
Denver record low maximum temperatures on the 5th and 6th. High temperatures on those days were minus 1 degree and plus 1 degree respectively.
Thornton recorded a mere 0.17 inches of precipitation in the rain bucket during the month. Denver officially saw 0.19 inches. Both fall well short of the February average of 0.37 inches. While dry, it wasn’t dry enough to be one of the top 10 driest Februarys.
In terms of snowfall, Thornton measured 4.7 inches. Denver lagged with only 3.3 inches. Again, both were a good ways below the historical Denver average of 5.7 inches.
Thornton, Colorado February 2014 temperature summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)Add a Caption Thornton, Colorado February 2014 temperature summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)Thornton, Colorado February 2014 precipitation summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOULDER, CO
628 AM MST SAT MAR 1 2014
...................................
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2014...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2014
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 77 02/28/2006
02/04/1890
LOW -25 02/01/1951
02/08/1936
HIGHEST 68 02/16 77 -9 63 02/17
LOWEST -19 02/05 -25 6 5 02/22
AVG. MAXIMUM 42.3 46.2 -3.9 43.3
AVG. MINIMUM 14.1 18.9 -4.8 16.9
MEAN 28.2 32.5 -4.3 30.1
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 8 3.9 4.1 6
DAYS MIN <= 32 26 26.9 -0.9 28
DAYS MIN <= 0 5 1.3 3.7 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 2.01 1934
MINIMUM 0.01 1970
TOTALS 0.19 0.37 -0.18 0.77
DAILY AVG. 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.03
DAYS >= .01 4 5.3 -1.3 6
DAYS >= .10 1 0.7 0.3 4
DAYS >= .50 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.0 0.0 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.12 02/04 TO 02/04 0.43
02/24 TO 02/24
STORM TOTAL 2.3 9.1
(MM/DD(HH)) 02/04 TO 02/04 02/24 TO 02/24
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 22.1 02-1912
TOTAL 3.3 02-2014 5.7 1980-2010
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 1022 908 114 972
SINCE 7/1 4519 4439 80 4272
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
.....................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 10.5
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 2/270
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 48/270 DATE 02/16
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 59/270 DATE 02/16
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.60
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 2
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 18
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 8
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 63
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 0 RAIN 0
LIGHT RAIN 1 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 1
LIGHT SNOW 10 SLEET 0
FOG 19 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 8
HAZE 12
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
Weather, natural disasters & climate news and information.
Performing prescribed burns is an important way to clear brush and renew wildland and are often done without any excitement. Mother Nature had other plans last week however as whirling winds propelled a fire beyond its containment lines at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck the Los Angeles area Monday morning in the pre-dawn hours. While a relatively minor quake, it was strong enough to rattling residents and send morning TV news anchors under their desks.
Icy roads Saturday morning led to a massive 104 car pileup on Interstate 25 through central Denver killing one person and injuring 30.
