Colorado Weather, Thornton Weather

Gorgeous Colorado sunrise follows early morning crescent moon (Photos)

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One of the benefits of being early risers like we are is that we oftentimes get to see what many others sleep through.  Those that had their eyes closed just before the sunrise and as it came up, missed quite a show.  Here are a few shots we took this morning.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Li1oR3QnB5M/Ukh9XPB3CJI/AAAAAAAAAvU/sc3NElEWgcM/s144-c-o/twe1.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108306177534978229224/09292013MoonAndSunrise#5929126747558054034″ caption=”A pre-dawn crescent moon started the morning’s show. (ThorntonWeather.com)” type=”image” alt=”twe1.jpg” pe2_single_image_size=”w580″ pe2_img_align=”none” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-6addX2X_SQA/Ukh9XOH4_3I/AAAAAAAAAvM/FQIPjtF-0qI/s144-c-o/twe3.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108306177534978229224/09292013MoonAndSunrise#5929126747314913138″ caption=”Old Glory and a gorgeous Colorado sunrise – it doesn’t get much better than that. (ThorntonWeather.com)” type=”image” alt=”twe3.jpg” pe2_single_image_size=”w580″ pe2_img_align=”none” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-P0xuLDep-Lc/Ukh9XMaqy7I/AAAAAAAAAvQ/D3uQw9rSZmc/s144-c-o/twe2.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108306177534978229224/09292013MoonAndSunrise#5929126746856803250″ caption=”The sky was bathed in orange and blue at the start of the day. (ThorntonWeather.com)” type=”image” alt=”twe2.jpg” pe2_single_video_size=”w400″ pe2_gal_align=”none” pe2_img_align=”none” ]

Colorado Weather

Ski season approaches: Colorado ski areas fire up snow-making equipment

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Snowmaking operations began last night for the 2013-2014 season at Araphoe Basin and Loveland ski areas. (Arapahoe Basin)
Snowmaking operations began last night for the 2013-2014 season at Araphoe Basin and Loveland ski areas. (Arapahoe Basin)

A marked turn toward colder weather and a few light snowfalls has Colorado ski areas raring to get the 2013 – 2014 season underway.  Last night both Loveland and Arapahoe Basin fired up their snowmaking gear.

Neither ski area has announced an official opening date but with snowmaking underway, it won’t be far off.  Both began operations last night as temperatures were dropping below freezing.

Loveland and Arapahoe Basin stand at elevations approaching 11,000 feet which gives them a jump on other Colorado ski areas.  The two are always in a race to see which can open first with A-Basin usually holding the edge.

The earliest A-Basin has opened is October 10, 2007.  Two years later, Loveland bested that mark when it opened on October 7, 2009.

Once the ski season gets started, be sure to check our Colorado Ski Conditions page for the latest.

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Colorado Weather

Flood humor: Boulder County deputy tickets National Guard helicopter

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A Black Hawk helicopter conducting rescue operations was jokingly cited for ‘Parking in a no parking zone’ and ‘Parking facing the wrong way.’ Click for a larger view. (Via Reddit)
A Black Hawk helicopter conducting rescue operations was jokingly cited for ‘Parking in a no parking zone’ and ‘Parking facing the wrong way.’ Click for a larger view. View more photos below. (Via Reddit)

To be sure, the flooding that northeastern Colorado has seen in the past two weeks is serious business.  However sometimes, as one Boulder County Sheriff’s deputy shows, humor can provide a bit of relief.

Helicopters have proven to be invaluable in rendering aid in the wake of the devastating floods.  The operation has been called the largest aerial rescue since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

With roads destroyed, many locations in the foothills have only been able to be reached by air.  Helicopters from the Colorado and Wyoming National Guard and the U.S. Army have flown thousands of sorties and rescued hundreds of people.

This week images showed up on Reddit showing a ticket one deputy wrote as a joke to a Black Hawk pilot for parking on an area highway.

Posted under the chopper’s windshield wiper, the ticket ostensibly cites the U.S. Army for ‘Parking in a no parking zone’ and ‘Parking facing the wrong way.’

As we say, we are glad to find something with the floods we can smile about.

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The ticket ostensibly cites the pilot for ‘Parking in a no parking zone’ and ‘Parking facing the wrong way.’ (Via Reddit)
The ticket ostensibly cites the pilot for ‘Parking in a no parking zone’ and ‘Parking facing the wrong way.’ Click for larger version. (Via Reddit)
The Blackhawk helicopter was parked the wrong way on a Boulder County Highway. (Via Reddit)
The Blackhawk helicopter was parked the wrong way on a Boulder County Highway. Click for larger version. (Via Reddit)
Despite the ticket, the rescue was successful. (Via Reddit)
Despite the ticket, the rescue was successful. Click for larger version. (Via Reddit)
Colorado Weather

That isn’t clouds on Tuesday morning’s satellite imagery

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This morning’s satellite imagery runs are showing some interesting white cover on Colorado’s landscape and it isn’t clouds.  In fact, we see virtually entirely cloudless skies across the state.

That white stuff is in fact snow, the first covering of the season at higher elevations.  Some locations Sunday night / Monday morning received up to six inches of the white stuff.

Satellite imagery clearly shows the snow in parts of the San Juan Mountains to the southwest as well as the Elk and Sawatch ranges, the Flat Tops and even the western parts of the Front Range mountain areas.

It likely won’t be long before the Front Range sees its own snowfall.  Denver’s first freeze on average occurs on October 7th.  Its first snowfall on October 19th.

More Denver cold weather statistics can be found here.

Thornton Weather

A record-setting day of rain makes September 2013 the wettest September on record

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Record Rain
Our wet September notched two more records into the books.

Overnight showers that lasted into the morning set a daily rainfall record in Denver.  Even more notable, the rain added to the monthly total making this the wettest September ever recorded in the Mile High City.

As measured at Denver International Airport, Denver recorded 0.64 inches of rain today.  This is a new daily record for September 23, beating the old record of 0.52 inches set in 2000.

Today’s rain, coupled with rainfall before midnight, brought Denver’s September monthly total to 5.47 inches.  With that, September 2013 will go into the record books as the wettest September on record.  The old monthly record was 4.67 inches set in 1961.

Denver’s rainfall total, while impressive, hardly compares to what has been seen in other locations.  It also once again highlights how the station at DIA hardly represents the weather conditions seen in the metro area and makes historical comparisons somewhat invalid.

At the CO-OP station at Stapleton where Denver’s official weather measurements were taken from 1950 to 1995, the monthly total is at 9.08 inches.  The difference in rainfall totals between the old location and DIA showcases how the station move to a different microclimate has skewed the Mile High City’s climate records.

Here in Thornton, our monthly total stands at 9.98 inches after receiving 1.15 inches over the past 24 hours.

Boulder, where some of the heaviest rains fell this month, was at 17.24 inches for the month before last night’s rain.  Monthly rainfall totals in many locations across the Denver metro area are pushing the 10 inch mark.

There are of course still seven days left in the month and with showers in the forecast later this week, that record-setting total may increase.

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Examiner.com

Satellite imagery shows extent of flooding across northeastern Colorado

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Colorado’s record-setting floods devastated the landscape from the mountains to the plains. From their perch thousands of miles above the Earth’s surface, NASA’s and DigitalGlobe’s satellites captured astonishing imagery of the devastation.  Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com

In Lyons, Colorado, imagery and analysis confirm that the McConnell Drive Bridge, providing primary access to neighborhoods and schools in the area, was washed away completely.
In Lyons, Colorado, imagery and analysis confirm that the McConnell Drive Bridge, providing primary access to neighborhoods and schools in the area, was washed away completely. Click the image to view the satellite imagery slideshow. (DigitalGlobe)

 

Colorado Weather, Natural Disasters

Before and after: NASA satellite imagery reveals flood damage in Colorado

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Colorado’s September 2013 floods have been absolutely devastating with over 1,500 homes destroyed and a death toll yet to be finalized. NASA satellites flew over the area near Greeley in recent days and the before and after pictures provide a stunning view from above of the devastation.

Using the ‘sliders’ on the two image sets below you can compare how the area looks normally versus how it looked in the days immediately after the flooding.

[wpw_ba_viewer width=”600″ height=”auto” anim_speed=”600″ start_percent=”0.5″ disable_intro=”false”]
[wpw_ba_img src=”http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-EHZnr2QxwDo/UjxBTiFTICI/AAAAAAAAArY/lN8SZl9OGLs/s600/greeley-before.jpg” data_second=”http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Afkp7QnthD8/UjxBTnDEMrI/AAAAAAAAArU/QsAh-2SWRkw/s600/greeley-after.jpg” title=”Satellite imagery comparison of the area near Greeley, Colorado before and after the September 2013 flooding. (NASA EO)” data_info=”Satellite imagery comparison of the area near Greeley, Colorado before and after the September 2013 flooding. (NASA EO)”]
[/wpw_ba_viewer]Satellite Imagery of Flooding Near Greeley, Colorado – “Though water levels on the South Platte River were receding, muddy brown waters were still out of the river’s banks near Greeley, Colorado, on September 17, 2013, when the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite acquired this image. At the time, the river was more than six feet above flood stage, down from more than eight feet above flood stage.” The before image was acquired on June 29, 2013 and shows the area as it normally appears. (NASA EO)
 
 

[wpw_ba_viewer width=”600″ height=”auto” anim_speed=”600″ start_percent=”0.5″ disable_intro=”false”]
[wpw_ba_img src=”http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4P17RwE0yJ4/UjxBUXq6AEI/AAAAAAAAArc/jf6eRTTMaeQ/s600/platte-before.jpg” data_second=”http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-oFx1h0x653Y/UjxBTgBj2KI/AAAAAAAAArM/-rgcmbR2otk/s600/platte-after.jpg” title=”Satellite imagery comparison of the area near Greeley, Colorado before and after the September 2013 flooding. (NASA EO)” data_info=”Satellite imagery comparison of the area near Greeley, Colorado before and after the September 2013 flooding. (NASA EO)”]
[/wpw_ba_viewer]Infrared Satellite Imagery of Flooded South Platte River – “Intense rainfall in northern and eastern Colorado brought widespread, destructive flooding in mid-September 2013. Local citizens reported as much as 18 inches (46 centimeters) of rain from September 9 to 15, with some of the heaviest accumulation along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. A break in the precipitation allowed the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite to acquire the top image of the floods on September 14. The second image, taken by Terra MODIS on September 7, 2013, shows the region before the rains began. The images were made from infrared light to increase the contrast between water and land.” (NASA EO)

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