With an unusually warm summer and very dry conditions Mother Nature has moved up the timetable to view Colorado’s natural autumn gold. This weekend will be the prime time to take a drive to view the changing foliage in the high country. Find out some of the best places in the mountains to view the changing leaves.
Providing a voice of reason to the sometimes hysterical ravings of climate change alarmists, the scientific journal Nature cautions today that connecting global warming to disasters is not so easy. The jury is in fact still out on whether extreme weather events can be attributed to anthropogenic global warming, despite what some may say. As Nature points out, there is no empirical evidence that stands up to scrutiny and claims to the contrary only look foolish. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com.
Scientists announced yesterday that Arctic sea ice had completed its summer melt and in the end reached the lowest extent since satellite measurements began. At the other end of the globe Antarctica was seeing the exact opposite as the ice at the South Pole grows to record levels. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com. Be sure to check out the video of the early August storm that tore the Arctic ice to shreds.
Prince William and Kate Middleton continued a tour of the Pacific with a visit to the tiny island nation of Tuvalu yesterday. For more than a decade the so-called ‘sinking island’ has been held up as an example of the dangers of manmade climate change yet the duke and duchess cannot see the effects because there are none. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com
The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) launched its latest polar orbiting satellite yesterday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Metop-B spacecraft carries with it a host of instruments that will help feed models that forecast the weather and climate. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com and find out what it means for you.
While North America has dealt with a deadly and devastating wildfire season, Australia as well has seen many bushfires rage across its wild lands. One fire in recent days burning near Alice Springs spawned a rare fire tornado that whirled through the Outback for 40 minutes. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com and check out the amazing video.
Given our hot summer some may enjoy a look at what at times has been a cold and snowy week in Denver weather history. Not only one but two major snowstorms have occurred, both very damaging and both brought snowfall amounts we typically see in March, not September.
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In 2000…unusually hot weather for so late in the season occurred when temperatures climbed into the 90’s setting daily record maximum temperatures on each of the 3 days. The high temperature was 92 degrees on the 15th and 95 degrees on both the 16th and 17th.
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In 1906…rain on 5 consecutive days totaled 1.61 inches. A thunderstorm occurred on the 17th. High temperatures ranged from 48 degrees on the 16th to 65 degrees on the 15th. Low temperatures were in the lower to mid 40’s.
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In 1874…a blast of west winds caused minor injuries during working hours in Boulder.
In Denver…the winds veered suddenly from the southwest to the northwest around noon and increased to a maximum sustained speed of 49 mph behind an apparent cold front. The winds remained strong and backed to the west for the remainder of the afternoon.
In 2000…the record high temperature of 95 degrees at Denver International Airport established or equaled 3 different record extremes: the high temperature broke the previous record high for the day of 92 degrees set over a century ago in 1895; it marked the warmest that it has been so late in September; it also marked the 60th day during the warm season that the temperature had reached 90 degrees or more…equaling the record first set on September 29…1994.
In 2006…strong Bora winds behind a pacific cold front raked the eastern slopes of the mountains and metro Denver during the afternoon. Northwest winds were sustained to 40 mph with gusts as high as 54 mph at Denver International Airport.
In 2007…a severe thunderstorm produced a peak wind gust of 67 mph…about one mile east of Bennett. At Denver International Airport…a peak wind gust of 48 mph was observed.
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In 1971…a record breaking early fall snow storm caused extensive damage to trees and utility lines. The heavy wet snow occurred with little wind…but caused record breaking cold temperatures for so early in the season. Snowfall totaled 15.6 inches at Stapleton International Airport with most of the snowfall…12.0 inches…occurring on the 17th. This was the heaviest first snow of the season. The maximum snow depth on the ground was 13 inches. Record low temperatures were set on three consecutive days: 31 degrees on the 17th…23 degrees on the 18th…and 20 degrees on the 19th…which was also a new all-time record minimum for the month at that time. Record low maximum temperatures were set on 4 consecutive days: 48 degrees on the 16th…35 degrees on the 17th…40 degrees on the 18th… And 42 degrees on the 19th.
Continue reading September 16 to September 22 – This Week in Denver Weather History
The most powerful tropical storm on the globe thus far this year is gaining strength and has its sights set on South Korea or Japan. Super Typhoon Sanba has achieved Category 5 strength with the potential to cause catastrophic damage. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com including the latest forecast tracks and satellite imagery.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced today that the record holder for the hottest temperature ever recorded on the planet had been changed. A record dating back to 1922 in El Azizia, Libya was deemed invalid and thus the honor now falls on a temperature recorded in Death Valley, California in 1913. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com and find out why the ‘honor’ was taken away from Libya.
There are few Americans who don’t know the name ‘Neil Armstrong’ and can’t cite the tremendous contribution the man made to exploration and our nation. Following his passing last week, a memorial service was held today at the Washington National Cathedral and a new video tells much about the man.
On July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins took to the skies aboard their massive Saturn V rocket bound for the moon. Five days later, Armstrong and Aldrin would lift the spirits of the nation and the imaginations of the world as they became the first men to walk on the moon.
Chosen because he was a civilian at the time, Armstrong would make that infamous ‘small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind’. In doing so, the United States Navy veteran would forever be mentioned in the history books with the likes of Columbus, Polo, Lewis & Clark, Cook and Hillary.
We mourn the loss of this national hero but thank the Lord for a man who gave so much to his country. As we wrote last week, “May he rest in peace and may one day our nation find the will to continue on the path which he and so many of his predecessors put us on.”
Rest in peace, Neil.