Weather Rant

Before I start, a full disclosure is needed: I love winter. I love snow. I love cold. I really dislike any temperature above 75, and for the most part, the Summer season is the equivalent to eating your vegetables on the way to winter. June 21 is a celebration because every day after that is shorter, and therefore one step closer to winter. Nuff said? Okay.

This winter in Colorado has been extremely mild, and very dry. We have had 70 degree days in every month except January and today’s high is supposed to be in the upper-70’s and pushing the record temperature set just a few years ago (we are supposed to get a cold-front push through and drop the temperatures for the next couple of days). And perhaps the most aggravating part for a snow-bug? Those warm days in the middle of winter were everyone else says “Isn’t this weather great?”

My first point (yes, it’s childish): its not fair. In the middle of February we are getting a 72 degree day. Yet in the middle of August we don’t get 30 degree days. I suppose that if there was a trade possibility for a warm winter day to get a cold summer day, it would make things easier and I would certainly have to consider it.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the occasional break from the long pants and gloves, and like the ability to throw on some shorts and go for a walk with Ezra without worrying about skin exposure and windchill. However, I enjoy the crispness, the calm of the snow, and the ride down the hill on some skis. So, if someone could arrange those days in July, I would be more tolerant of the warm January days.

Now to the reality of all of this warmth: there are consequences. I just heard in training the other day that the US Forrest Service fuel models (measuring the moisture content in the trees, plants, etc) are worse/drier than they were during the summer of the Hayman Fire (a 150,000 acre fire just west of Castle Rock). We are 22% below average moisture levels as of the first part of last week – and we haven’t received any accumulation since then. Azalea’s are starting to bud. Birds are starting to return, and the snow pack is melting fast. None of these are good things. The fire season is predicted to be a bad one this year, and water use restrictions are back in force.

So this summer when your house is threatened by a fast-moving wildfire, or your yard looks like crap because you can’t water, or your water bill skyrockets because we are having to import water, or it’s hot and dry for the 40th straight day….I don’t want to hear a lick of complaining. On the other hand, if you just complain about the weather year-round like me (too hot, not cold enough, not enough snow, too hot, etc), then you have the right to keep on complaining. But till then, let’s welcome the cold and the wet. Or move to Phoenix.