Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner with CPR News visited Denver7 Chief Meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo at Denver7’s downtown studios in the middle of “fool’s spring,” where we’re a couple of days removed from snow and high temperatures in the forecast could climb to 80 in parts of the state.
March, the snowiest month in the state on average, this year has brought balmy temps, gusty winds, fire danger and blizzard conditions.
Hidalgo explained the March weather pattern:
“You're talking about a different kind of system,” she said. “As we start to see that jet stream fluctuate, we get more moisture, we get heavier snow. We also get warmer days before and after some of these snow storms. And so you see that snow melt off a lot faster too, which is nice. That's why I love March snow, because we could get, you know, monster storms [with] 20-plus inches, but then it's gone within 24 hours.”
The pair also touched on Colorado’s microclimates and how some areas are seeing elevated fire conditions, even as snow blankets other parts of the state:
“[The snowpack] has been generous in areas, not in all spots. We've had a few river basins that have not seen as much, particularly across parts of southwestern Colorado,” Hidalgo said. “Southeastern Colorado is just typically a warmer and a drier place, a much lower elevation, too, as you get down and through Lamar, La Junta, those elevations are a lot lower. This state is, you think about our highest point, you get up over 14,000 feet and then down to our lowest point, which I think is just over 3,000 feet. I mean, that's a lot of change within our little square of land that we've got here.”
Lisa and Ryan also talked about whiplash at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ahead of severe weather season, a sobering new report on the state of the global climate and the medium-range forecast for the coming months in Colorado.
- Watch their full conversation in the video player below: