Unusually Long Below-Zero Streak in CO
Blog reader Trent points out this nugget of weather info this morning. I'm going to trust him on that, because the research sounds painstaking. This morning they are checking in at a chilly -26 degrees F (Observations | PREMIUMPRO).
Gunnison, CO, hasn't reached zero degrees Fahrenheit since at least 515pm on 1/12. That puts them at about 73 hours in a row without reaching zero degrees. I believe they're located in a dish like Alamosa, CO, which explains how they keep so much cooler than nearby areas at even higher elevations.
8 AM TEMPERATURES (LIVE ON PRO)
(Trent, cnt'd)
That beats their longest confirmed streak that I could find via NCDC, although they only listed daily readings, so I couldn't confirm anything longer than 72 hours, which they achieved four times:
- Jan 1971 (6pm on 1/4 thru 6pm on 1/7)
- Feb 1929 (5pm on 2/9 thru 5pm on 2/12)
- Dec 1924 (630pm on 12/24 thru 630pm on 12/27)
- Jan 1922 (630pm on 1/21 thru 630pm on 1/24)
Thanks for the report, Trent. Gunnison Airport is located in a deep valley with plenty of room for "cold air drainage" overnight, so I'm not surprised that it's one of the coldest spots in the area. Warm air rises naturally, which means that cool air falls, in this case, down the mountains into the valley where it can't get out, and it sits like in a "dish" as Trent says - see that link above for more information. Here's a shot from Google Earth:
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