Fort Collins: Monday Through Wednesday

Well, as I mentioned before, I awoke last Monday in Fort Collins to a most peculiar April sight.  Snow-and lots of it!

My campus closed early, and so I headed home to a winter wonderland.  Fortunately, Fort Collins was great about clearing my street, and so everything was great...

...for about an hour!  Then, the temperature dropped a bit, and the 7 inches of snow was quickly topped by another 6 or so, and glazed with plenty of freezing rain.  On Tuesday, I decided against driving to campus for a second day, and instead got to again enjoy the beautiful scenery on my street.

By Wednesday, we had plenty of snow, but I nonetheless woke to even more of the same!  Here is the view as I trudged to campus (would this earn you a snow day in your neck of the woods?).

Ultimately, the snow actually got even heavier, and so campus closed for us at noon on Wednesday!  As you can see, there was quite an exodus of thrilled students when the news broke.

Pretty soon, campus was again quiet, and I had free reign of a very quiet, very beautiful, and very snowy campus as we received another half-foot of snow.

By Thursday, our new weather pattern ended just as abruptly as it had arrived.  The sun began to poke out, and the temperatures returned to near 50 degrees.  All in all, we got 22" of snow during three days of nonstop snow, making this one of the most awesome snowstorms I've ever experienced!

Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I have to head back to Fort Collins from Laramie.  There's another snowstorm in the forecast for tomorrow!  Sheesh!

Changes in Latitudes

One of the foremost poets of our time, Jimmy Buffet, once eloquently noted that changes in latitudes bring changes in attitudes.  What wise words!  Anyway, building on his brilliant observation, Charlotte and I have repeatedly marveled at how small changes in latitudes (and elevation) can bring HUGE changes in weather out here!  Now we have photos to illustrate!

Earlier this week, Charlotte was enjoying a sunny day in Laramie.  So she grabbed a photo from a webcam on her campus to illustrate!

Anyway, at the same moment in Fort Collins, I was not!  So she grabbed another webcam photo to illustrate.

Pretty crazy, right?  Well, at the exact same moment, the weather was even more unbelievable between Fort Collins and Laramie.  Here's the view about halfway between the two cities.  They had to close the connecting road (US 287) for three days!

And, although it was relatively pleasant in Laramie, here's what the weather was like 15 minutes east of Laramie, near Vedauwoo.  The major road that you see (I-80) was closed for several days, as well.

Anyway, we hope that these webcam images give you a flavor of just how variable conditions can be out here!  Sometimes, other than laughing and shaking our heads, there's not much to do!  Or, as Jimmy Buffet says, "If we couldn't laugh, we would just go insane."

Well, enjoy your Friday, everyone, and in our next post, I'll give you a taste of "April in Fort Collins."  I think you'll see why Vernon Duke wrote about Paris instead.

A Front Range Spring

Springtime weather is notoriously unpredictable, and Charlotte and I are certainly accustomed to it from living in New York and New England.  That being said, we're quickly discovering that weather along the Front Range, under the influence of the Rockies, isn't exactly uniform, either.  Take this week, for example.

Here are some pictures from the beautiful CSU campus.  The first was taken Monday (a gorgeous, 60+ degree day), and the second was taken yesterday (when the high was about 20, before the windchill)!

It's amazing how quickly things can go from gorgeous (Monday)...

 ...to cold (Tuesday)...

...to really cold (today-the temperature was 1 degree in Laramie this morning!).

Don't worry, though!  It'll be 50 again tomorrow, and close to 70 by the weekend!  Hope you're enjoying the weather wherever this finds you, and don't forget to pack layers if you come to visit!