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<br />38 <br /> <br />The values of W in Fig. 10 range from a minimum of 1.18 near Fort Morgan <br />and several mountain areas to a maximum of 1.34 near Burlington. If the <br />probability distribution of precipitation was symmetric about the <br />median, then Fig, 9 would be a reciprocal image of Fig. 10. In fact, <br />the distribution is not symmetric and the figures are not images, but <br />they are very similar. Areas of high 0 have a low W which indicate a <br />small variability, while areas with low 0 have a high Wand a larger <br />variability. The Eastern Plains and the Western Slope both reflect <br />similar patterns. The limited data from higher elevations in the <br />mountains do not indicate nearly as much uniformity. All of the high <br />elevation sites have values of 1.20 or smaller. The smallest contour is <br />1.18 which could incorporate most of the areas near the Continental <br />Divide. <br />4) Caution, A strong caution is needed in regard to the use of <br />the variability maps, The data used were for annual precipitation. <br />Similar values for Dand W at high elevations in Colorado may lead one <br />to think that the mountains are all rather similar in precipitation <br />mechanisms, storm size and frequency, and seasonal traits. Beware! <br />Precipitation in the mountain varies enormously from north to south. <br />The southern mountains are much more variable in.winter precipitation <br />than the northern mountains and the reverse occurs in the summer season. <br />The two regions have many important climatic differences which simply do <br />not appear in these annual variability statistics. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />, <br />