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§2.04 APPLICATION FOR PERMIT FOR SDRFACE OR UNDERGROUND MINING ACTIVITIES -- <br />MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES. <br />• <br />2.04.8 Climatological Information. <br />(1) Climatic Characteristics of the North Fork Valley (Cont'd.) <br />(a) (Cont'd.) <br />During the winter, the predominan[ air mass over the <br />Rocky Mountains of Colorado is either continental polar <br />or, less often, maritime polar, resulting in cold dry <br />air during the storm-free periods. In the summer the <br />predominant air masses over the region are continental <br />and tropical and, less often, maritime polar, <br />During the summer the region is well south of the storm <br />track. If a local or air mass moisture source is <br />available, surface heating and upslope winds may pro- <br />duce afternoon and evening thundershowers. These <br />storms are quite localized, usually of only moderate <br />intensity and are normally not accompanied by hail or <br />violent weather. <br />With the above factors influencing the area, the aver- <br />age seasonal precipitation is 14,9 inches. For daily <br />• and monthly precipitation information, see Tables <br />2.04-14, 15, 16, and the precipitation graphs for the <br />years 1979 through 1983 in [he Climatology Appendix, <br />Volume 9. <br />(b) and (c) <br />The local climate of the North Fork airshed is strongly <br />influenced by microclimatic features - slope, aspect, <br />elevation, soil type, soil moisture content and vegeta- <br />tion. For example, the warmest surfaces in mid-winter <br />are the lower elevation, unvegetated, steep (approxi- <br />mately SO°) southfacing slopes while in mid-summer the <br />warmest surfaces are those with only 12-20° slope. The <br />steepness of the [errain, together with its type and <br />amount of vegetation, orientation and range of eleva- <br />tion are the major controls of the diurnal wind pat- <br />terns. During a warm sunny day, the heating of the <br />sunlit valley slope causes the adjacent air to warm and <br />rise. A related phenomena occurs at night when radia- <br />tive cooling of the valley walls and higher elevations <br />cool the adjacent air. This air, being more dense than <br />the surrounding air, slides down the slope draining <br />. Revised 10/01/87 <br />60 <br />