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2.04.8 Climatoloeicallnformation <br />The closest active reporting stations to the permit area are at Craig, Colorado, which is about <br />28 mites northeast of the area and at Meeker, Colorado, which is about ZO miles south of the <br />area. Information from both locations is presented herein to provide the best data as related to <br />the permit area and to indicate the variability in climatological characteristics that may be <br />expected within short distances. Also, the data collected at the Colowyo mine site are <br />presented. <br />The climate of the areaican be described as typical of a high plains, continental, mid-latitude <br />region with warm summers and cold winters characterized by high diurnal and seasonal <br />temperature variations. The low relative humidity usually makes the hot summer days <br />pleasant. The summer, nights are generally cool because of strong out-going terrestrial <br />radiation. The combination of dry air and strong solar radiation tempers the cold temperatures <br />of winter days. <br />The outstanding characteristic of the climate of northwest Colorado is its aridity and is <br />sometimes referred to gas semi-arid steppe. The flow of Pacific air dominating the climate <br />descends into the area gas a warming and drying mass after depositing its moisture over the <br />western slopes of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains. A large rain shadow is created <br />over Nevada, Utah, and western -Colorado by the clocking action of these natural barriers to <br />the moist, maritime air.' <br />• Intense cold waves are rare because of the ban•iers created by the mountains of the <br />Continental Divide. Generally, severe storms and low pressure systems bypass the region by <br />deflecting north or soi~ith over lower elevations of the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming and <br />New Mexico, respectively. The predominant air mass over the Rocky Mountains during the <br />winter is usually contir'iental polar and sometimes maritime polar and produces cold, dry air <br />during stormfree periods. High pressure systems that result in fine, light, powdery snow tend <br />to become established in winter over the cegion which lies within the mean winter storm <br />track. i <br /> <br />2.04.8-1 <br />