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PUEBLO AREA, COLORADO Station at the Pueblo City Airport, unless stated other- wise. Warm, moist air from the south moves into Pueblo ;,ounty most frequently in spring, bringing the heavi- :strainfall of the year. There are frequent showers and thunderstorms until well into summer. In spring the average daily maximum tempel'ature 1•anges fl•om the nid 50's to the mid 70's. The average daily minimum temperature ranges from the mid 20's to the high 40's. Heavy accumulations of snow at the highel• elevations n winter followed by rapid warming in spring may cause extensive flooding. Normally, widespread flooding does not occur in spl•ing. In summer the maximum temperature reaches 90° F or mole about 1 day out of 2, but because of the low relative humidity the heat is not oppressive. Summer nights are invariably coo] because of the elevation. Dfountain breezes usually prevail from just after sun- set to about noon the next day. The average daily maximttnt temperature ranges from the mid 80's to the low 90's. The average daily minimum tempel•atttre ranges fl•om the mid 50's to the low GO's. \Vith an inflow of air from the sottthlvest, the survey area re- ceives its hottest weather of the yeal•. These periods of higher temperatttl•es are usually of short duration. In summel•, noon relative humidity is about 35 percent. The prevailing wind is from the southeast at about 9 miles per hour. Most of the precipitation in the survey area is received during the growing season. Tattle ~ ShOSVS the average precipitation by months of the year. Thmtderstorms occur on an average of about 35 days during summer. 87 In fall, cold air from the north begins to move into the survey area with increasing frequency and often results in a sudden dl•op in temperature. The average daily maximum temperature ranges from the mid 50's to the love 80's. The average daily minimum tempera- tul•e 1•anges from the high 20's to the low 50's. Little precipitation is received during fall. Rrintel•is usually rather mild because of the abun- dance of sunshine and the protection afforded by the nearby mountains. Cold air fl•om the north does invade the sut•vey- area, and blizzards occasionally occur in Pueblo County. These cold spells usually last 3 to 5 days, whelt They are often ended by "chinook" winds. Chinook (or Foehn) is the name given to the warm winds that blow down the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. The rise in temperature is the result of thl•ee factors acting togethel•. The replacement of a cord ail• mass by the advection of warmer air, dynamic heating by subsidence, and the destruction of the nor- mal night ground inversion. These "chinook" winds may cause sudden temperature rises of more than 40° F. As a role, less precipitation is received in winter than in fall. Stl'ong winds occur frequently in winter and spring. After an ttnttsttally dry winter, duststorms may occur, particularly in dryfarming areas. The prevailing wind is from the west at about 8 miles per hour. The relative humidity at noon is about 45 pel•cent. The average growing season for Pueblo County is 1G7 days. The last freeze in spring generally occurs on April 29 and the first in the fall on October 13. Table 10 shows the probabilities of freezing temperatures. TABLE 9.-Temperature and 71recipilatiore data lAll data are from Pueblo] Temperature Precipitation Two. years in 10 will have One year in 10 will have~- at least 4 days with ~- th M Days Average on Average Average with depth o[ daily daily Ivfaximum Minimum Average' snow snow on maximum ' minimum ~ temperature temperature Less More cover ~ days with equal to equal to than- than- snow cover ~ or higher or lower than- than- e F ° F ° F ° F In In 0 fn 0 74 T'umOrr 8 In 3 January____ 45.5 14.7 65 -6 0.32 5 0. . 4 2 February__. 49.8 19.6 6T 2 .32 .05 .64 4 3 Dlarch.__-__ 54.9 25.0 75 6 .66 .16 1.11 2 April____-.- 66:4 36.9 S? 23 1.29 .08 2.47 1 Dfay_------ 75.5 46.6 90 36 1.65 .39 3.18 ------------ ------------ . __.- June 85.8 55.6 99 47 I.36 .29 2.88 ------------ ------------ __ JuIY'_.___--- 91.1 61.6 101 55 1.87 .73 3.57 ____________ ____________ August_____ 58.6 60.1 9S 52 1.96 .51 3.50 _____ _______ ____________ September__ 81.5 60.8 94 39 .79 .IS 1.39 ____________ ____________ Dctober___._ 70.7 35.2 S6 27 .96 .O6 2.10 ____________ ____________ 2 Norember__ 56.5 25.1 73 12 .42 .02 .77 2 3 December___ 46.2 17.7 67 1 .29 .O1 .62 6 25 9 Year_____ 67.9 37.7 X105 ~ -28 11.91 7.51 15.57 ' Based on the period 19x1-70. ~ Based on the period 1955-73. ~ Average annual highest temperature. ~ Average annual lowest temperature.