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CLIMATE INFORMATION <br />Exhibit K AMENDMENT <br />Climate Information <br />The climate of this site is fairly typical of the high plains of eastern Colorado in [he vicinity of the <br />Palmer Divide. In a word, it can range from unbelievably bad to exceptionally beautiful. Mos[ of this high <br />variability is directly attributed to the Palmer Divide, a high ridgeline that extends eastward from the mountain <br />front. The Palmer Divide is known for its often violent and intense storms. The highest intensity storms occur <br />further to the south of this site where moist air from the south rises up the south side of the ridge and meets <br />drier, cooler air from the north. This can result in thunderstorms that sit in one place and drop volumes of <br />water rarely seen in any storms other than tropical hurricanes. In the winter, snowfall can be tremendous and <br />when combined with intense wind can result in fierce blizzards. <br />But in between these periods of intense storm activity, [he climate is mild and very pleasant with <br />warm, but not actually hot days in summer that are combined with cool nights. Winter days are often sunny <br />but cool to cold with most snow that falls melting slowly. However, winter nights can actually be warmer than <br />Denver or valleys to the east where intense, frigid inversions can develop. <br />Annual precipitation is about 16 to I8 inches with a majority of that coming in May and during the <br />July/August monsoon period. June can be wet, but more often it tends to be a short drought period. The most <br />intense storms tend to occur near the end of May or in early June. The July/August storms often do not drop as <br />much rain as the May/June storms, but due to the greater supply of heat (energy) can be violent sometimes <br />with large hail and tornados. Winter tends to be drier with January being the driest month of the year. <br />However, in some years weather patterns can shift just enough to drop many feet of snow during winter and <br />that can rival the amount of precipitation received in spring and summer. Furthermore, due to the altitude of <br />this area (6,000 to 8,000 feet) heavy snow cover is slow to melt lasting well into early spring in heavy snow <br />years. <br />During the growing season, humidity is usually low and some kind of wind is nearly always blowing. <br />This generates considerable stress on the native vegetation and thus much of the vegetation is well adapted [o <br />surviving low humidity and desiccating winds. The cooler daytime temperatures though tend to help limit the <br />impact of these dry periods. Winter winds are rarely as intense as they are closer to the mountains, but they <br />can still have a desiccating influence on the vegetation. <br />With regard to reclamation of disturbed land, this area is quite favorable climatically. Some years may <br />be bad, but in most years good growth can be achieved on new or young plantings. It is probably best to plant <br />reclamation sites in the spring as fall plantings, if buried under the snow and exposed to excessive snowmelt, <br />can result in failure from seed rot. Fall planting can work well if the winter is on the normal or dry side. But <br />spring planting in this area only rarely fails to produce success. <br />Miller Gravel Pit Amendment (2007) Exhibit K Page 1 of 1 <br />