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Alternative Water Supply <br />Surface coal mining operations at CCM#1 required the use of ground and surface water. <br />However, since mining has ceased and disturbed areas have been reclaimed, no further use <br />of water will be necessary. <br />2.04.8 Climatological Information <br />The closest active reporting station to permit area is at Walsenburg, about 4 miles southeast. <br />More than 25 years of meteorological data has been collected at this station. <br />The climate of the area is semi-arid, mid-latitude. There are more than 300 days of sunshine <br />annually. There is generally no foggy weather, and Walsenburg does not have any smog. <br />Visibility is often 100 miles. Summer temperatures seldom rise over 90°F, and hot, humid <br />weather is virtually unknown. Rarely does the temperature go below 0°F during the winter <br />months. The prevailing wind is from the west and is moderate in velocity. <br />Precipitation information for Walsenburg is shown in Table 6, Monthly Normals of <br />Temperature and Precipitation (1941-1970), and in Table 7, Monthly Precipitation (1971- <br />1978). In general, winter precipitation falls as snow or sleet, whereas summer precipitation <br />is mostly scattered local showers or thundershowers. <br />• Based on data from 1941 through 1970, the normal annual precipitation at Walsenburg is <br />15.3 inches. April, May, and July have the highest normal precipitation with 2.15, 2.01, and <br />2.02 inches respectively, while December, January, and February have the lowest of 0.64, <br />0.64, and 0.85 inches respectively. <br />Temperature data for Walsenburg is presented in Table 6, Monthly Normals of Temperature <br />and Precipitation (1941-1970), and in Table 8, Monthly Average Temperature (1971-1978). <br />The mean annual temperature at Walsenburg is 51.4°F with record extremes of just over <br />100°F and below -20°F. Mean monthly temperatures range from 33.5°F in January to 71.4°F <br />in July. The average annual growing season (above 32°F) for Walsenburg is approximately <br />200 days. <br />Prevailing winds are from the west. The local terrain of the permit area has the effect of <br />partially shielding the area from any prevailing downslope winds from the west. Wind data <br />from the Pueblo Airport (the closest report station collecting wind data), which is <br />approximately 50 miles north northeast of Walsenburg, show that the average annual wind <br />velocity is 8.7 miles per hour. The prevailing wind direction at Pueblo is from the west <br />northwest. <br /> <br />2.04-56 <br />