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0 CLIMATE INFORMATION <br /> Precipitation <br /> Temperature is important for determining the potential for plant growth, but precipitation is <br /> even more important. Unlike temperature though, precipitation is a complex parameter. Important <br /> in the consideration of precipitation is not only the amount received during the year, but what time <br /> of year it arrives, the type of precipitation (drizzle or torrential downpour), and the variations from <br /> year to year. All of these patterns are critical in determining the kind of vegetation that can survive <br /> on a particular location. <br /> Again, because there is no data for the site, data from Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and Canon <br /> City must be used on a combined average basis. Then projections and estimates are made for the <br /> site itself. Figures 3 and 4 show the relevant data for each site. Figure 3 shows the data for the <br /> average on a month by month basis throughout the year. This represents the average annual pattern <br /> for each of the three data record locations. Figure 4 shows the variations from year to year. This is <br /> important for determining what kind of long term extremes might be experienced on the site. <br /> For the mean annual record (Figure 3) the general pattern for all three sites is similar. But <br /> Colorado Springs shows much less pronounced variations during the early summer (June). During <br /> that time of year moisture generally arrives from the east or southeast making Colorado Springs on <br /> the windward side of Pikes Peak. Apparently, the Arkansas River Valley and perhaps Pikes Peak <br /> causes a distinct dip in precipitation in Canon City during June while Pueblo, which receives more <br /> of the easterly flow of moisture, remains nearly level. <br /> The pronounced late summer peak at all three locations is the result of the normal <br /> monsoonal flow from the south and southwest. North of Colorado Springs this late summer peak <br /> does not usually occur as the Palmer Ridge tends to capture much of the monsoonal flow, leaving <br /> Denver in a downslope airflow rainshadow. The slightly lower average precipitation in August in <br /> Pueblo is probably due to its being less affected by orographic precipitation than either Canon City <br /> or Colorado Springs. <br /> During winter, precipitation is similar at all three locations and generally dry. This is <br /> mainly due to winter precipitation being caused more by a blend of Pacific air and Polar air which <br /> often creates stronger snowfall north of the Palmer Divide leaving Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and <br /> Canon City in somewhat of a "snow shadow" produced by both the Palmer Divide and Pikes Peak. <br /> Figure 4 presents the long term record for Colorado Springs and Pueblo (no such records <br /> could be found for Canon City). Both sites follow similar patterns, as would be expected. Drier <br /> than average years tend to slightly outnumber wetter than average years, but there is no clearly <br /> defined repetitive pattern evident in the data. For the most pan it is an alternating pattern, that is, a <br /> dry year is often followed by a wet year. In a few cases one site shows a series of wet or dry years, <br /> but the other site, during the same period shows the alternating pattern. The most significant <br /> deviation was in 1965 when Colorado Springs experienced a very wet year, but Pueblo, just 40 <br /> miles away, was only slightly wetter than average. This kind of variation is usually created by a <br /> few very large storms at one location but with such storms not impacting the other nearby location. <br /> If the extreme storms are eliminated from the record, the pattern for 1965 in Colorado Springs <br /> probably would have been similar to Pueblo, that is, slightly wetter than normal. <br /> Table Mountain Quarry - Castle Concrete Company Exhibit K Page K-3 <br />