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2.04.8 Climatological Information <br />• <br />The closest active reporting stations to the loadout area are at <br />Steamboat Springs, Colorado, which is about 17 miles east of the area <br />and at Hayden, Colorado, which is about 7 miles west of the proposed <br />permit area. .4pproximately 80 years of meteorological data have been <br />collected by the United States Department of Commerce in Steamboat <br />Springs, while nearly 52 years of similar data have been collected in <br />Hayden. Data from both locations are presented in the permit <br />application in order to provide the best information available for the <br />proposed permit area and to indicate the variability in climatological <br />characteristics that may be expected within short distances. <br />General descriptions of the climate of western Colorado may not always <br />accurately reflect localized climatic variations resulting from the <br />rugged topography of the region. <br />• The elevational difference between the highest and lowest point in the <br />Hayden-Steamboat Springs region is greater than 5,000 feet. Along the <br />Yampa River, in the vicinity of Craig and Hayden, elevations are about <br />6,500 feet, whereas several peaks along the Continental Divide <br />immediately northeast of Steamboat Springs rise to nearly 12,000 feet. <br />These peaks are part of the Park Range which is oriented approximately <br />north-south and is located just east of Steamboat Springs. The <br />Continental Divide has some pronounced effects on local weather features <br />of the region: (1) it acts as a barrier to storm systems approaching <br />from the west, causing them to veer either to the north or south; (2) it <br />tends to restrict the movement of high pressure systems and thus enhance <br />the possibility of air stagnation; (3) it prevents intrusions of polar <br />air on the east slope of the Divide from reaching the western slope; and <br />(4) it increases precipitation toward the mountains due to the upslope <br />effect of the topography on winter storm systems moving to the east. <br />'elide variations in temperatures, precipitation levels and wind <br />• velocities result from the combination of elevational differences and <br />localized air movements which reflect the orientation of major mountain <br />2.04.8-1 <br />