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k /,I r .'. <br />during the summer, winds shift to the southwest and bring hot, dry air from the <br />desert Southwest over the State. Such hot spells are usually of short duration. <br />CLIMATE OF THE EASTERN PLAINS <br />The climate of the plains is comparatively uniform from place to place, <br />with characteristic features of low relative humidity, abundant sunshine, <br />infrequent rains and snow, moderate to high wind movement, and a large daily <br />and seasonal range in temperature. Summer daily maximum temperatures are <br />often 95 °F or above, and 100 °F temperatures have been observed at all plain <br />stations. Such temperatures are not infrequent at altitudes below 5,000 feet; <br />above that elevation they are comparatively rare. The highest temperatures in <br />Colorado occur in the Arkansas Valley and lower elevations of South Platte and <br />Republican Rivers. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Colorado was 114 °F <br />at Las Animas in July 1, 1933 and at Sedgwick on July 11, 1954. Because of the <br />very low relative humidity accompanying these high temperatures, hot days <br />cause less discomfort than in more humid areas. The usual winter extremes in <br />the plains are from zero to -10 °F to -15 °F but have reached extraordinarily low <br />readings of -30 to -40 °F during some of the most extreme cold waves. <br />An important feature of the precipitation in the plains is the seasonal <br />cycle. A very large proportion (70 to 80 percent of the annual total) falls during <br />the growing season from April through September. Cool season precipitation <br />can be important for soil moisture recharge, but midwinter precipitation is light <br />and infrequent. More often, winter brings dry air and strong winds contributing <br />to the aridity of the area. From early March through early June, periodic <br />