Laserfiche WebLink
Average precipitation patterns in Colorado Springs are also highly distinctive. Colorado Springs <br />has a peak precipitation period in May similar to Denver and other Front Range communities, <br />but also has a peak in July and August when Denver often suffers from summer drought. This <br />same pattern is seen in Idaho Springs west of Denver and Estes Park to the northwest of Denver. <br />Thus, Colorado Springs exhibits a precipitation pattern that is more like mountainous than prairie <br />or mountain front locations. However, Colorado Springs is also prone to severe thunderstorms, <br />more similar to Front Range or plains communities. <br />At the Colorado Springs airport, average snow precipitation is about 40 inches. In Security, a <br />few miles south of the airport, average snow precipitation is only 29 inches. If this pattern is <br />consistent, Fountain likely receives about 23 to 25 inches of snow precipitation. <br />Drought is not common in the Colorado Springs area, but when it does occur, it is often severe <br />and can be much worse than even the High Plains northeast of Denver where drought is more <br />common. In the last several years the proposed amendment site has experienced an intense <br />drought while a few miles to the west the drought was not nearly so severe. Thus, like other <br />climatic parameters, drought as well as wetness varies widely from place to place in the <br />Colorado Springs area. It appears that, in general, drought is more common and more intense in <br />the Fountain area than it is in Colorado Springs. <br />Wind <br />Wind in the proposed amendment area is highly variable. It is just outside the usual influence of <br />the very high velocity Chinook winds of winter where velocities frequently exceed 50 miles per <br />hour. The prevailing wind at the site is also quite variable. Colorado Springs has a north to <br />northeast prevailing wind, but just east of the city the prevailing wind is from the southwest. At <br />the airport, winter winds are usually from the northwest but in summer they generally come from <br />the south to southwest, south, or southeast. Based on its topographic placement, it is likely that <br />Fountain has a southwesterly prevailing wind. <br />General Site Climate Summary <br />The climate of this site is characterized by dry winters, usually moist to wet summers, the <br />possibility of severe thunderstorms, and a highly variable growing season duration. Very severe <br />wind effects would not be expected, but occasional strong winter winds could generate <br />significant wind erosion and winter dehydration. When coupled with low winter precipitation, <br />the presence of drying winds would indicate that drought resistant vegetation will exhibit the best <br />long -term survival, even if summers are wet. Lower winter temperatures help to reduce the <br />effects of dryness in winter and render summer precipitation more effective. <br />Perhaps the most important point derived from the examination of climate data is that the range <br />of variation from year to year and regionally can be wide. Therefore, planning revegetation <br />programs in this area needs to account for a highly variable climatic pattern and include species <br />of plants that are able to withstand both wet years and dry years. However, the emphasis should <br />be on very drought tolerant species. <br />Fountain Pit M- 1982 -155 <br />DRMS 112 Permit Amendment Page 25 <br />