Uitwaaiend. The dutch word for “going out in the wind to clear your head.” Plenty of opportunity for that today in central Wyoming. Over the years I have developed a practice when those windy days start to get on my nerves. When I notice I am walking with my head down, sort of hunched over…
Tag: climate
Water is Life
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Wyoming is a headwater state. Straddling the continental divide, Wyoming feeds four major river basins: the Missouri-Mississippi, Green-Colorado, Snake-Columbia, and Great Salt Lake.1 Given the low rainfall in Wyoming’s lower elevations, we all keep a close eye on the mountain snowpack. The mountain snowpack will, for the most part,…
Fog, Frost, and Floods
You may have heard parts of Wyoming are experiencing flooding due to river ice breaking up. Some great aerial photos of the Worland flooding can be found at Yule Photography under Brandon’s freelance photos. It’s possible to plan for high flow flooding, but ice jams are pretty unpredictable. However, sharp bends in the river, bridges,…
Gotta Be Tough
Spring time in Wyoming is defined by rapid changes in weather. The sun may shine, or it might rain or snow, or rain AND snow, all in the same day. Wet spring snows usually melt quickly into the warming ground. They may be inconvenient, but it’s good to know the earth is getting watered after…
Warm, Dry March
It seemed like March was really dry, but I’m in a new place, so I don’t have years of personal experience regarding March weather in this location. According to the maps below, my impression was correct. We had good snow cover all winter, then it was as if someone just turned the clouds off. Almost…
Arctic Blast
A temperature drop of 80 degrees in less than 48 hours: That’s what most of Wyoming experienced early this week. It was a balmy 60 degrees late Sunday night, and a klondike-like 16 degrees below zero Tuesday morning. I can’t help but wonder how the local flora and fauna survive these extremes. The range plants…
Wyoming on the Edge of Ogallala Aquifer
The headlines read Aquifer study could lead to water use restrictions in Laramie County It’s hard to believe we could be draining such a large water resource as the Ogallala Aquifer.
Finally, a Little Snow
Finally, a little more snow in central Wyoming today. We’ve only had one other snow event giving a paltry few inches. We were up on Casper Mountain Saturday and I commented that it looked like the average October dusting, not what we hope to see at the end of January. Powder Pass in the southern…
The Dust Bowl PBS Series to Air Tonight
The PBS Dust Bowl series will air again tonight in two consecutive shows from 8 to midnight. Before the days of no-till, cover crops, and contour plowing, agriculturalists coming from the humid eastern states simply did not understand the volatility of weather patterns in the arid west, and so they plowed up millions of acres…
Natives Can Take the Heat
I’m sure you’ve heard the US has experienced the hottest July on record, and over half of the country is in drought. Corn farmers are plowing their crops under as they shrivel in the dry soil and intense sun. Food prices are expected to rise. I was not comforted as I hiked through our horse…
Wild Fires Across Wyoming
As of today, July 5, according to the Fire Incident Information System website, there are four major, active fires in Wyoming. Here in Casper, we were greeted this morning with a nice little rain. Apparently the firefighters down in Fox Park and Sheep Mountain west of Laramie also experienced some light rain and cooler temperatures…
Colorado Wildfire Smoke Finds Us
Today was the first day of breathing smoke from the Colorado fires. My guess -the source is the High Park fire about 220 miles from here (Casper, Wyoming), now estimated at over 87,000 acres. The smoke gives the sky an eerie yellow cast. I remember 1988, my first year in Wyoming, standing on a high-ish…
Wyoming Life 