Friday, May 9, 2008

Erratic Weather Patterns

Last week, May 2nd, I was driving back to the upper Midwest from Santa Fe, NM, and listening to "The Weather Makers," by Tim Flannery on my iPod. This is an amazing piece of work on how the climate works and how we have gotten to this point in our history.

As I drove along the eastern plains of the Rockies the wind began to blow and I altered course to get to the interstate ASAP. Winds built to @70 mph and I could not help to think how crazy this was to listen to this book about weather patterns changing while the weather patterns were changing.

Near the lovely hamlet of Limon, CO, I nearly got my truck ripped apart by a gust the Weather Channel later reported to be over 90 mph. Soon it began to snow and a blizzard began out of nowhere, this on May 2nd mind you.

I managed to turn around and inch back to Limon and hit happy hour with the ranchers at the South Side Tavern. I was happy to be in for sure. I could not help overhearing a rancher next to me state, "this has been the windiest spring I can ever remember." This to me is more evidence, "folk evidence," as I like to call it of our climate changing.

I later learned there was a record number of tornadoes ahead of this violent system and four feet of snow in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Very interesting times we live in to be sure.

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