Chinook Winds: January 2013

What are Chinook Winds?

Chinook winds blow in from the Pacific in late winter and early spring. Their moisture evaporates as they pass over the Rocky Mountains. Once the winds come down from the mountains onto the high plains, the air can be quite mild and extremely dry. When a Chinook takes effect local temperatures can warm up from as low as 5 degrees below zero to 60 or 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The air is so dry that when it hits snow, it sucks up the moisture, changing the snow directly into water vapor, bypassing the liquid phase that slushy phase-- entirely. Called sublimation, this is a common way for snow to disappear quickly in arid climates.
As you may guess these changes in temperature, little snow cover, but bitter cold temps make it hard for things to make it through the winter. We hope to have a 90 day growing season and 12 inches of perspiration in a year.

Chinook Winds

Thursday, January 31, 2013

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