It’s a little backwards this season.
Folks are coming from Telluride to Cortez for winter recreation. But 2012 has seen more sun than snow in many parts of Colorado.
“The snow is so bad in Telluride, we thought we’d come down and bike,” said Wesley Hester. He was loading mountain bikes onto his car on Main Street outside Kokopelli Bike and Board last Friday, during a warm afternoon in Cortez. “It’s beautiful down here right now, we might as well get out and enjoy it.”
Recreation enthusiasts are flooding the area in droves, looking for a dose of spring weather since winter has yet to stay put. Local weather guru Jim Andrus said that southwestern Colorado has seen well below average precipitation and unseasonably high temperature in the recent months.
“December was as dry as November, with .39 inches of precipitation”, he said. “The average is nine inches. That’s 43 percent below normal.”
Andrus was quick to mention that the previous year, the area was at 214 percent of the average, with a surplus of about 1.29 inches of precipitation.
“We limped along for 2011, but we’re still down, about three quarters of our normal average.”
Andrus is a co-operative weather observer for the National Weather Service, and operates a weather data instrument shelter located within the city of Cortez, which consists of a thermometer and a device that measures rainfall and other moisture.
“It’s called a rain can,” Andrus said. “When it snows, I melt it down to water form and measure it with a stick.”
Andrus formerly worked for the Weather Service as a computer programer, but has since relocated to Cortez and began gathering data, which he sends via telephone to their Grand Junction office.
“Once a meteorologist, always a meteorologist,” said Andrus. “We don’t have blood in our veins, we have mercury.”
So far, for 2012, the mercury is rising.
Back at Kokopelli Bike and Board, owner Scott Darling said that the phone rings off the hook during a low snow season, from would-be skiers and other winter enthusiasts looking for biking trail conditions in and around Cortez. “We probably get 20 calls a day.”
And wheels aren’t the only thing that you might see rolling. According to Cortez Parks and Recreation Director Dean Palmquist, there is talk of a possible February opening of Conquistador Golf Course.
“We talked about it, and if the weather stays conducive for golf, then we may open early,” he said.
The South 40 Golf Course is open and has already seen plenty of golfers this winter smacking balls on the driving range.
While the snowpack in southwestern Colorado’s San Juan Mountains is falling somewhere between 50 and 65 percent of average, the neighboring Abajo Mountains of southeastern Utah are oddly right on target. In Grand Junction, National Weather Service meteorologist Travis Booth explained that this year we have a “La Nina” winter pattern that will favor the northern and central mountains of Colorado with snow, while it remains dry and warm in the southern and southwestern parts of the state.
“I would expect a drier winter for this year,” said Booth.
Andrus agreed.
“It will be dry, with little systems moving through, but then back to sunshine,” he added.
Meanwhile the parks are filled with people enjoying walks in the sun. Children are feeding ducks at Parque de Vida, and even more wheels are rolling at the skate park. Just east of town, the parking area at Phil’s World is full on weekends, as mountain bikers travel from all over to prolong their off-road biking season. Downtown, it is not unusual to see short sleeves and even short pants from time to time.
Darling, though enjoying the steady business, said he would like to see the thermometer drop a little. “I waxed my skis and am ready to go, but haven’t even ridden them yet,” he said, “And, if winter comes, I want it to stay, but I’m riding bikes still, and that’s not bad either.”
Reach Brandon Mathis at [email protected]
