222 replies to this topic

[weatherbe]

It's my pleasure Malok. There are so many areas, including yours, in Colorado that are completely left out of the forecast, or they are lumped with other towns that more times than not have a completely different weather pattern going on. There is absolutely no reason for Estes Park and Allenspark (and Nederland) to be included in the same forecast, but that is exactly the case with the zone forecast in Colorado. I have been preaching for years that Estes Park needs to have its own forecast and be set off from towns like Allenspark. So I have taken it upon myself to do that, and I am not going to stop until I have created my own zones which will then give places like Allenspark and Nederland their own forecasts. I will also mention some annual snowfall amounts that make you further wonder how Estes Park and Allenspark can be in the same zone forecast, along with Nederland. Check out these average snowfall totals, and keep in mind when I mention Estes, I am talking strictly about the town. Once you barely get out of town and start rising, these totals go up pretty fast.

Nederland: 144 inches

Allenspark: 160 inches

Estes Park: 37 (after 2 decades of forecasting in CO, that total still blows my mind, but this is
based on over 50 years of records by the NWS so I can't question it)

This is the kind of weather information that will also be soon appearing on my site, as I think this type of information is very helpful and also interesting for weather enthusiasts. Also too Malok, I have not forgotten your request about sunrise/sunset information. That will soon be added to the site.

I am in the process of updating my forecast on http://www.esteslive.com. There is a tremendous amount of activity going on as the storm system moves across the Front Range.

Sincerely,
Greg Berman
Colorado Weather Analyst

[weatherbe]

Hi all, I just updated my site with a new forecast, and I have also updated the audio portion. If this were 2 to 4 weeks later, Estes would be seeing a major snow storm. Elevations above town could definitely get significant accumulations if this storm continues to intensify. Malok, depending on where you are around Allenspark, you just might be included in the significant accumulations. You may have mentioned this before, but I am curious as to your elevation. I know it changes dramatically around the Allenspark area, depending on which direction you go. In a storm like this, with the temperature playing havoc with my analysis, elevation is everthing to this system. A few hundred feet in either direction could be the difference in a couple of inches and 10 inches.

Also Malok, any spotter information you have would be greatly appreciate. Thanks!!!

Sincerely,
Greg Berman
Colorado Weather Analyst

Edited by weatherbe, 30 September 2004 - 11:45 AM.

[weatherbe]

Hi all, I am just now starting to get the hang of posting in this format, and I want to make sure that I am not causing any confusion when I post things close together. I had just replied to Malok's post and then let everyone know that I had just updated my site in a separate post. Sometimes due to time, I only have time to read the latest reply, and I wonder if others may do that too. I hope I am not confusing anyone by posting two in a row over a very short span. The post to Malok contained some very useful information for weather enthusiasts and those who travel through Estes and the Allenspark/Nederland area, and I was wondering if folks may have missed that one since the updated forecast post was sent only a couple of minutes later.

If there is a better way for me to do this, please let me know.

Thanks all!!

Sincerely,
Greg Berman
Coloado Weather Analyst

[Malok]

Thanks Greg! I'm not sure of our exact elevation but I believe that we are at about 8,600 feet.

I'll do what I can to get measurements for you and to keep you posted on the weather here. I guess I should invest in a few tools to take measurements of snow and rainfall.

When I lived in the remote mountains of northern Albania. I ran a little weather service and coordinated flights in the region from our apartment. We had our little wind speed indicator on the roof our our apartment building, temperature gagues, cloud formation charts, etc, etc. We did all of our communication over HF radio and occasionally VHF. We assisted humanitarian helicopter flights and even built our own dirt airstrip to link our region with the rest of the nation. That was many years ago, but a lot of fun.

[weatherbe]

Malok, I hope you don't invest too much. I love the fact that I can get this type of information from you, but I don't want it to cost you. The snowfall part is nothing more than flat areas and a ruler. As for the rain gauge, they are very very inexpensive. When I was with TV stations in Vail and Aspen, we actually gave out indoor/oudoor (minimum/maximum) thermometers to weather spotters so they could send me information. That was when I had a budget to do that, but that type of instrumentation has come way down in price.

By the way, I found the information from you and your weather service in Albania to be very interesting. I would love to do something like that specifically for the mountain towns in Colorado. I think folks would really appreciate that. My wife and I often talk about moving back to CO on a permanent basis, and that would certainly be a good reason.

Thanks again Malok for any weather information you can throw my way, and please don't feel you have to spend any money on this. If it's just the snow totals, that is completely fine by me ... :)

Take care,
Greg

Edited by weatherbe, 30 September 2004 - 06:10 PM.

[weatherbe]

Hi all, I just updated my site with new information, maps and audio. One system, a Pacific storm system, is sitting over town, with a Canadian system due on Friday. You want to be a weather forecaster, eh? While all of you are sleeping tonight, I'll be tracking and evaluating the oncoming Canadian front. Maybe I should find a way to do this in my sleep *chuckle*. Don't let me fool ya ... I love this stuff!!!

Those little heads tell you all you need to know *LOL*

Check out http://www.esteslive.com for the latest update as of 5:45PM Mountain Time.

Sincerely,
Greg Berman
Colorado Weather Analyst

Edited by weatherbe, 30 September 2004 - 06:16 PM.

[weatherbe]

Hi all, I just updated my site with new information, including a new audio forecast. The update took place at 12:25PM MDT.

http://www.esteslive.com

Sincerely,
Greg Berman
Colorado Weather Analyst

[Malok]

No snow here in Allenspark yet. It rained in the night and has been drizzling all day. Just wet and dark around here with temps around 37degrees.

Malok

[weatherbe]

Thanks Malok! This storm system has been inconsistent at best as to where it is dropping it's snow. I have reports of snow above 10,000 feet from RMNP down to west of Nederland, and there has been snow below 10,000 feet around the Brainard Lake area, an area I thought my get hit the hardest along Peak to Peak Highway. The perplexing part of this forecast is that the computer models insist on another surge of colder air and increasing moisture this afternoon. Five out of five models are giving me the same story, and even manual analysis agrees to this in terms of air temperature and moisture content. I'll be happy when we are 2 to 4 weeks up the road because at that point any moisture at 8,000 feet and above will be all snow, and the models will not be up in the air as to rain or snow or rain/snow mix. For example, once we are in the normal fall and winter pattern, that drizzle at your house/area will be snow, and you would be seeing no less than 3 inches from that alone. I hope this is not too much technical talk because I can tone it down. Sometimes I enjoy talking about this stuff so much, I don't realize when I have crossed the line ....

Thanks again for the information in your location. It really helps me!!

Take care,
Greg

[weatherbe]

Malok, there is a line of snow just west of your area and increasing in intensity at 4:00PM Mountain Time. By my analysis, this squal line has dropped about 3 to 5 inches in its path above 10,000 feet and possibly a bit lower. I will be curious to see if this snow line breaks down before it reaches Allenspark. Those darn computer models were exactly right, at least for this area of moisture. It should not be a prolonged event over several hours, but there could be a brief snow storm if it makes down off the higher peaks.

Take care,
Greg

[Malok]

No snow here. We had a few flakes earlier today, but just a few. Right now it is calm, not raining and the fog is like pea soup. We can't see anything beyond 20 yards or so. I'll keep my eyes open for the snow.

[Marvman]

Current conditions here, just east of Estes Park, are -

Current Temp - 66

Humidity - 83%

Dew Point - 61

Wind - NW at 15 mph

at an elevation of 1096 ft. above sea level

Glad to be added as one of your reporting stations.

Marvin
(ok, its actually 580 miles east)

[Bill 007]

Olathe, Kansas is at 1096 feet!!! When did ya'll get mountains in Kansas?

Bill, at an altitude of 701 Ft.

[weatherbe]

Actually Marvman, I would love to have spotter information outside of CO because I will soon be adding travel forecasts through states that are near CO. As time goes on, I will be adding travel weather around the country so to have spotter info in your area would be rather cool.

Take care,
Greg

[Marvman]

So, are you trying to say that my information is LESS THAN directly related to Estes Park? I happen to know, for a fact, that there are no hills, and only a handfull of tree's between here and there. How could it not be related? Next I suppose you will try and tell me that we're not even in the same state...

Marvman
(like I'm gonna buy that)