Boulder is watching Hurricane Helene as it progresses inland after making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region. It reached Category 4 status with wind speeds of up to 140 mph and more, causing significant storm surges and catastrophic flooding along the Florida coast. The impact has already  been severe, with flooding expected to extend into […]

  In The Style Of Van Gogh A plethora of articles has popped within the last several days comparing Van Gogh’s style of painting skies to actual air circulation. Intuitively or otherwise he apparently understood how air circulated. The circulation patterns presented in his paintings, notably in Starry Night, are examples of his art crossing […]

mm Did we experience any record heat during the most recent heat wave? During the recent heatwave, several cities in Colorado experienced record-breaking temperatures. Aspen: On July 17, Aspen Airport recorded a high of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, marking the hottest July 17 since 1998. Although this temperature is significant, it does not officially count as […]

I was truly shocked. I had a chat with AI about how much hotter it is on concrete, on blacktop, and on outdoor dirt paths. How much hotter is a blacktop parking lot surface than the “ambient air” temperature as reported.  I know that when I walk out of the supermarket or out of any […]

The sun rises over Eastern Boulder County at the Erie Balloon Festival. I arrived at 5:15 AM to make sure I did not miss part of the show! The rising sun lights the clouds where the hot air balloons are welcomed! Here we are at the third picture and so far not even one balloon! […]

Pool for cool or for a place to melt? It can be either. Even in the water we are being cooked in the microwave we call the “sun.” As the temperatures rise, the summer heat can pose serious dangers, especially when engaging in physical activities. It’s crucial to prioritize staying cool and avoiding heat-related illnesses […]

The Friday sunset was so interesting and beautiful that I’m sharing what I saw as a “sunrise” blog. Heavy virga is in the middle of the jumble of clouds. Virga would be rain, but when the humidity is low enough, it evaporates before hitting the ground. It falls from clouds and disappears into the sky […]

When I was re-born in Boulder in 1975, and for some decades after that, it was “common knowledge” that tornadoes could not form close to the front range. Generally it was thought by many that tornadoes West of I-25 were not possible. We KNOW that is wrong. Personally we’ve seen funnel clouds several miles South […]

The cycle of a flower and fruit’s life is integral to the beauty we watch as flowers form form buds, develop into flowers, yield fruit, and finally reach the end of their life cycle as drying color and dropping petals.                                                An Iris in full bloom, with the inner working plainly visible The life cycle […]

In Boulder, during hot afternoons, we see afternoon hailstones forming, some of which are baseball size! How does that happen? Large hailstones are a fascinating meteorological phenomenon that have puzzled scientists and captivated the public for centuries. The process of hailstone growth is a complex and intricate one, involving a delicate interplay of atmospheric conditions […]