Retroactive Guest Post - Mrs. Axelrod

Lisa Hildago says a small band of snow and a couple of inches possible near Ft. Collins. Thanks to my screaming child, I have been up since 5:30am and I can say without doubt that it has been snowing since then. With a snapshot of my backyard, you may notice more than a couple of inches have fallen. With fierce determination our friend Old Man Winter hangs on for one final hurrah. Similar to Crazy Eddie's Last Hurrah, the Old Man is double fisting temperatures which are wrecking the beautiful blossoms on trees and large fluffy flakes which are parking out on my lawn.

Mrs. Axelrod originally submitted this post on April 29, 2010. Due to technical difficulties, bouts of heavy drinking and questionable life choices, it took awhile to post it. My apologies to Mrs. Axelrod and my thanks for her continued dedication to and support of FKS.

Snow Forecast Round Up

What's up, Natives, Texans (gross) and Californians? The lack of posting has been quite uncouth, I know, but shit's been happening and it's hampering old Flip's schedule. Said shit isn't horribly interesting, but the crux of it is I picked up a debilitating chest cold (probably from that vagabond) that put me out of commission for a few days (I coughed so hard and intensely the morning before New Year's Eve that I sharted in bed). Luckily I rallied and even foolishly smoked a cigarette as aught nine was rung in (under extremely mild temperatures might I add). Good stuff . . . although I'm pretty bummed that this will be the last of the "aughts" for my lifetime. At least we can still say "back in aught one, two, four, etc." ad nauseum for the foreseeable future. Like, "Remember when Kathy Sabine completely blew forecasting the great Holiday Blizzard of aught six? It's amazing she still has a job!"

Anyway, the prognosicators of atmospheric conditions are back at it and are predicting a few inches of snow. Here's a quick round up of the various local forecasts for your pleasure:

9News (Altieri) - "The cold front responsible for the snow will move over Denver and the Front Range around midday on Saturday. Once the front passes, temperatures will drop rapidly and snow will start to develop. Most of the snow in the metro area will fall during the late afternoon or early evening on Saturday. The 9NEWS Weather Team expects 1 to 3 inches of total accumulation for most metro neighborhoods. Locations along the Palmer Divide in Douglas and Elbert Counties could see up to 5 inches while the foothills see up to 6 inches. Northern Colorado including Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley will see 1 inch or less."

Channel 4 (Gaguilera) - "A cold front arrives early Saturday morning and will drop our temperatures back in the 30's. There is also a chance for light snow showers around the metro area but it's not expected to bring any accumulation. Sunday's high will only be in the 20's."

**Ed. Note - Nice! Right off the bat we know one of the big dogs are going to be dead wrong. My money's on 9 News. Altieri inspires no confidence.**

7News (Hidalgo) - "Another cold front will move into the state on Saturday morning, spreading snow into the mountains and colder temperatures across the plains. Afternoon highs in the metro area will be about 25 to 30 degrees colder than Friday. There will also be a slight chance of light snow across the plains and in the metro area with the passing of this storm on Saturday afternoon."

Fox31 (Tomer) - Eat a fat one, Fox, for making us watch your stupid video forecasts. Tomer, who I bet is very awkward around women, thinks the cold front's going to blow in during the overnight/early morning hours and with the snow following in the afternoon/evening. He says 0-3 inches which is a no-no here at FKS. If you want to be a money forecaster when it comes to snowfall, you need to be accurate within two inches. Three is too wide of a margin. Especially when you're throwing zero in there. What the hell? Grow a pair, Tomer! Either stick to your guns and say it's going to snow 1-3 inches or go with a trace to no accumulation. It can't be both you geeky bastard.

KWGN 2 (Who Knows) - You people are lazier than Fox. There is virtually no words on their page. Just pictures and video. Shameful. Anyway, here's their guess:



I'll be back Sunday to check up on these goons. Until then, you can find me at either a sports bar enjoying NFL playoff football or at the Grizzly Rose enjoying the melodious tunes of The Randy Rogers Band and Cross Canadian Ragweed.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't send off one final Mile High Salute to Mein Shanny. While things have indeed been mediocre in terms of wins this past decade, the man did deliver two world championships to this title-starved city and I will never, ever forget that. That overly tan, rodent-looking football genius brought much joy and pride to this city and for that we should all be thankful. Actually, you don't have to be. But I always will be. Happy trails, Mike.


(Nobody chews zebra better than Shanny)

First Measurable

It pains me to say it, but kudos to you, 9News Weather Team(TM) for your gutsy and bold prediction that the early hours of Friday, November 14, 2008 would be the time Denver sees its first measurable snowfall of aught eight. You went out on a limb. The chance of snow was only 30 percent, but you said there would at least be a tenth of an inch of cold, sweet Colorado powder on the ground and you were right. Savor the moment. Drink a little champagne. Your competitors don't have the balls that you do. Sure, that geek Dunn over at Fox was watching a band of snow showers but said there would be no accumulation. Same goes for Hidalgo (who, according to her bio, once ran a marathon in Sweden, which seems moderately random with a chance of "why Sweden?"), who was very cautious yesterday in predicting any snow. But not you, 9News. Your hope and borderline desperation for that first snowfall was creepy, but can now be set aside. Until we go three more weeks without any snow . . . then your manic behavior will once again rear its ugly head. I can't wait.

Not Even a Trace

I've been out of the loop for the past few days as my thirst for adventure and different weather took me to central Illinois, somewhere along the mighty Illinois River. It was there that I attempted to age 3 years in 48 hours by abusing fried foods, alcohol and tobacco. A little duck hunting was also in order and I am proud to say that it was a success . . . and that frying duck breast in bacon grease before consuming it is incredibly wise and highly rewarding.

Coniglio announced last night that Nov. 21 is the latest Denver has ever gone without receiving measurable snowfall and that if we did not get it tonight (Monday, Nov. 10), we would break that record because there is no snow forecast for the rest of the week. Make of that what you will.

All of the afternoon forecasters (at the four major stations) are keeping expectations down, which I applaud. Lisa Hidalgo over at 7News says we might get a trace of snow and is joined in that assessment by the rest of them. By the way, is she pregnant? How come they (meteorologists) never announce whether or not they're pregnant on the air? They should warn you, Joe the Viewer, that there are going to be some natural changes happening over the coming months. It's not fair to make us guess. You'd think they'd want us to know. I'd be dropping hints left and right during that grey period (first trimester, early second trimester) where you can't quite tell that a woman is pregnant yet know that they are getting bigger but are terrified to say anything. One of the cruelest life lessons any man or woman can learn is throwing out a "congratulations" to someone who looks pregnant but is not. The hurt in that woman's eyes when she replies "congratulations on what?" while quickly realizing what you are inferring is something you can never unsee. It happened to me once and it will never happen again. Well, I guess it will never happen again in person. Online it might because I just made the assumption about Ms. Hidalgo here and, who knows, maybe she does not have a bun in the oven. But she'll never read this. Even if she does, I won't have to see her face. Unless she sends me an angry picture . . . which would be pretty awesome of her.

UPDATE - As of 12:28AM, nary a trace of snow has fallen. Coniglio is surely distraught and drinking heavily. Bourbon probably.