Election Day Cloud Seeding?

I've been laying low for the past week because there isn't shit going on with regard to Colorado weather or the people who foolishly attempt to forecast it. I'm certainly not bitching though - this has to be one of the finest weeks leading up to Halloween in the last 10 years. If you care, highs have been in the mid 70s with lows in the low 40s here in the state's capital (not the fucking airport . . . I'll discuss this temperature of record being recorded at the airport thing very soon, because it drives me absolutely insane). I suppose my only beef with our local meteorologists was the forecast last Sunday (October 26). Each and every one of them claimed that a front to our north would stay there, giving us a reasonably warm day (64 degrees). Wrong. WRONG! I joined 100,000 of my closest neighbors at the Obama rally at Civic Center Park and froze my balls off. I think the actual high topped out at around 54. Not that that's a particularly cold temperature, but at 10:30AM when I arrived to the steps of the capitol, it was probably 45 degrees with some gusty winds. It chilled me to the bone . . . and that hurts.

Speaking of politics (sort of), I've heard from a source in no way related to the McCain/Palin campaign who says, on their way out of various American cities after rallies, they are seeding the clouds from their planes. Their hope, apparently, is to crank up the moisture content in the skies believing heavy rains on Tuesday will knock down voter turnout. Pretty nefarious if you ask me . . . and completely made up. Although no political tactic would shock me at this point.

Last thing on politics . . . if you, good resident of Denver, had MyFoxColorado meteorologist Chris Dunn in your "first one to suggest the weather on election day may be crappy," you go ahead and collect your prize. His "On Target" forecast claims we'll be looking at a high of 60 with the potential for rain. I'll shall monitor this prediction closely.

Anyway, happy Halloween to all. I should've gone as my hero Jim Cantore from The Weather Channel but I wasn't thinking. Next year. For sure.



I heard Sabine's dressing up like a polluted snowflake . . . but I'm sure she'll look adorable.

Measurable Gains?

Well that was fun, eh? It was kind of like a preseason game for the local meteorologists last night. It was an evening to dust off the winter weather prediction equipment (which doesn't exist) and practice their excited voices that are used exclusively during snowstorms or tornadoes. Actually, the weather teams at MyFox(13), News4 and Channel 7 were pretty calm and kept things in perspective. It was only Kathy and her ornery squad of weather folk down at 9News who got themselves whipped into a frenzy for the first "measurable snow" of the year. Per usual, they were off the mark. It certainly snowed . . . I saw mighty bursts of the white stuff while cutting through the city on I-25 at about 11:00PM - but that shit didn't stick. I'd be hard pressed to even call it a "trace."

But I won't bust their chops too much so early in the game. There will be plenty of time for that as snow season progresses. And I'll give everybody credit for nailing the mountain forecast. It would appear, by carefully studying various cameras in the high country, that between 1-4 inches fell. I'm working on a resource for official measurements all around the state, but until the volunteers start pouring in, I'm going to have to eyeball it. But don't worry . . . I wear contacts.

It Begins

The first snow of the season for metro Denver is being forecasted by some, so it's time to get this blog off and running. This is going to be a work in progress as I figure out how to properly track our local and national meteorologists in their quest (and ultimate failure) to accurately guess what Mother Nature's next move is. A good jumping off point, in my humble estimation, is to track their snow total forecasts. So let's not waste any time and get right into it.

Forecast for Tuesday Evening (Oct. 21, 2008) into Wednesday Morning (Oct. 21, 2008)
Coniglio - 9News - Denver metro . . . 1 inch; South Burbs . . . 1-3 inches; Foothills . . . 1-4 inches
Nelson - 7News - Denver metro . . . little to no accumulation; Mountains . . . 3-5 inches
Donaldson - News 4 - Jim Benneman makes Stacey Donaldson very uncomfortable at the beginning of this video, calling her "snookums," which is awesome. Denver metro . . . rain/snow mix - little to no accumulation; Parker and to the South . . . 1 - 3 inches; Eastern Plains . . . severe thunderstorms giving way to snow later
Dunn - My Fox Colorado - "You can smell the stockyards" (Northeast winds - often signify cold/snow/updraft and blow a smell that's the combination of dog food and a bean burrito fart from Greeley (where it always smells like that) to Denver) Denver metro . . . minor accumulations

Alright . . . we'll check back tomorrow and see how everyone did. Let the chaos begin!