Friday, May 19, 2006

Get a jump on the paddle season, it's going fast


It's heating up in the high country and the spring snow pack is disappearing fast, which means the highwater season on whitewater runs could be done by the first week in June, instead of the first week in July. Here's an AP story about it:

AP) DENVER With summerlike heat in the forecast, most of Colorado's mountain snows could melt and run off by mid-June, experts say.

"I'd say it's a few days to a couple of weeks early," said Chris Pacheco, assistant snow survey superintendent of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. "At this rate, the snow is going to be gone by early to mid-June."

The National Weather Service said high temperatures could reach near 90 degrees in Denver and in the 70s in mountain valleys in the next few days. The heatwave is expected to keep overnight readings above freezing in the high country, triggering around-the-clock melting, said Mike Baker, a forecaster with the National Weather Service. Computerized readings by the Natural Resources Conservation Service show the spring melt has been faster and earlier than usual, Pacheco said.

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