Brown Snow in Colorado

Posted on February 27, 2006

The Summit Daily News reports that the incredibly dry air in Northern Arizona has stirred up dust particles which has turn some of the snow falling in Colorado a brownish color.

In some spots Thursday morning, the snow looked like it was tinted chocolate-brown, prompting calls from concerned area residents.
"It's pretty much statewide," said Ethan Greene, director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. "We've had reports from the San Juans, Winter Park ... all over."
Greene said exceptionally dry conditions in Northern Arizona contributed to the dust event, with a wind plume carrying the dust across most of Colorado.
Greene said the Copper Mountain ski patrol reported possible impacts to snow stability from the dust layers, with some easy shears occurring in the snowpack where new snow accumulated atop the dust.

If the long dry spell in Northern Arizon makes you wonder about the possibility of a return to the dust bowl area you are not alone. Accuweather has responded with a dust bowl feature that looks at the possibility of another dust bowl occuring.

The Dust Bowl, which lasted from 1931-1939, was a severe drought that struck a wide swath of the Great Plains. It was a catastrophic blow to the U.S. economy, which was already staggering under the weight of the Great Depression. The Dust Bowl was the worst drought in U.S. history, eventually covering more than 75 percent of the country. Solar radiation heating the parched and blighted land caused temperatures in the region to rise to record-breaking levels.
"1936 was the hottest summer ever recorded across much of the Midwest and East," said Abrams. "Many of the single-day and monthly record-high temperatures across the eastern two-thirds of the country are from that year."
The Dust Bowl was also noted for the huge dust storms that billowed across the Great Plains and swallowed millions of acres of farmland at a time. While a Dust Bowl-level drought could occur again, it is highly unlikely that the nation will see a return of the dust storms.

The article also suggests there could be a hurricane connection as the 1930s were very active years in the tropics. Let's hope there is no connection because we already have the increased hurricane activity and we really don't need huge dust storms to go along with them.

WEATHER