Weather Patterns of the Climate of Denver

Cumulonimbus Clouds over The University of Colorado Denver Campus

Denver is a well known place for having bipolar weather at certain times of the year. It may come as a surprise to most people that March is actually the number one month in Colorado for snow followed by April as the number two month. The recent storms that have hit Denver this April are common for this area’s climate.This is due to two different bodies of air called air masses, which are filled with different pressures, temperatures and humidity; that collide over Colorado.  Continental and Maritime Tropical air masses travel northward up into the North American continent where the air meets cooler Polar Continental air masses that come from the North. When the two masses of warm and cool air meet over the Central American plains often extremes in weather can occur. The warmer more humid Maritime Tropical air that comes from the gulf meets with cooler less humid continental polar air forcing the tropical air  to ascend above the northern cooler air which forms large cumulonibus clouds that cause most thunderstorms over the Denver region. Cumulonimbus storm clouds can be massive and carry hundreds of millions of gallons of water, these cumulonimbus clouds are formed by the process of the ascent of the sub-tropic air currents rising above the moving in cold air mass. Vital to both Colorado’s arid climate and the drainage basin of the Colorado river. Categorized as a dry steppe climate, Colorado has semi-arid weather patterns that are often times unpredictable and bring the region in an out of times where water is plentiful for years, and other years where severe droughts occur. This specific climate is classified as BSk on the Koppen climate classification commonly referrerd to as the aforementioned dry steppe climate. The Koppen climate classification is one of the most used climate classifications in the world, it combines annual/monthly temperatures and precipitation.

Cumulus and Cirrus Clouds over The University of Colorado Denver Campus

Souces:

http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/

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