Returning to Colorado today, I left Columbia just before dawn. A steady south wind was sweeping warm air into the Heartland and high temperatures were expected to reach 70 degrees F along the entire course of my journey.
Taking advantage of the south wind, numerous flocks of snow geese and greater white fronted geese were encountered across western Missouri and eastern Kansas, heading north to their next rest stop. By the time I reached central Kansas, the geese were no longer observed but several flocks of American white pelicans circled northward, their white plumage reflecting the intense mid-day sun. When I pulled into our Littleton, Colorado, farm, the sun was setting but the local temperature was still 68 degrees F.
Outbreaks of excessive warmth during the colder months generally develop ahead of cold fronts and such was the case today. A band of clouds along the Front Range confirmed the presence of an approaching storm system, which will keep Metro Denver's temperature in the 40s tomorrow afternoon; by tomorrow evening, an upslope flow is expected to drop a few inches of wet snow on the urban corridor. After all, this is March, the snowiest month along the Colorado Front Range.
