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Home Rocky Mountain Climate Watch

Rocky Mountain Climate Watch

After years of drought, Colorado water bosses face uncertainty

On June 1, a spark near the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gage Railroad ignited a flame in the Animas River gorge north of Durango....

Red-flag fire warnings and government’s high-tech fix

FRISCO — Last year's drop in wildfire activity in Colorado and the West shouldn't lull anyone into thinking that danger has passed. It's only...

Global warming takes bite out of Colorado ski season

Normally temperatures at resort elevations this time of year drop into the teens and 20s every night. This season, only a few light frosts have tinged the valleys, leaving the slopes bare and dry.

Desert drought dust ups avalanche danger in Colorado backcountry

We all know what a blanket of fresh snow is supposed to look like, but for the last 10 years, the snows falling in parts of the Colorado Rockies have been far from virgin white and fluffy.

Climate paradox: More snow, less water?

Juggling Colorado's already stretched water resources is going to get even tougher in the decades ahead.
Snake River Keystone, Colorado

Melting permafrost could worsen water quality in the Rockies

We may not yet know exactly how global warming will affect all the complex parts of Rocky Mountain ecosystems, but it’s not for lack of trying.
Gore Range Colorado summer snow

Rocky Mountain Climate Watch: Who wants to visit the cryosphere?

It would be hard to do a climate change journey without visiting the cryosphere, that part of the Earth's surface which is frozen all the time. The biggest slices are at the poles, but the rest is in the high mountains.

Rocky Mountain Climate Watch: Here we go

We are amped to start our Rocky Mountain climate reporting trek with a visit to the high San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado.