News Team Boulder

Issue date: 11/13/08 Section: News

Low Pressure Moves Across Front Range [Click to enlarge]

The National Weather Service warned of dangerous driving conditions along Highway 93 and U.S. 36 due to high winds in the Boulder area. Boulder and most of the foothills were issued a high wind advisory for most of Thursday, which the National Weather Service (NWS) assigns when gusts exceed 31 miles per hour.

"We've had a very strong Pacific jet stream moving across the northern United States and that generally relates to stronger winds," said NWS meteorologist David Barjenbruck. "Sometimes those conditions are favorable for stronger winds to move down along the Front Range and affect areas like Boulder and places along the Peak-to-Peak Highway."

Boulder's location at the intersection of the foothills and plains in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains gives the city a perfect position for high winds. "They call this the Chinook wind," said Boulder resident Chuck Bird. "You have winds coming across the Continental Divide and they descend really fast and come down across the Front Range like this, and just blast you out of your house."

High winds usually signal the arrival of a low-pressure system, which would bring colder temperatures and possible snow. As mid-November approaches, neither Boulder nor the Denver metro area has seen any snow.

"It's getting very late in the season to get our first measurable snowfall," Barjenbruck said. "The latest ever recorded for Denver is November 21."

Temperatures tonight are expected to hover around freezing, with a high wind advisory lasting until Friday morning. The NWS reports a twenty percent chance of snow overnight. Forecasters expect Boulder temperatures to rise as the front passes, with highs in the upper 40s on Saturday and 60s on Sunday.

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