Does it seem a bit rainy?

March snowstorms in Northern Colorado are the stuff of legends. Most Coloradans have come to expect that we will see a big snowfall in March. And we certainly have had a few in recent years (such as in 2019, and again in 2021)! But how might we expect that to shift as our world gets warmer? This month we had an unexpected big snowfall event here in Greeley from the evening of February 9th to the morning of the 10th. UNC’s weather station received 8” of very wet snow! Typically, this is the type of snowstorm we might expect in March.

This doesn’t mean we won’t get another big snow event in March! The chart below shows recorded snowfall in March from our weather station at UNC. The key point to take away from this image is that snowfall amounts can be highly variable from year to year, and while it may look like March snowfall is decreasing, this trend is not yet statistically significant.

Predicting changes in local precipitation under the influence of global warming is a challenging process. Warmer temperatures overall could change the timing of big snowfall in the future and reduce our snowpack in general. While we presently don’t see significant changes in March snowfall trends in Greeley, there have been reductions in snowpack in the Southern Colorado Rockies in the past 20 years, according to data from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

In thinking about how to build our community resilience to changes that are coming our way, we will need to consider how to manage the loss of water from our mountain snowpack, or what it might mean for us if more of our springtime precipitation falls as rain. We may also experience greater variability in rain and snowfall from year to year. This underscores the importance of continued water conservation efforts in our communities. But don’t pack away those snow shovels! With more water vapor in the atmosphere as the world warms, the right meteorological conditions can still bring big snow! The key is to be ready for that variability.

Please keep us updated on your own challenges and successes to build resilience to climate change! Email us at [email protected].

Student Scene: Tackling Climate Change in the Arctic

by Kennedy Dechant, UNCO Environmental & Sustainability Studies Major, Class of ‘24

Recently, fellow Environmental & Sustainability Studies major, Pennie Nichol, and I attended the Arctic Frontiers Climate Conference in Tromsø, Norway. We are both part of a directed study course focused on interactions between human and physical processes in the Arctic with Dr. Karen Barton (Geography, Climate Change), and our conference registration was funded in part by a Fulbright grant to Dr. Barton and by UNC’s Office of Undergraduate Research Grant. It was an incredible opportunity to be able to attend the conference and both of us were also part of a student forum while we were there, learning and networking with students from Norway and Finland.

This student forum provided us with moments of laughter, contemplation, and opportunities to learn about topics focused on environmental issues in the Arctic. We heard perspectives from policymakers, scientists, indigenous people, and businesses. We attended panel discussions and heard accomplished scientists share their work and progress on topics like building sustainable maritime industries or establishing healthy marine ecosystems. The most valuable experience was the opportunity to work in groups with other students to pick a climate issue in the Arctic and present a solution to it. For example, Norway, Sweden and Finland are physically long countries. The governmental seats reside in the southern part of their respective countries. This leads to the South not always representing the needs of the North in each country. Pennie’s project offered solutions for how the South and North in Arctic countries can become less divided and work together on common challenges. My project focused on how to more actively conserve kelp forests in Norway by holding a consistent place for stakeholders to set and reach goals concerning conservation and active land management of the forests. We were offered valuable feedback on these projects by conference-chosen panelists. This is one example of how the conference gave us opportunities to build our professional networks.

In the Environmental and Earth Science programs here at UNC, there are tons of opportunities to work with others in ways that help make the planet more sustainable. Opportunities like this exist all over campus and I encourage everyone to connect with their professors and other professional contacts to find these types of experiences!

Activities

Upcoming Events this Spring

Northern Colorado Activities hosted by Friends of COOLER

Helpful Resources:

The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) keeps daily tabs on rain and snowfall around the country. Check out their interactive maps and archived database! Most of the data is collected by volunteer observers around the country, so that you can often find data collected in your own neighborhood - or volunteer to collect it yourself!

Are you looking for a job that would let you work towards climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, or climate change resilience? Perhaps you have colleagues or students who are interested in working in these fields? At Climatebase, you can find a database of climate-related jobs around the world - jobs that require skills from all fields! This is a growing field - don’t miss out!

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