Jessika Vandivier
The Paw Print
Alamosa has finally received its first snowfall of the season. The temperature here in the Valley has just recently shifted from being a little chilly to being totally freezing. These last few months the climate has been fairly decent, staying on the warmer side all the way through Halloween. Inevitably this could not be the case forever. It is officially time to break out the winter gear and prepare for a long, cold winter.
According to Climate Zone.com, the average temperature in Alamosa for the month of November is a balmy 29.9 degrees Fahrenheit. The average maximum temperature of Alamosa in November is 47.4 degrees and the average minimum temperature is 12.3 degrees. To give us all something to look forward to, let’s take a look at the future forecasts of December and January. December, with an average temperature of 17.5 degrees Fahrenheit, will only bring about 5 inches of snowfall.
Lucky for us, November only has an average snow fall of about 4.3 inches. CBS Denver says that two years ago, in January, temperatures in Alamosa hit a record low of -33 degrees Fahrenheit. Meteorologists are still not sure if that is the absolute coldest the temperature dropped that evening. This record temperature makes Alamosa the coldest city in the United States. This upcoming January, we can expect temperatures to be around 14.7, and there may be an average snow fall of 4.4 inches. There is a common knowledge shared amongst those in the Valley that winters here are no beach vacation. In fact, when I made my decision to attend school at ASU, everyone that I talked to told me to invest in two things; a great coat and a pair of long johns. Junior Ali Rivera agrees with this statement. She has attended ASU for 3 years and will be graduating at the end next year. With so much time under her belt here at Adams, the weather has become a common factor that she was forced to adjust to.
“Being from Colorado Springs, I had never experienced such low temperatures. It gets cold in the Springs, don’t get me wrong, but not so cold that it hurts to breathe when I walk to class in the morning. I definitely had to upgrade the winter coat when I moved here.” This week in Alamosa we can expect temperatures to be in the lower forties, with the coldest day being Tuesday with its low of zero degrees. We may even see a little moisture as the clouds start to roll back in on Friday. With Thanksgiving break right around the corner, our lovely fall season has finally come to a close. Everyone prepare yourselves for the freezing temperatures to come. May the memories of summer keep you warm enough to survive till spring.
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