Here’s the thing.
We all love to hate on Colorado’s weather. Some people get plain mad when they wake up in the middle of April, for example, to find four inches of snow on the ground after getting the upper 60s for three months.
Now, unless there are people who stayed inside all day with their curtains drawn, it’s safe to assume that everyone witnessed the sharp change in climate this past Monday.
Colorado Mesa University posted two pictures from Monday on their Facebook page. One was from the morning, and what a frosty picture it was. There was snow everywhere and white clouds blanketed the sky. The second picture was from later in the afternoon, and by the looks of things, flowers were about to start blooming. The sky was blue, and a few innocent clouds drifted about.
The snow was gone. The grass, though still yellow, looked almost hopeful (could spring be here?).
This is classic Colorado. No, we are not the only state treated like this by Mother Nature. I hear Ohio can be a real nasty one, too. Also Illinois. And others. Still, though, there’s no denying Colorado has bipolar weather disorder, and we are in the midst of Mother Nature’s moody days.
My personal favorite weather phenomenon: microbursts.
I come from Cedaredge, just over the Grand Mesa, and thanks to that, we had a few incidents with microbursts while I was growing up. Microbursts are essentially downward bursts of strong wind caused by high-pressure fronts. Out of almost nowhere, following nothing but some average winds, I watched one of those giant inflatable obstacle courses from Bananas Fun Park get ripped from the ground and knocked over a goal post on a football field.
Also, my senior year in high school, it snowed on May 12. Ever since then, I low-key expect snow until mid-May.
I could potentially be in the minority here, but I love the surprise. I love the unpredictability and I love the cold. It’s like a real-world plot twist that I know will work out in the end.
At the same time, I sympathize with those who have cherry trees and manage to get screwed out of cherries year after year after year. Cherries are wimpy. They can’t hold up. Sorry, cherry farmers.
One phrase that’s important to remember: Rain before seven, shine by 11. It’s sometimes true and leaves us with hope.
As we approach spring—debatably the most bipolar season of the year—I wish everyone good luck and advise them to keep clothes for any weather imaginable in the trunks of their cars.
