Areas like Waverly and Cowdery dropped to -34 and -32 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively.
Colorado was recently blanketed in feet of fresh white powder, and while the snowstorm that hit the region had cold enough temperatures to support snow, the temperatures weren't anything to write home about. It's typical for the Colorado high country to experience single digits and even below-zero single digits, but the air on Tuesday morning was so cold that's showing up on satellites.
Here is the satellite loop from this morning. Clouds are moving, the cold air in the valleys is stationary. pic.twitter.com/GOV5Rchabu
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) December 17, 2019
Now, how can that make sense? Cold air is showing up on satellite, something we use to look at clouds? Yup!
We use satellites to tell us where the clouds are, but something you may not realize is that satellite doesn't just give us an idea of where clouds are, it actually gives us an idea of how cold those clouds are, which aids in forecasting strong storms in severe weather season and helps to distinguish where clouds are during the nighttime when visible satellite can't be used. Satellites use an infrared sensor to gather information about the clouds and the surface of the earth, like the temperature of the clouds.
The colder the clouds, the taller and more intense the weather is underneath.
The air in the mountain valleys was so cold that is was showing up as if it were clouds on satellite. Antero Reservoir, south of Fairplay reached -44 degrees Fahrenheit! A mile west of Waverly the temperatures dropped down to -34 degrees Fahrenheit, while Cowdery got to -32 degrees Fahrenheit.
So, it was very cold, to say the least.
Courtesy of GIPHY
