A couple of weeks ago, the residents of Pennsylvania celebrated the time honored tradition of Groundhog Day, where supposedly a groundhog pops out of its den and looks for its shadow. As the tradition goes, if it sees its shadow, that means, there will be six more weeks of winter, if it doesn’t, spring is right around the corner. Those of us who live in Colorado pay no attention to such nonsense, as it isn’t relevant in oh so many ways.
The closest animal we have living here in Colorado that resembles a groundhog are yellow-bellied marmots. In Crested Butte, Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory studies the behavior of these rodents within the Rocky Mountain states. But we don’t need a research laboratory to tell us seasoned residents, that you will never spy a marmot on February 2 above ground. That’s because marmots are hibernators, spending a good 7-8 months in their burrows hibernating. While they are hibernating, their body temperature plunges into the 40s, their heart rate and metabolism slow down to a crawl, almost as if they are in a coma. So to see a marmot active and above ground in early February in Colorado is pure fiction.
But we also scoff over the Groundhogs Day tradition, because we know that despite the balmy days we’ve had recently, winter isn’t over by a long shot. It always surprises my friends back east to hear that we can get some pretty warm and sunny days in January and February, with this past week being no exception. In the last week, we had temperatures hitting the mid-70s in Denver, and even hitting 60 at 8200 feet up here in Nederland. This is not unusual, as it seems every winter, we have a mid-winter thaw, when the warm Chinook winds blow and the weather feels spring-like. The great irony is that we can experience these wild fluctuations here for the next three months, where days like these are quickly followed by 40-degree temperature drops, blustery cold temperatures and snow storms. In fact, March and April are two of our snowiest months of the year here in Nederland. Last year, one of our biggest snow storms of the year occurred on Mother’s Day, May 12, when 22 inches of snow fell.
From years of experience, I know the next three months are likely to bring plenty of wintry temperatures and snow storms our way. That’s why I won’t be putting away our snow shovel, packing up my winter clothes, or taking my snow tires off my car any time soon. Because despite what Punxatawney Phil might be seeing or doing back East, here in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, winter won’t be over here for a good long while.
