COUNTY'S WEATHER DIFFICULT TO GAUGE

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Dec 27, 2007 | by CARLYN RAY MITCHELL

If snow falls in Black Forest but not at the Colorado Springs Airport, did it really snow in El Paso County?

Until recently, it didn't. At least not in the eyes of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

For El Paso County officials, the last quarter of the year has been spent ensuring the federal government's eyes are open to the area's meteorological diversity.

Last year's white Christmas, caused by back-to-back storms Dec. 20 to Dec. 22 and Dec. 28 to Dec. 31, was noticeably whiter for those in northern El Paso County than for their southern neighbors.

Up north, roads were closed and there were snowdrifts a dozen feet deep in some places.

At the airport, the county's official National Weather Service snowfall measurement recorded only a few inches as flights breezed in and out.

The county received federal aid for the first storm last year only after the county lobbied FEMA, saying the airport measurement misrepresented the impact on El Paso County. Pueblo, Baca, Bent and Prowers counties also were up for retroactive disaster declarations.

"We like to have additional points," said Tom Bush, operations specialist with FEMA's regional office in Denver. "Obviously, we like to do whatever we can for the counties and states."

Which is why city and county officials asked the weather service to establish other reporting stations in the county for snowfall measurement.

"Only after quite a bit of talking back and forth between the weather service and FEMA did we come to the realization that we need to handle that data a little bit differently," said Randy Gray, weather service observation program leader.

From October to the beginning of December, Gray gained the assistance of five fire stations to help gather a more diverse picture of the county's snowfall.

Two stations are in Briargate, one is in Mountain Shadows, one is in Palmer Lake and the last is the Colorado Springs Fire Department headquarters on Printers Parkway.

The weather service is soliciting additional volunteers around the county to host official snow-measurement posts on their properties, Gray said.

"We believe that's important because most people don't live anywhere near the airport," said County Commissioner Wayne Williams, whose district encompasses the northern part of the county, including Black Forest and Monument.

"I remember a few years ago up at our house, my basement had water coming in through the window when at the airport there was no measurable precipitation," Williams said.

Today's forecast also calls for heavier snow in the northern part of the county

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0232 or carlyn.mitchell@gazette.com