Secular Climatic Fluctuations In Southwestern Colorado

Abstract

Precipitation and temperature data since records began in southwestern Colorado are analyzed on a seasonal basis. Interstation correlations for recent years indicate that the region responds fairly uniformly to seasonal variations in precipitation, but this was not true earlier this century when precipitation variability was higher. Changes in the dependence of precipitation on elevation are also shown. Annual precipitation totals were low about 1860, 1900, 1930?35 and 1950?55. Mean annual temperatures appear to have fallen from about 1867 to about 1930 when the trend reversed. Overall, the climate of southwestern Colorado in the 1860s appears to have been warmer and at least as dry as current normals.