DENVER – An important public meeting where Colorado Parks and Wildlife will discuss hunting license allocation and preference points with hunters, among a host of other topics, will take place Thursday, Aug. 4 at the Northeast Region Sportsperson Caucus.
That meeting will be held in-person from 6-8 p.m. on the third floor of the Scheels in Johnstown (4755 Ronald Reagan Blvd.) on Aug. 4. It will also be streamed live via CPW’s statewide Facebook page, for those who are unable to attend in person.
Northeast Region Manager Mark Leslie and staff will be providing updates from CPW on hunting, angling and other topics within the region.
Attendees of the meeting will also be electing one delegate that will serve as a regional representative at the statewide Sportsperson’s Roundtable. This elected individual will be one of two representing the Northeast Region on important issues at the statewide level. Nominations for the regional delegates are currently being accepted and during the Aug. 4 meeting, voting will take place to elect the new delegate.
To apply to be a regional delegate, please email Margo Federico at . The deadline to apply is Monday, Aug. 1.
Regional delegates have the opportunity for direct communication with CPW and acting director Heather Dugan about hunting, fishing and other issues in the Northeast Region. Regional delegates will be expected to attend the statewide Sportsperson Roundtable that meets twice a year. The next statewide meeting is being held later in August.
CPW relies on the roundtable to help give guidance in setting policies, regulations and resource management.
During the Northeast Region Sportsperson’s Caucus, staff from CPW will also be providing general updates on the following topics, along with fielding questions from attendees:
Review of waterfowl in region and the waterfowl hunting season
Status update on Chronic Wasting Disease – focus on white-tail and mule deer on the northeast plains and its effect on license allocations and buck harvest.
A look at pheasant, quail and turkey populations.
Small-game walk-in access properties.
Pronghorn population status update.
CPW fishing access properties.
If you wish to submit questions in advance of the meeting to be sure your topic is covered, please email those to .
Who: CPW Northeast Region Sportsperson Caucus What: In-person meeting with live streaming available via CPW’s Facebook page When: Thursday, Aug. 4 | 6-8 p.m. Where: Scheels in Johnstown (4755 Ronald Reagan Blvd) on the third floor Info: Call 303-291-7227 for addition information
Jumbo Reservoir, State Wildlife Area, Colorado Walleye Association Tournament
Archive photo of Jumbo Reservoir (courtesy of Mandi Brandt/CPW)
BRUSH, Colo. – Colorado Parks and Wildlife is announcing an emergency public fish salvage at Jumbo (Julesburg) Reservoir effective immediately (Monday, July 25).
Due to high irrigation demand created by severe drought, the water level in Jumbo Reservoir is expected to decline to a point that will likely result in a loss of the entire fishery resource. Water levels are expected to be below the boat ramp in early August, which would eliminate access for trailer-launched boats.
The public salvage is being announced in order to optimize use of the fishery resource as outlined:
— The emergency fish salvage is permitted only at Jumbo (Julesburg) Reservoir from sunrise to one half hour after sunset. — All anglers must have a valid Colorado fishing license in accordance with state statutes. — No commercial angling is allowed. — Only angling methods that are currently legal at the reservoir are allowed. Learn more by clicking here. — Current size, bag, and possession limits for all species are suspended for Jumbo (Julesburg) Reservoir until the emergency public fish salvage is terminated. — Notification of the emergency public fish salvage opening and closure will be made through press releases, and signs will also be placed at the reservoir. — If weather conditions change and significant rain events occur near Jumbo Reservoir, CPW may rescind this public salvage. — No motorized vehicles, including dirt bikes, ATVs, or UTVs, are allowed on the lake bed. — The end date of the emergency public fish salvage will be announced by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
If the fishery resource is lost, CPW plans to rebuild Jumbo’s fishery as soon as water levels allow, according to local fisheries biologist Mandi Brandt.
“It is very unfortunate to possibly lose such an incredible and popular fishery,” Brandt said. “The fishery plays an important role in the local economy. This public salvage provides a great opportunity for anglers to take advantage of the current resource in Jumbo Reservoir, which includes walleye, saugeye, crappie, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, bluegill and channel catfish.”
Fortunately, CPW has experience rebuilding fisheries and will plan on doing just that when adequate water levels return to Jumbo.
If the fishery at Jumbo needs to be rebuilt, anglers are encouraged to fish the other reservoirs on Colorado’s northeastern plains.
“North Sterling and Prewitt Reservoirs both have great walleye and crappie populations for anglers to utilize, and Jackson Reservoir is a great walleye and wiper fishery.”
Similar to all northeastern plains reservoirs, Jumbo Reservoir was constructed to store irrigation water for agricultural use. Water used to fill the reservoir is diverted from the South Platte River between the towns of Proctor and Crook, and flows through a 22-mile earthen inlet canal before reaching the reservoir.
First filled in 1907, Jumbo Reservoir is 115 years old. Since the primary function of Jumbo Reservoir is to store irrigation water, water levels routinely drop during the irrigation season. During a typical year, water levels are drawn down by approximately 15 feet. During dry years more water is needed for agricultural purposes, drastically reducing water levels and creating many fish management challenges.
Due to severe drought conditions, the reservoir was completely drained in the early fall of 2006. Severe drought conditions returned in 2012 and 2020, resulting in CPW initiating public fish salvages in those years.
General Information: Jumbo Reservoir is a 1,578 acre water (at full capacity) located on the Jumbo State Wildlife Area. Fishing pressure is moderate to high.
Location: Logan and Sedgwick Counties. From I-76 take Exit 155 and head 3 miles north to Hwy 138. Take Hwy 138 1 mile northeast to CR 95. Take CR 95 2 miles north to the reservoir.
Denver – Governor Jared Polis appointed by executive order Eden Vardy of Aspen, Richard Reading of Denver, and Gabriel Otero of Fruita to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission on July 1, 2022. They serve terms that expire on July 1, 2026.
Vardy was reappointed to serve as a representative of production agriculture and a member west of the Continental Divide. He is the founder and executive director of The Farm Collaborative, a farm and nonprofit that connects children and the community to nature and their food sources, and engages the next generation to become the farmers of tomorrow.
Reading was appointed to serve as a representative of the public at large. He is the Vice President for Science and Conservation for the Butterfly Pavilion, the first stand-alone nonprofit insect zoo in the United States, where he oversees the Research and Conservation, Curatorial, and Horticulture departments.
Otero was appointed to serve as a representative of sportspersons and a member west of the Continental Divide. He is the Senior Campaign Specialist for the Wilderness Society, a nonprofit land conservation organization dedicated to protecting natural areas and federal public lands in the United States, where he develops and implements National Monument and Wildlife Refuge campaigns.
Reading and Otero replace commissioners Charles Garcia and Luke Schafer, who attended their last Commission meeting in Buena Vista in June. At the meeting, CPW Acting Director Heather Dugan expressed gratitude for the outgoing commissioners.
“I appreciate the perspectives you both brought which allowed me to look at things through your lens and see where you were coming from,” Dugan said. “Both of you have made CPW better and added to our history and I want to thank you for your service.”
The CPW Commission is a citizen board, composed of 11 governor-appointed members which sets regulations and policies for Colorado’s state parks and wildlife programs. For more information on the CPW Commission and existing members, visit cpw.state.co.us.
After two years of spiking real estate prices, mortgage rates, and rents, the housing affordability crisis in the U.S. is more apparent than ever. Policymakers, economic experts, and regular U.S. households have been searching for tools to alleviate the pressure of housing costs. Expanding manufactured housing is one possible solution.
The category manufactured housing includes housing units that are prefabricated in a factory and then transported to their ultimate destination. Because these units tend to have simple designs and materials that make them efficient to produce, they are often significantly less expensive than site-built homes. A 2021 report from the Manufactured Housing Institute found the average cost per square foot of a manufactured home was $57, less than half the $119 cost of a site-built home.
For lower and middle income families, this more affordable option has significant appeal. Currently, 22 million Americans live in manufactured homes, and manufactured homes represent around 1 in 10 new homes constructed in the U.S. each year. And the quality of manufactured homes has increased as well, with better materials, greater energy efficiency, and improved designs.
Manufactured home shipments have approximately doubled in the last decade, to around 120,000 per year. While today’s figure remains well below historic peaks, the growth over the last decade represents a reversal of decline that began in the late 1990s. The manufactured home industry suffered with homebuyers able to easily obtain mortgages in the housing bubble of the early 2000s but began making a comeback in the recovery from the Great Recession.
While manufactured homes remain relatively low-cost, the growing demand for manufactured housing–and for housing in general–has pushed prices higher in recent years. Since 2014, the average sale price of a manufactured home has grown by 79.4%, approximately equaling the 77.5% increase for all homes in the Zillow Home Value Index over the same span. Prices have risen even more steeply for manufactured homes just in the last two years amid the red-hot real estate market and supply chain challenges for manufacturers.
Manufactured housing varies in popularity across the U.S., but the South stands out for its higher concentration of manufactured homes. Fast-growing, high-population southern states like Texas, Florida, and North Carolina lead in the total number of manufactured home shipments annually. But as a share of all new single-family homes, top locations include lower-income states like Mississippi, West Virginia, and Kentucky whose residents may be more drawn to manufactured homes as an affordable option.
The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Manufactured Housing Survey (MHS), the U.S. Census Bureau’s Building Permits Survey, and Zillow’s Home Value Index data. To determine the states investing most in manufactured housing, researchers at Construction Coverage calculated manufactured home shipments as a share of all new single-family homes in 2021 (the sum of manufactured home shipments and single-family housing units authorized by building permits). In the event of a tie, the state with more total manufactured home shipments was ranked higher.
The analysis found that in Colorado, 3.4% of all new single-family homes authorized in 2021 were manufactured units versus site-built. Out of all states, Colorado is investing the 8th least in manufactured housing. Here is a summary of the data for Colorado:
Manufactured homes as a share of all new single-family homes: 3.4%
Total manufactured home shipments: 1,015
Total site-built single-family home permits: 30,246
Average sale price of manufactured homes: $88,200
Median price across all homes: $589,634
For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States:
Manufactured homes as a share of all new single-family homes: 9.5%
Total manufactured home shipments: 105,772
Total site-built single-family home permits: 1,115,360
Weathered gifts fill a makeshift memorial Tuesday morning, Aug. 14 near South Sable Boulevard and East Centrepoint Drive. No formal plans for a memorial have been announced, but many expect the site near the Century Aurora 16 theater to become some sort of permanent fixture in Aurora. (Marla R. Keown/Aurora Sentinel)
By DAVE PERRY, Sentinel Editor
Ten years is not long enough.
A decade after James Holmes unleashed a new kind of horror on July 20, 2012 in Aurora, when he killed 12 people and physically maimed dozens more in the Aurora theater shooting, the anguish simmers just under the surface, surprising me still.
Time, as it turns out, does not heal all wounds.
That became apparent over the past few days as we collected our thoughts, memories and interviews into a package of material marking 10 years after the massacre. Calling it an “anniversary” seems obscene to me, like so many things have become after that day and the years since.
This recollection marks the 1,413th story filed by The Sentinel about the shooting, since that day. It’s been mountains of words and photographs that never seem to suffice.
I didn’t realize how close to the surface those July 20 emotions remain for me until I was talking with Heather Dearman last week about events planned for the decade commemoration. Neither of us made it through our brief conversation before we tried to keep on in choked-up voices.
Dearman’s cousin, Ashley Moser, was gravely injured during the shooting. Her daughter, Veronica, just 6, was killed. Since the shooting, Dearman has been an iconic force in creating the city’s stunning memorial to the shooting victims. She helps orchestrate events each year that focus on allowing everyone to heal in their own way, or in any way possible.
I don’t think that’s possible for me.
I first realized that during a journalism conference several years ago. I was on a panel focusing on how newsrooms handle disaster stories. Sadly, Colorado newsrooms have had plenty of experience with calamities over the years. Things like wildfires and other disasters seem to regularly turn a host of Colorado newsrooms into something akin to war rooms.
My fellow journalists talked about the grueling hours that follow disasters. This, in an industry that already mercilessly blurs the professional and personal lives of all its disciples.
As disaster unfolds, reporters deal with information blockades, unrelenting tension and in some cases, fear. Colorado journalists are a storied lot, regularly involved in the kind of events that make reporters’ hearts quicken and people draw near.
On July 20, 2012, as the police scanner was crackling in the dark newsroom when I shuffled in, I knew the drill.
In the almost 30 years I’ve been doing this, I’ve had too many occasions to wallow in the funk of death. Traffic deaths. Shooting deaths. Deaths from disease. Death from weird accidents. Deaths from war. The stench of death hangs on people and places like mildew. It never ceases to be offensive or less shocking.
In time, it fades but never completely goes away.
Dealing with death as a journalist is like being part of a show. I couldn’t possibly pose questions to a parent who’s lost their son in battle or a lake drowning — for the sake of a story. But I have often portrayed a reporter who could and did.
Many times I have played the journalist horrified by the details of a calamity but still write a story or flesh out details, like with the Aurora Chuck E. Cheese’s shootings, or the 1998 Labor Day massacre and the Columbine massacre.
I’ve raced around death unfazed to make changes in style, in fact, and on time. Sometimes, after playing the part of the stolid reporter, I’ve made morbid banter about the situation or simply looked past the grisly reality, only to toss around tough talk later on.
July 20 was like nothing I’ve ever encountered in so many ways. The shocking proximity and sheer gruesomeness of the massacre came close to being overwhelming, but it wasn’t. That came later.
Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates encourages continued support for the families of the massacre victims Tuesday afternoon, July 24 at the Bozarth Auto Dealership near South Havana Street and East Asbury Avenue. Ed Bozarth, his family, and partners donated three separate checks totaling $50,000 to the victims’ families, the Aurora Police Department and the Aurora Fire Department. (Marla R. Keown/Aurora Sentinel)
The newsroom that day wasn’t a cacophony of commands and movie cliches. It was fearsomely silent. With clenched jaws and darting eyes, about 15 of us scrambled to relay layers of horror as they unfolded at the theater, at Holmes’ apartment and his former school on Anschutz.
Despite the complexity of covering the event, the chaos, the magnitude of the horror, and the endlessly ringing phones, we all stayed in character. Staffers at The Sentinel gave flawless performances of journalists under the gun.
No doubt we all carried off mountains of anguish from the task of wallowing in the stench of so much atrocity and death for so long, but relief in the form of a few stolen sobs, a lot of deep breaths and a little restless dozing made the show possible for endless hours when no one left.
And then days went by. Victims’ stories turned into obituaries. Then weeks passed and the details about guns, insanity, donations and the crime scene turned into another court story. Time, so it seemed, had grown over the raw fear and pain from my role as a newspaper editor in one of those places where these kinds of things happen. We spend every day for months covering the gruesome and grueling trial.
I confused being numb with being healed.
So I was taken aback when I picked up my cue at a conference and launched into my lines about what happened in Aurora, in our newsroom.
Without warning, it was July 20 again. It was kids we knew crawling away from a ferocious gunman across dead bodies and pools of blood in a smoky dark theater just steps from our newsroom. It was cops I knew who dragged dying kids the same age as my daughter to chaotic emergency rooms in a scene reserved for wars or terrorist attacks.
It was Tom Sullivan’s face at Gateway High School, just hours after the shooting. He and his family raced to the front of the school, choked with people sent there by police and families desperate to find their loved ones. Tom was frantically waving around a photo of his son, Alex. He was near hysteria with fear and agony, begging anyone in the crowd who recognized Alex to tell him where he was and if he was alive.
He wasn’t.
When people talk about how awful mass shootings are, you will never know how truly ghastly these calamities are unless you’re a victim of the atrocity, or you encounter someone like Tom Sullivan as it unfolds. He was nearly destroyed that day when confronted with having lost a child to such an atrocity. Tom was among the courageous from that day and went on to become a state lawmaker. He’s worked tirelessly to stop more days like July 20.
Tom’s face, the crowd of petrified people, the makeshift memorial, it all just reappears. It’s too much, too close, too fast.
I couldn’t stay in character, and I had to frequently stop talking to keep it together as I relayed the oppressive grief, anger and horror each of us here at The Sentinel endured for days, then weeks and now years. Even as I write this, I still can’t play the journalist part for this scene. I don’t want to.
Ten years later, it’s the same.
I can’t tell you how disheartening it’s been to discover that my fail safe, the one thing I think we’ve all counted on, is a myth. Time does not heal all wounds. Not this one. Not yet.
Sisters Hailey and Aubrey Dearman, cousins to Veronica Sullivan, write notes of sympathy and love on a cross bearing a photo and name of Sullivan, in the late evening hours of July 19, 2018 during a candlelight vigil at the 7/20 Memorial Foundation Reflection Memorial Garden. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON?Sentinel Coloradoat a memorial site across the street from Century 16 theater Sunday afternoon, July 22 near South Sable Boulevard and East Exposition Avenue, in Aurora. Supporters of the massacre victims flocked to the memorial site throughout the day. (Marla R. Keown/Aurora Sentinel)Supporters of the Aurora community light a candle at a memorial site across the street from Century 16 theater Sunday afternoon, July 22, near South Sable Boulevard and East Exposition Avenue. A gunman wearing a gas mask and body armor opened fire in a crowded Aurora movie theater with an assault rifle, shotgun and pistol during a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” movie killing at least 12 people and injuring more than 50 others. (Marla R. Keown/Aurora Sentinel)1,000 paper cranes were folded by a community in Missouri and were sent to Aurora to assist in the time of grief following the 7/20 theater shooting. Some cranes have scripture written on them and other notes of compassion and sympathy. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel ColoradoSupporters for the Aurora Community gather at a memorial site across the street from Century Aurora 16 theater, Wednesday afternoon, July 25 near South Sable Boulevard and East Exposition Avenue. Aurora Fire Chief Michael Garcia, Police Chief Dan Oates, FBI Special Agent in Charge James Yaccone and several other high-ranking police and fire officials visited the memorial (Marla R. Keown/Aurora Sentinel)The sun sets behind the 7/20 Memorial Foundation Reflection Memorial Garden which is now complete after the installation of the sculpture Ascentiate. The sculpture features 83 cranes, 70 for those injured and 13 for those lives lost, including the unborn child of Ashley Moser. The garden is located near the Aurora Municipal Center and is open to the public. Photo by PHILIIP B. POSTON/Sentinel ColoradoCandles and words of hope fill a makeshift memorial Wednesday morning, Aug. 1 near South Sable Boulevard and East Centrepoint Drive. City officials have not offered any formal plans for a permanent memorial or any definite timeline for the future of the temporary memorials on Sable and the Aurora Municipal Center. (Marla R. Keown/Aurora Sentinel)Century 16 has a new facade and re-opened for business on Jan. 17, 2013. (Marla R. Keown/Aurora Sentinel)Weathered gifts fill a makeshift memorial Tuesday morning, Aug. 14 near South Sable Boulevard and East Centrepoint Drive. No formal plans for a memorial have been announced, but many expect the site near the Century Aurora 16 theater to become some sort of permanent fixture in Aurora. (Marla R. Keown/Aurora Sentinel)Supporters of the Aurora shooting victims write words of hope and love on crosses early Saturday morning, July 20 at the makeshift memorial near East Centrepoint Drive and South Sable Boulevard. More than 200 people gathered around Greg Zanis’s handmade crosses placing candles, teddy bears and flowers at the base of the crosses and writing notes to the victims. (Marla R. Keown/Aurora Sentinel)
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EDWARDS, Colo. – At a hybrid in-person/virtual meeting in Edwards, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission will discuss closing the 2022 hunting season for greater sage-grouse in GMU 2, updating the disease testing requirements for cervids in commercial parks, 2023 Snowmobile Program Grant Funding recommendations, implementing the Keep Colorado Wild annual pass, and implementing a refund program for instances where customers’ Keep Colorado Wild passes overlap with annual passes.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Thu., July 21 and adjourn at 3 p.m. for a Commission tour of Sweetwater Lake. The commission will reconvene at 8:30 a.m. on Fri., July 22 and adjourn at noon. The meeting will be streamed live on CPW’s YouTube page.
Additional agenda items include:
Department of Natural Resources update
Department of Agriculture update
Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) update
Financial update
License distribution update
Keystone Policy Center and CPW updates on wolf planning
Planning and implementation for Colorado’s species of concern
A complete agenda along with all materials for public review for this meeting can be found at cpw.state.co.us. The public is encouraged to email written comments to the commission at . Details on providing public comments for virtual meetings are available on the CPW website.
The commission meets regularly and travels to communities around the state to facilitate public participation. Anyone can listen to commission meetingsthrough the CPW website. This opportunity keeps constituents informed about the development of regulations and how the commission works with Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff to manage the parks, wildlife and outdoor recreation programs administered by the agency. Find out more about the commission on the CPW website.
The next commission meeting is scheduled to take place on September 8 and 9.
University of Colorado Boulder Provost Russell Moore today named Keith Molenaar dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science, effective July 1.
Moore said that in his interviews with the finalists, Molenaar’s approach impressed him on multiple levels.
“I was impressed by Keith’s vision for CEAS, which is grounded in values such as diversity, equity and inclusion, and which is laser-focused on student success,” said Moore.
Molenaar, who has been acting dean since January 2020, is the K. Stanton Lewis Professor of Construction Engineering and Management in CEAS. He received his doctoral and master’s degrees in civil engineering from CU Boulder, and his bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering also from CU Boulder. After a brief and successful appointment as an assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Molenaar returned to CU Boulder in 1999 as assistant professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering.
COLORADO SPRINGS and DENVER, CO – June 27, 2022–Applications are open for Mile High Youth Corps’ (MHYC) Land Conservation Fall Trail or Forestry Program. MHYC is searching for positive, hardworking individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 to spend 10-13 weeks this fall serving on environmental stewardship projects throughout Colorful Colorado. During their season, crews will complete more than 30 conservation projects spanning 23 counties and make profound impact on the community, the environment, and themselves.
Mile High Youth Corps’ Land Conservation Program is rooted in the tradition of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s and is devoted to the improvement and sustainable development of our two most important resources – youth and the environment. Youth participants, called Corpsmembers, are assigned to a crew that works on a variety of conservation-focused projects on public lands. These include construction and maintenance of recreational and safety access trails, habitat restoration, fire fuel mitigation, historical preservation and park development projects. Corpsmembers earn a bi-weekly stipend, and are enrolled in AmeriCorps, earning a scholarship to be used towards advancing their learning after the program. They also receive up to 4 free mental health counseling sessions.
Corpsmembers have opportunities to network with federal, state and local natural source professionals and access to a vast alumni network. Corpsmembers will also receive training in one or more stewardship skillsets, including chainsaw operation, trail building and maintenance and pesticide application. No experience is necessary, MHYC provides hands-on training related to all projects.
Corpsmembers receive industry-recognized certifications that lead to effective service and highly- desirable qualifications and experience that support opportunities for future employment in natural resource management.
“As Corpsmembers complete their terms and move on, often to careers in conservation, the lessons learned remain with them,” said Jesse Roehm, Director: Land Conservation for Mile High Youth Corps. “Their futures are stamped with greater knowledge and understanding of environmental concerns impacting Colorado’s natural resources. These experiences are passed on to friends and family and help to create life- long environmental stewards for generations to come.”
Project partners scheduled for the fall include:
Adams County Parks and Open Space
Aurora Parks, Recreation and Open Space
Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks
Cañon City Area Recreation and Park District
Castlewood Canyon State Park
Cheyenne Mountain State Park
Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety
Colorado Open Lands
Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services
Denver Parks & Recreation
Denver Water
Fishers Peak State Park
Green Mountain Falls
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
HistoriCorps
Lake Pueblo State Park
Lakewood Parks, Forestry and Open Space
Manitou Springs
Pueblo State Fish Hatchery
Trinidad
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
US Forest Service: – Pikes Peak Ranger District
US Forest Service: – San Carlos Ranger District
Westminster Open Space
If you are between the ages of 18 and 24 and looking to make a difference, please consider joining Mile High Youth Corps for the fall season and earn while you learn. Apply online now at www.milehighyouthcorps.org/apply-now
About Mile High Youth Corps
Mile High Youth Corps (MHYC) is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization established in 1992 to give youth ages 18 to 24 a chance to earn an income and learn hands-on job skills while serving in their communities. In its first year, 20 youth served Denver neighborhoods through a single 10-week program. Today, MHYC engages more than 250 youth every year through several comprehensive programs that integrate paid work experience on community service projects with leadership development, career and college exploration, and education. During our 30 year history, Mile High Youth Corps has grown from a small, seasonal, neighborhood-based organization to a comprehensive, year-round, regional program serving 23 counties from two regional offices in Metro Denver and the Southern Front Range of Colorado. Our mission is to help youth make a difference in themselves and their community through meaningful service opportunities and educational experiences.
Published Jul. 8, 2022 6:28 AM MDT | Updated Jul. 11, 2022 11:03 AM MDT
An active start to the North American monsoon has helped to keep temperatures relatively in check in the Southwest recently, but AccuWeather forecasters say that the chance of thunderstorms will decrease in the coming days, allowing temperatures to swell across the region.
Much of the monsoon’s moisture has been focused over Colorado, New Mexico and southeastern Utah as of late. Farther to the west, many locations have received very little, if any, rain. When the ground is dry, the sun’s energy is not needed to evaporate moisture. Instead, the ground is heated quickly which results in higher temperatures.
As a ‘heat dome‘ intensifies over the West this week, temperatures will be on the rise. Underneath a heat dome, sinking air causes temperatures to climb, and precipitation and cloud cover tend to be limited.
One example of a city that will continue to be under the dome of heat is Las Vegas. The last time Las Vegas had measurable rain was on March 28 when 0.1 of an inch of rain fell. Sin City is actually in the midst of its second-driest start to the year on record, according to the National Weather Service. This extended period of dryness will allow for efficient heating by the sun, and the mercury will rise to a scorching 112 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday, just shy of record territory. Similar values are likely on Tuesday and Wednesday.
People planning to visit outdoor destinations, such as Zion National Park and Arches National Park in Utah, should avoid hiking in the afternoon when temperatures are near their peak.
Phoenix received 0.31 of an inch of rain in late June thanks to monsoonal thunderstorms. However, no measurable rain has fallen since, and the ground is fairly dry. Temperatures in excess of 110 degrees began on Friday and stand a good chance of reaching that mark each day this week. The highest predicted temperature is 114 degrees on Monday, which would be 7 degrees above average for the date. However, the temperature may be few degrees lower in some Phoenix neighborhoods thanks to the city’s Cool Pavement Program, which aims to reduce the intensity of the urban heat island effect.
As high as these temperatures are expected to be, daily record highs are unlikely to be broken.
“Record heat may be hard to come by for many locations because this is already a hot time of year,” explained AccuWeather Meteorologist La Troy Thornton.
The heat will peak a bit later in Salt Lake City, as the heat dome builds northward throughout this week. On Sunday, Salt Lake City reached 100 degrees for the fourth time this month and third straight day.
Since normals and records are not as high in Salt Lake City as they are in the Desert Southwest, this may be an exception to records being out of reach. On Saturday, Salt Lake City surpassed the old daily record high of 102 F set in 1994.
With moisture suppressed, the monsoonal thunderstorms will be spotty outside of New Mexico. However, given the lack of moisture, any thunderstorms that do develop may produce more lightning than rain. These are called dry thunderstorms as most or all of the rain falling from the clouds evaporates before making it to the ground, while lightning from the storm could spark fires in the parched landscape.
The greater focus of any thunderstorms should be on the edge of the heat dome.
“The monsoon’s moisture will shift west and fuel spotty thunderstorms across the mountains of Nevada and California by the middle of the week,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike LeSeney.
Farther east into Texas, the heat will also remain firmly in place. Nearly everywhere in the state is likely to reach the century mark on Monday. Some of the most intense heat is forecast for Austin, Texas, where a high of 106 F or greater is forecast each day through Wednesday.
Toward the southeast in Houston, which often sees slightly lower temperatures due to an influence from the Gulf of Mexico, a high of 101 is projected for Monday. The intense heat has sparked concerns from some regarding the power supply in some areas, which will face a sharp spike in energy usage during the hottest hours of the day. Late on Sunday, ERCOT, Texas’s largest power grid operator, requested that customers conserve power during the afternoon on Monday.
It may take until the upcoming weekend for temperatures to lower somewhat as the heat dome finally begins to weaken and shift eastward.
An active start to the North American monsoon has helped to keep temperatures relatively in check in the Southwest recently, but AccuWeather forecasters say that the chance of thunderstorms will decrease in the coming days, allowing temperatures to swell across the region.
Much of the monsoon’s moisture has been focused over Colorado, New Mexico and southeastern Utah as of late. Farther to the west, many locations have received very little, if any, rain. When the ground is dry, the sun’s energy is not needed to evaporate moisture. Instead, the ground is heated quickly which results in higher temperatures.
As a ‘heat dome’ shifts to the west this weekend and into next week, temperatures will be on the rise. Underneath a heat dome, sinking air causes temperatures to climb, and precipitation and cloud cover tend to be limited.
“A resilient heat dome that has brought hot weather to the southern Plains this week will spread into the Southwest and park itself there, likely through much of next week,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist La Troy Thornton.
One example of a city that will be under the dome of heat is Las Vegas. The last time Las Vegas had measurable rain was on March 28 when 0.1 of an inch of rain fell. This extended period of dryness will allow for efficient heating, and the mercury will rise to around 110 degrees Fahrenheit by Monday, a few degrees shy of record territory. Similar values are likely on Tuesday and Wednesday.
People planning to visit outdoor destinations, such as Zion National Park and Arches National Park in Utah, should avoid hiking in the afternoon when temperatures are near their peak.
Phoenix received 0.31 of an inch of rain in late June thanks to monsoonal thunderstorms. However, no measurable rain has fallen since, and the ground is fairly dry. Temperatures will rise above 110 degrees as early as the weekend and stay there through much of next week. The highest predicted temperature is 112 degrees on Monday. However, the temperature may be a degree or two lower in some Phoenix neighborhoods thanks to the city’s Cool Pavement Program aimed at reducing the intensity of the urban heat island effect.
As high as these temperatures are expected to be, records are unlikely to be broken.
“Record heat may be hard to come by for many locations because this is already a very warm time of year,” explained Thornton.
Farther north, Salt Lake City has had four days above 100 degrees so far this year. That number may double or triple by the time next week comes to an end. The heat will peak a bit later in Salt Lake City, as the heat dome builds northward throughout next week.
Since normals and records are not as high in Salt Lake City as they are in the Desert Southwest, this may be an exception to records being out of reach. The forecast high of 105 F on Saturday would surpass the correct record for the date of 102 F. The mercury could also challenge the daily record of 107 F on Wednesday, July 13.
With moisture suppressed, the chance of monsoonal thunderstorms will be low outside of New Mexico. However, given the lack of moisture, any thunderstorms that do develop may produce more lightning than rain. These are called dry thunderstorms as most or all of the rain falling from the clouds evaporates before making it to the ground, while lightning from the storm could spark fires in the parched landscape.
The greater focus of any thunderstorms should be on the edge of the heat dome.
“The monsoon’s moisture will shift west and fuel spotty thunderstorms across the mountains of Nevada and California by the middle of next week,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike LeSeney.
It may take until next weekend for temperatures to lower somewhat as the heat dome finally begins to weaken and shift eastward over the Plains.
