It's the middle of June, and here we go again. In Woodland Park, elevation 8,465". Hail. I'm not afraid of bears, I'm not afraid of Mountain Lions, I'm really afraid of two things in Colorado: 1. Getting struck by lightning hiking above tree line. 2. Getting myself and my truck clobbered by hail stones . Lightning can kill you. Hail stones will hurt you and cause thousands of dollars in damage to the sheet metal of your vehicle. Last Summer, hail stones tore a gash in my arm and destroyed my truck twice. In the past, hail storms would not occur above 7,000' elevation. The cities of Denver and Colorado Springs would get hit, while the high country would be spared. Not any more. The warm air from the plains of Colorado would meet the cold air coming down from the Rocky Mountains to create the conditions for hail stones to form - below the foothills up to 6,000' elevations. Now, the warm air from the plains pushes up into the foothills and reaches 9,000' elevations. So now, after 36 years living in the high country of Colorado, I have to watch out for hail stones as well as lightning. Climate change, I suppose..
