DAILY TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY REGIMES FOR SUMMER, 1980 AT THEALPINE VISITORS’ CENTER (TR 10), ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

Glidden, D

DURING 1980-81 EXTENSIVE WIND RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, COLORADO, AND PARTICULARLY CENTERED NEAR THE ALPINE VISITORS’ CENTER (3602 METERS.) SUPPLEMENTAL METEOROLOGICAL DATA WAS ALSO COLLECTED, INCLUDING AVC DAILY TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY, AND PRESSURE REGIMES. DIGITAL COPIES OF THE ORIGINAL TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY GRAPHS FOR AVC DURING SUMMER, 1980 ARE APPENDED BELOW. THEY PROVIDE A UNIQUE SOURCE OF CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA FOR THE ALPINE IN RMNP, AND MAY BE USEFUL FOR COMPARISON WITH FUTURE STUDIES AND ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH. SUMMER 1980 WAS DOMINATED BY UNUSUAL WARMTH AND HIGH PRESSURE ALONG THE FRONT RANGE OF THE COLORADO ROCKIES, AND SO THESE DATA MAY NOT REFLECT A “NORMAL” SUMMER PATTERN, AND THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF INTER-ANNUAL VARIABILITY SHOULD BE CONSIDERED. NEVERTHELESS, THEY PROVIDE A SITE-SPECIFIC SOURCE FOR ONE SEASON, AND INCLUDE DIURNAL TEMPERATURE RANGES.