Rate The Climate: Vapid Rapids, Shallowstone National Park (snowfall, record, temperatures)

[dxnerd86]

Some notes:

* All precipitation falls as snow between Dec-Feb
* A mix of snow and rain in April and October (short transition)
* A "monsoon" in September afer a rainless summer, coming up from the Sea of Lost Souls (Sea of Cortez).
* Nights can get cold at any time of the year as Vapid Rapids is in a high mountain valley at 1100 m ASL.
* It's basically a more extreme version of a high altitude climate in the western US (near the real Yellowstone).
* Sunshine is plentiful year round, reaching a peak of 95% in July (dropping only to 75% in February). Snowstorms are frequent in the winter months but last only 3-4 hours and usually hit overnight.

[Candle]

D.

Too dry!

The snow is on the high side, as far as averages go. The summer highs look good...but the lows are too low and I'm assuming summers are very very sunny, so that is another minus.

[dunno what to put here]

C

Too dry, a bit too snowy.

[nei]

I'd expect there'd be snow on the ground until sometime in late June, early July

[dxnerd86]

Snowmelt is obviously significant, making the climate less arid in one sense. Most years all snow has gone by early June given that May highs are 17C/63F and June highs near 20C/68F,combined with strong and near constant sunshine. It's a fairly rapid (pardon the pun) transition between seasons.

[Patricius Maximus]

I give it an A. The temperatures and duration of the winter are great, the summer averages are lovely, and I love all of the record highs and lows except for the summer record highs - I'd prefer them to be lower. Snowfall is extreme and I'd love the very deep snowpack . I will say that the moisture in this climate isn't wasted - the vast majority comes in the form of snow. The only real negative is that sunshine is way too high for my tolerance, at the very least this place has 3600 annual sun hours. The summers would be very dull and monotonous; I'd prefer much more clouds. The winters wouldn't be dull since there would be frequent albeit brief snowstorms, but the sunshine would be maddening. However since every other aspect of the climate is great that deficiency is only sufficient to knock off a potential + added to the A. I imagine photo opportunities would be abundant with the deep powder and overnight snowfall.

As everyone should know this climate was based off of Yellowstone's climate, and I love that place's weather. It's the best in the contiguous portion of the States as far as I'm concerned. This more extreme version also gets high marks, and takes cues from the Mediterranean precipitation pattern of parts of the West Coast.

I imagine this climate could exist on a colder Earth-like alien planet, with the same conditions that drive the high-altitude climates of the American West present only amplified, thus creating the more extreme climate. This would include a strong dry-summer pattern at a much higher latitude than exists on Earth today; the same sort of totally-dry summer but still snowy climates exist in certain parts of California. We could call this a "Super-Western climate" or an "Amplified Western climate". Remember that the semi-permanent upper-level highs and lows are the major driver of weather in addition to the obvious factors (sun and greenhouse gas concentration), so I believe this type of climate could certainly exist on a hypothetical alien world. A thinner atmosphere would also help out in driving a higher daily range. A slower rotation rate would be another range enhancer, but I'd advise against changing too much.

I will say that this is one of the more interesting climates I've seen lately.

[deneb78]

F- ... terrible the whole year round

[george960]

Cold nights year round, so obviously an F from me.

[dxnerd86]

I had a feeling Patricio would like this one (and everyone else would hate it). Myself, I rate it an A-: a bit too sunny to be optimal but with all the snow this is more than made up for. As Patricio correctly asserts, bluebird days with powder snow are the norm through the winter months, allowing for great snowshoeing and cross country skiing through the park. Because it is a national park, downhill skiing is restricted but nevertheless there are a few resorts, the largest of which being Beauty Peak (top elevation 3000 m, base elevation 1200 m).

[ilovemycomputer90]

C+

Winters look great - cold with reliable snow, however 600+ inches of snow may be overkill, even for me. Summers look perfect, but overall there isn't enough rain and it's way too sunny.