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Storm
Mountain News
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Local News
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Sunday,
April 27th - Photo Of The Week...
This week's photo, taken on Thursday afternoon, features a male Wild Turkey in the West Horseshoe Park area of Rocky Mountain National Park..
The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. Adult Wild Turkeys have a small, featherless, reddish head, that can change to blue in minutes, a red throat in males, long reddish-orange to greyish-blue legs, and a dark-brown to black body. The head has fleshy growths called caruncles. In excited turkeys, a fleshy flap on the bill expands, becoming engorged with blood. Males have red wattles on the throat and neck. Each foot has four toes, and males have rear spurs on their lower legs.
The Wild Turkey was a very important food animal to Native Americans, but it was eliminated from much of its range by the early 1900s. Introduction programs have successfully established it in most of its original range, and even into areas where it never occurred before.
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Wednesday,
April 23rd - Red Flag Warning...
A large portion of Colorado,
including the Drake, Glen Haven and Storm Mountain
area, is under a Red Flag Warning in effect from
10AM MDT Wednesday morning through 9PM MDT on
Wednesday evening.
RED FLAG CONDITIONS WILL EXIST TODAY IN AND NEAR THE FRONT RANGE, INCLUDING ZONES 214 THROUGH 216, AND ZONES 238 THROUGH 247. MODERATE SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL BRING WARMER TEMPERATURES AND VERY DRY CONDITIONS TO PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA TODAY.
THE LOWEST HUMIDITY READINGS BY THIS AFTERNOON WILL EXTEND FROM THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS EASTWARD ACROSS THE PLAINS TOWARD FORT MORGAN AND LIMON. FARTHER EAST, HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL BE MUCH HIGHER, ALTHOUGH WINDS WILL STILL BE STRONG AND GUSTY.
SCATTERED LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED, MAINLY EAST OF FORT MORGAN AND LIMON. RED FLAG CONDITIONS WILL ABATE THIS EVENING AS WINDS SUBSIDE.
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Sunday,
April 20th - Photo Of The Week...
Taken on Saturday morning on a
pond below the Olympus Dam in Estes Park, this
week's photo features a very uncommon visitor to
our area, the White-faced Ibis.
The White-faced Ibis (Plegadis
chihi) is a wading bird in the Ibis Family, and
is commonly found much farther south and west of Colorado.
This species breeds colonially
in marshes, usually nesting in bushes or low
trees. Its breeding range extends from the western
USA south through Mexico, as well as from
southeastern Brazil and southeastern Bolivia south
to central Argentina, and along the coast of
central Chile. Its winter range extends from
southern California and Louisiana south to include
the rest of its breeding range.
The White-faced Ibis is very similar to the Glossy
Ibis in its non-breeding plumages, but the plumage
color is somewhat warmer and breeding adults have
a pink face bordered with white, a grey bill, and
redder legs. Adults have red eyes year-round,
whereas Glossy Ibises have dark eyes. Juveniles of
the two species are nearly identical.
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Saturday,
April 19th - SMN To Continue...
Thanks to the kindness and generosity
of several residents in our community, Storm
Mountain News has received the funds we needed and
will now be able to continue operation.
We have received the donations
needed to keep his website up and running for the
next two years. Many thanks to those who donated
to the cause. We appreciate you and your
assistance greatly!
Please do not send us any
further donations at this time. Any other
donations received will be returned, as we do not
want to profit anything whatsoever.
Thanks again for your kindness
and we look forward to continuing to provide our
community with important news, weather and
wildfire information.
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