It takes thousands and thousands of years for glaciers to form. The definition of a glacier is basically when a lot of snow and ice compacted together begins to move because of the extreme weight. There are two kinds of glaciers out there and they are called continental glaciers and alpine glaciers. Continental glaciers are the kind that cover Greenland and Antarctica and alpine glaciers form in mountainous regions. Alpine glaciers form high on mountain slopes or plateaus when snow accumulates over time and doesn’t melt very much over the summer. So, each year more and more snow accumulates in basins known as cirques. Over time the snow becomes ice and eventually there is enough weight built up that it begins to move downhill. Then it moves into a valley where it can change the shape of the valley itself. A V- shaped valley is formed when a river carves through the rock and when that glacier moves through a V- shaped valley it changes it into more of a U- shaped valley. If you ever visit the Canadian Rockies or Alaska, you will notice that many of the valleys are U- shaped instead of V- shaped like most of the mountain valleys you will see in Colorado or Utah.
Weather Last Week
January 20: -22/1/0”
January 21: -19/31/0”
January 22: 15/30/Trace
January 23: 9/29/Trace
January 24: 16/36/Trace
January 25: 9/24/0”
January 26: 8/30/Trace
Forecast discussion for the week ahead:
After a very warm week, we continue that trend into the weekend. But it IS January, so these warm temperatures can’t continue. A cold front will push through late Saturday into Sunday and Monday giving us a chance for snow and eventually much colder temperatures than we’ve had this week!