CDOT Seeks Snowplow Drivers For Upcoming La Niña Influenced Winter
DENVER (CBS4) - The Colorado Department of Transportation is looking for new snowplow drivers as they prepare for the upcoming winter. They say you need to have a CDL and care about our state to apply.
Have a CDL and care about Colorado? Apply to drive one of CDOT's nearly 1,000 snowplows this winter. https://t.co/7K2SJfcA2v #CDOTCareers pic.twitter.com/J4eNE2988w
— Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) (@ColoradoDOT) October 1, 2020
The latest winter forecast for Colorado includes the influence from La Niña, which can sometimes be relatively quiet in terms of snowstorms as compared to a winter with El Niño.
During a La Niña winter the jet stream is often too far north of Colorado to bring large, consistent storm systems. But every so often it can shift and allow a good storm to pass through.
La Niña often produces a dry, warm fall season with a slow start to the winter in terms of snowfall. But the snow sometimes will pick up in frequency during the following spring.
The northern mountains usually see the most consistent snowfall during a La Niña winter because they are closest to the jet stream track. Southern Colorado unfortunately ends up dry a lot of the time during this pattern.
Luckily no two La Niña events are ever alike so the information above is just a generalization based off recent history. Fingers are crossed that we will see some exceptions to the normal and get a few good, wet storms through our mountains to lessen the drought and rebuild our water supply for next year.
The other thing to note is during a La Niña winter it can be rather windy, especially for areas along of north of Interstate 70, due to the proximity of the Polar Jet Stream. The strong winds will often spill out of the mountains and into Denver and the northeast plains.