Colorado Man Unknowingly Records Nearly 50 Years of Winter Weather Data. His Findings Show Troubling Trend
For five decades, a Colorado civilian has been recording the state’s winter trends. The “climate prophet” has collected some intriguing insights about the climate through his diligent recordkeeping, according to The Colorado Sun. The local celebrity, named billy barr, likes to write his name in lowercase. “All I do for the most part is record data. So when someone says, ‘What does this mean?’ I say I’m not a meteorologist. I’m not a hydrologist. I record data, and I watch trends,” shared barr about his uncanny hobby. He further adds that the data he collects helps formulate personal opinions about the region’s conditions.
For the last 48 years, barr has called the quaint town of Gothic his home, according to Ski Magazine. He started recordkeeping two years after he arrived in the town. Barr is employed part-time at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory as an accountant. Every summer, the lab attracts a large group of field biologists and students to study the region’s rich and diverse ecosystems. As winter turns up, the crowd empties, and that’s when he returns to the solitude of his home, where he dedicates every day to note snow density, snow accumulation, high and low temperatures, and many more such insights. Some years ago, he switched from a notebook to a computer.
These readings have now become valuable due to their role in phenomena like climate change and global warming. Barr has been accumulating them when these topics were not on the radar, giving experts an unprecedented view of the region’s past. “One thing that’s obvious is that half the record lows are from the first 10 years I was here… If you’re doing 45 years of records, that means it should have only been 20 percent,” barr stated.
For many, the current snow season in Colorado is the worst in memory. However, bar’s records show that such a situation unfolded in the back-to-back winters of 1976 and 1977. “This will be the 14th winter in the last 15 winters with below-average snowfall,” barr stated. “Suddenly, those two winters, which at the time seemed like an unusual thing, are the new normal.” Researchers can now look into the events that occurred in those two particular winters to prepare for the consequences of the current circumstances.
As per the records about the winters of 1976 and 1977, people can expect a sort of rebound. In March 1977, a pair of storms delivered over 40 inches of snow after only 22 inches had arrived in February of the same year. Another 86 inches was added in May at the tail end of the dismal 1976-77 season. Unfortunately, it still was not enough to rescue the worst winter in more than half a century. There is a possibility that a similar swell will also arrive in 2026, but barr is not counting on it. “But it doesn’t seem like we can get that again because it’s going to be so warm,” he shared.
barr has already registered several records during his 2026 record-keeping. He claims that none of them paint a positive picture. The climate prophet has installed a snow-melting deluge, exhibiting record-high temperatures. By the middle of March, the part-time accountant had already noted 28 all-time high temperatures for the winter. During December, 22 days presented above freezing temperatures, which is typically down to ten every year.
January and February also showed a similar trend with the actual number of above-freezing days, towering over averages of previous years. February 2026 is also the 20th consecutive winter month, where the number of days with above-freezing temperatures was more than the 52-year average of that particular month. The climate prophet further shared that the average winter snowfall in the first two decades of his recordkeeping was 456 inches. Seeing the trajectory of recent years, experts believe that the snowfall in 2026 will be well below 400, marking a historic low. Like many others, barr is also hoping to welcome a proper winter in the area.
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