Environment

Editor's Note: The Hewlett Fire was reported on Monday 05/14/12 on the Canyon Lakes Ranger District of the Roosevelt National Forest. The updates collected here are from Tuesday (5/15) and Wednesday (5/16) of the fire. Our coverage from the first day of the fire is archived in this post.

Aletta — a modest tropical storm spinning of the western coast of Mexico with 40 mph winds — is already special because of two reasons: It the first tropical storm in the Western Hemisphere and it has now broken a 41-day streak in which Earth did not see a cyclone.

Jeff Masters at Weather Underground provides a little more detail:

Editor's Note: The Hewlett Fire was reported on Monday 05/14/12 on the Canyon Lakes Ranger District of the Roosevelt National Forest. The updates collected here are from Monday (05/14) and a few from Tuesday (5/15). You can find our updates on the fire from 5/15 and 5/16 archived in this post.

Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park is now open for the summer season. This isn’t the only mountain roadway opening almost two weeks ahead of schedule.