Weather in Longmont (Denver, Boulder: rent, condo, hotels)

[altadena]

I'd appreciate some honest weather info for the Longmont area. We were out there in late May, but what are the summers like? Bugs and humidity? The thunderstorms come in summer, right? Lots of sticky rain? What about the fall? Do the trees do the color show? Is it pleasant during the day then chilly at night? And of course, winter. When does it really get cold? All through December to March?

That's a lot of questions, I know, but we're very interested in moving there and the weather sites just give averages.

[Mike from back east]

We've tons of threads on weather in the Boulder area, and the Denver area, and the state. Use the search tool and you'll fine all sorts of info, including whether or not you need A/C, etc.

[DressageRider]

I don't know where you're coming from, but I came out here from the east coast (NY/CT/MA), and partly we were trying to escape the winters. People thought it was funny that we'd move to Colorado to get away from winter, but it is true. I love having seasons, but was tired of endless dreary winters (I'm looking at you, Boston).

Colorado is not humid, and our summers definitely have a very dry heat which, in my opinion, is WAY better than those sticky summers from whence I came. We have less bugs too, but there are still bugs. There are plenty of thunderstorms in summer, but not a ton of rain. Rain becomes a good thing because it means you don't have to water your lawn for once. It cools off a lot at night.

I live in Old Town Longmont and we have some really nice fall color because we have so many mature old trees. But in general Boulder County can be very brown. Right now it is very lush and green which is nice.

The winters can get quite cold, but it is usually sunny. The thing about this area is that it can literally be 68 degrees in January and then a high of 0 degrees a few days later. It snows, and then in the afternoon people are out and about wearing shorts. It is pretty weird. So yes, it can be hard to get a good sense of Colorado weather from averages. This past winter was pretty mild, but we did have a few of the coldest days and nights that I remember.

Colorado likes to keep it interesting. The sun is what clinches it for me. I used to want to live to the Portland area, but I just know that I've been spoiled by the Colorado sun. If it is overcast for a couple days straight, I find it depressing.

[altadena]

Thanks, that helps a lot. We're outside of Los Angeles and I couldn't live in the south or east. As beautiful as they are, and I like to visit, but that humidity and I do not get along. That is why Colorado looks good. The up and down of temp's makes it interesting. We're planning to go back in August and again in January if we can find some sort of condo or something we can rent for a month. Hotels would be too pricey.

I agree about Portland, I love the city and it has great things going for it, public transportation...., but the weather, ugh. My sister lives up there and she misses the sun.

[POhdNcrzy]

Originally Posted by altadena

Thanks, that helps a lot. We're outside of Los Angeles and I couldn't live in the south or east. As beautiful as they are, and I like to visit, but that humidity and I do not get along. That is why Colorado looks good. The up and down of temp's makes it interesting. We're planning to go back in August and again in January if we can find some sort of condo or something we can rent for a month. Hotels would be too pricey.

I agree about Portland, I love the city and it has great things going for it, public transportation...., but the weather, ugh. My sister lives up there and she misses the sun.

Altey, you will LOVE Colorado weather, trust me. Only issues are occasional heavy, heavy winds and the winter can be snowy and brutal but is relatively short (in the non-high mountain areas), only from mid-December to March 1st, really a quick winter. Sometimes the weather can get really weird and wild, like freak hailstorms that chop up your car's finish, but it's fairly uncommon. Mostly it's just dry, sunny and freakin' great!

[eon-krate32]

Weather typically gets really cold between January and February but you can get extreme freezes anytime as early as October or as late as early May. The opposite is true; you can get days of very warm weather in the dead of winter. I remember one year where it was Christmas Eve and I was outside in shorts and a t-shirt because the temperature that day was in the 80's. We do experience all four seasons (Fall, Winter, Spring, and Construction haha), but the climate is usually quite dry, especially out on the Eastern Plains.

[qfrost]

Originally Posted by DressageRider

Colorado likes to keep it interesting.

You sum up so well why I love the weather in Colorado. I can't think of the last time I was able to sit on a front porch and watch a storm come in, or shuffle through autumn leaves, or look out and watch the snow fall from a toasty indoor window.