Micro Climates - Longmont, Louisville, Broomfield (Denver, Colorado Springs: landscaping, housing, company)

[MtnSurfer]

Hello,

I considering moving from Colorado Springs to one the Boulder suburb/bedroom communties. My company has a Boulder office but I can't afford housing in Boulder.

Do all these towns surrounding Boulder have about the same climate or are there micro climates which vary (eg - more wind, snow, heat, cold, etc...)?

I know Parker has slightly different weather than say Littleton.

In Colorado Springs things vary greatly as you head up toward Monument.

How about the areas around Boulder?

Thanks for your help,

Derek

[Katiana]

Snowfall amounts vary from Boulder smack up against the mtns to Broomfield which is more on the plains. Sometimes Boulder gets less, sometimes more. I don't think there is a great deal of difference. The daily high is often a degree or two less in Boulder than in Denver. It can be cloudier in Boulder Co. than farther east. Again, not a great deal of difference.

[chilaili]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

Hello,

I considering moving from Colorado Springs to one the Boulder suburb/bedroom communties. My company has a Boulder office but I can't afford housing in Boulder.

Do all these towns surrounding Boulder have about the same climate or are there micro climates which vary (eg - more wind, snow, heat, cold, etc...)?

I know Parker has slightly different weather than say Littleton.

In Colorado Springs things vary greatly as you head up toward Monument.

How about the areas around Boulder?

Thanks for your help,

Derek

I think Longmont is a bit windier than Boulder, maybe because it's further from the mountains and so the wind has more time to get up speed as it crosses the plain? Otherwise, weather is very similar.

[ColoradoHomefinder]

I think the climates in all of the areas you mentioned are about the same. (Those Chinook winds will be just as windy in any of them come springtime ;-)

Seriously though, Boulder County is a great pick no matter where you decide.

[Comedy]

I live in Longmont and don't let anyone tell you different, I have snow in my yard from October to March. Boulder gets more snow than us because the clouds part at Longspeak/Mt Meeker. All the seasons seem short in my opinion, but the seasons are fun.

[Neditate]

Originally Posted by Comedy

I live in Longmont and don't let anyone tell you different, I have snow in my yard from October to March. Boulder gets more snow than us because the clouds part at Longspeak/Mt Meeker. All the seasons seem short in my opinion, but the seasons are fun.

REALLY? I find that an interesting (or more likely exaggerated) statement. Where do you live in Longmont? I live at 8300 ft. just NE of Nederland and I certainly don't recall ever having snow on the ground from October to March.
BTW I've lived in Colorado for more than 26 years.

[Brain Drain]

Snow on the ground from October to March is not the reality here -- Boulder, Longmont, or Louisville. One way to examine this is to see what percentage of our Christmases have been a "White Christmas" -- with at least one inch of snow on the ground. That is the time of year when the days are shortest, the sun is lowest in the sky, and when the snow will take the longest to melt. The National Weather Service (Denver Christmas Weather Statistics) stats show that about 36 percent of Christmases in Denver have had at least an inch of snow on the ground. Sure Boulder receives more snow than Denver, but the idea that snow is on the ground nonstop for 6 months in the Boulder area is silly. Of course every once in a while you get a year like Christmas 2006 where we had 15 inches on the ground! You'll in find on the Front Range the weather is highly variable but on average pretty good.

Probably the most significant microclimate factor that differentiates Boulder from Broomfield, Longmont, and Louisville is that Boulder receives more snow during our upslope storms. Boulder averages close to 80 inches of snow (with more falling on the West side than the East side), while Longmont averages under 40 inches of snow a year. I don't have any statistics on Louisville or Broomfield, but would guess they average 50 to 60 inches a year. It's not a matter of Boulder getting more snowstorms than these other areas, but more that when we have an upslope snowstorm, Boulder may get twice as many inches as surrounding communities.

The short answer: the closer you are to the foothills and mountains and the higher your elevation, the more snow you will tend to receive due to increased snowfall with upslope storms.

This is another great weather resource: BOULDER, COLORADO - Climate Summary

[jkcoop]

Originally Posted by Comedy

I live in Longmont and don't let anyone tell you different, I have snow in my yard from October to March. Boulder gets more snow than us because the clouds part at Longspeak/Mt Meeker. All the seasons seem short in my opinion, but the seasons are fun.

I'm in southwest Longmont. This past winter was probably the longest we've had snow on the ground, but even then....never October - March. Maybe I'm not understanding you correctly and you mean that at some point during those months you get snow on the ground (if that's the case then it would be for me October - May). Even in our north facing back yard, we don't usually have snow hang around.

I WISH we had snow hang around longer - it would be better for the landscaping.

[Katiana]

My backyard faces north, too, and snow does linger there more than in the front, but it is completely untrue that CO is snow-covered from Oct - March. In fact, during the winter of 2006, we had about 60 days of continous snow cover, and were on our way to setting the record, which I believe is 63 days. That time frame was I believe sometime in Dec - Feb.

There are microclimates everywhere. I live on top of a hill; it is often snowing at my place when it is raining in downtown Louisville.

[SheridanL]

Ahhhh, you all are ruining my childhood memories! I grew up in NW Denver and, remember specifically walking to school everyday from Oct. to March in 4 feet of snow! ( at least, that's what I tell my children!) HAhahaha.
You know, the old, "you think YOU have it bad" speech?!!

I know, it isn't Boulder.....Boulder was worse!! JK!


Maybe the poster is subtle about keeping people out. You know, the other old speech, "it's awful here, don't move here, you will be snowbound until late spring early summer"?!! That one!
Maybe they live in a part of Boulder County that the snow doesn't melt real well? Right?