How windy? (appointed, neighborhood, camping)

[heat seekers]

So I have been reading through past threads and I am confused on how windy it is there. Some say its really windy all the time and others say its just breezy a little here and there. Can anyone tell me more? Is it windy for most of the year or just in winter or spring? Is it mainly a lite breeze or steady winds?
How is the gardening there? does the wind effect your plants and small trees? I'd like to have flowering trees and a small veggie garden eventually. Wind is not great to go out and play in with the kids either (if its all the time), so that is a big concern for me.
I'm also wondering about the summer T-storms. So does it rain pretty much most of the summer in the afternoons or just a little?
Any input on this would be great, thanks!

[hollyt00]

Well it seems to change year to year but the spring/fall is the windiest. This year has been very windy. Yesterday at track practice it was brutal. The kids were getting sandblasted, quite literally !

We had a tree get knocked down by a windstorm, an 80 ft tall blue spruce. Farther out east (Powers corridor) it always seems windy. The closer to the mountains, it is not as consistently windy, but the foothills also seem to get the highest winds when we get a really bad storm. (this is anecdotal, I have no facts to back it up)

There always seems to be a good breeze, and sometimes the wind just howls.

We grew tomatoes and the city has plentiful, beautiful crabapple trees are all around. But new trees need to be protected from the wind, as tropical-storm force sustained winds with hurricane-force gusts are not uncommon here.

In the ten years I've lived here, we've had a typical monsoon summer about once or twice. We get some really awesome thunderstorms, and if we have a wet season, they occur most frequently in the afternoons. They are nice, short lived, and cool the area for the night.

It depends on what your idea of lots of rain is. Colorado is a semi-arid state, so my idea of a ton of rain may be someone's idea of nothing.

[heat seekers]

I'm not sure I would like the wind if it seems to be quite often. And as far as a lot of rain I mainly was thinking daily in the afternoons through-out summer. I was thinking as far as being out doors or camping a lot it might be hard if it was always raining in the afternoons, but if they are short rain bursts I guess that wouldn't be so bad.
Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it

[otowi]

People in Colorado do tons of stuff outdoors including camping and everything else just fine - the wind is not a serious deterrent to any activity.
Daily rain in the afternoons basically doesn't happen. In a monsoon year, which doesn't happen every year but just sometimes, a pattern of afternoon thunderstorms will set up for a month or two in summer, but the storms are short and not everywhere - it might rain in neighborhood x one day and neighborhood y the next, and neighborhood z the next, etc. Some years the pattern will fail to set up and it could be a very dry summer - just depends.

[Marcy1210]

The rains are more prevalent in the foothills to the west of the Springs. Up the pass (Hwy 24 to the west), the storms seem to get "stuck" on the peaks, and dump the majority of their moisture in Teller County and the foothills. It does rain almost every day up there, but because the storms get hung up on the mountains, the Springs stays dry most of the time. March seems to be the windiest month. May is bad for rain and hail in a wet Spring scenario, and July and August are the monsoon months. But, again, the monsoon doesn't happen every day by any stretch. There's also the El Nino and La Nina thingys that figure into it, too. (November, March and April are the heaviest snow months--but then again, there are years when it never snows then...)

Wind is just a part of living at the base of the mountains. The winds blow down from the mountains, and the foothills get the brunt, and then again out east on the flatter plains, where there aren't trees or buildings that act as a wind block. But, it's not unbearable by any means.

[heat seekers]

Thanks that really helps put things into perspective. I like thunderstorms and as long as its not a daily thing all summer, all over then thats do-able. I just really don't like the wind. But if its not that bad then it might be ok. I really need to make some trips out there when I can. Hoping to move towards the end of summer so I'd like to visit before then.
Thanks again for the feedback!

[s06]

Originally Posted by heat seekers

So I have been reading through past threads and I am confused on how windy it is there...Is it mainly a lite breeze or steady winds?...Wind is not great to go out and play in with the kids either (if its all the time), so that is a big concern for me.

It's windy enough to be able to fly kites. My family did this in Keller Park. The wind didn't bother us; it felt invigorating to me. We still did a lot of outdoor activities.

Originally Posted by heat seekers

How is the gardening there?...I'd like to have flowering trees and a small veggie garden eventually.

My neighbor had a vegetable garden. He gave my family a few of his vegetables.

[lalahartma]

It was been especially windy this spring. Maybe the windiest in a while. That's why we are whining. I'm not a fan of the wind, myself.

[hollyt00]

It was too windy to fly a kite some days this spring! Crazy.


I would really definetely suggest coming and visiting before summer settles in, as the wind does die down a tad in the summertime, if you are concerned about the amount of wind. If it's a dealbreaker, you may come up to visit during a mild-er summer, and think there's no wind and be disappointed come Fall and Spring. My father in law, while born here, lived most of his life in TX. I remember after living up here a couple years mentioning the wind and his response was "there isn't any wind in CO" ... that's because he only visited during the summer.

[heat seekers]

Ya thats what I was thinking. I would not want to move there then find out that its too windy for us. It could be a deal breaker but I would need to come visit. Finding the time and funds to do that while saving to move isnt easy. Our move date isnt set yet so we may have more time then I'm thinking. Its all up in the air right now, so I want to do as much research as I can.