How do COS winters compare to Chicago? (Denver, Colorado Springs: 2013, apartment complex)

[559red]

Hi all:

I'm looking to relocate from Chicago to an area with some mountains and milder winters. How does the winter weather compare between Colorado Springs and Chicago?

[Mike from back east]

Sunny and 60 degrees today with mild breezes. Shorts and tee shirt weather for joggers.

Will be 35 tomorrow, then 60 again for several days.

Biggest difference is our dry air, which makes winter's chill much more tolerable than the humid winter of the upper midwest.

Most days are sunny compared to overcast /gray skies in the upper midwest.

Snow here is low moisture, fluffy, push it off the driveway with a shop broom, not a shovel. It disappears quickly too rather than hang around in ugly black mounds.

People who've come here from Chicago, Duluth, Michigan, etc, love the improvement in winter weather.

[Rangerdude_Charlie]

I agree with Mike. While the weather can get cold, chilly and overcast, it never lasts for more than a day or two and often the sunshine is out during the winter which makes winter so much more tolerable. So much better than Midwest winter, I grew up in Michigan. Do not miss that mess.

[Marcar12]

I currently live in central IL, and while I haven't yet lived in Colorado Springs (that will be changing this summer), I grew up in Fort Collins, CO. I think that the weather in Fort Collins is similar to the weather in Colorado Springs. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on that.)

That all being said, Colorado weather is 100 times better then Illinois weather during 11 out of the 12 months of the year.

In Colorado they do get plenty of snow. On average, they might even get more snow than IL does. HOWEVER, and this is huge, it melts sooo fast in CO. This is how a typical snow storm was experienced in my childhood: It snowed 6 inches in one night, then the next day it was 60-degrees and we would play in it without a coat, and then the following day it would all be completely melted away. That simply does not happen in IL. Not one single time in the 7 years I have lived here. It is too cold to play in the snow here. And it takes 3 weeks to melt because the sun never comes out (and when it does, it is -10 degrees.)

Colorado also gets cold. Yes, it gets below zero there. But not very often, and for not very long. They might have a super cold snap that lasts for 3 days. And that might happen twice between the months of Nov to March. But, as I'm sure you know, that is NOTHING compared to the cold stretches that IL gets. To top it off, it is very common for the temperature to get into the 60's in the wintertime in CO, which is so nice.

Also, I never knew what an ice-storm was until the age of 24 because I never experienced one until I moved to Illinois.

So that sums up winter for you. It is like heaven in comparison. Truly.

Then there is spring-time. The risk of tornadoes in Colorado is significantly lower than in IL. They do get tornadoes there on occasion, but nothing like we do here. Growing up I remember there being a tornado watch in Fort Collins maybe about once a year. And there was 1 tornado warning the whole 15 years that I lived there. So that's a nice difference as well.

Summer is also so much better there. No humidity!!! You can actually go on a walk! And no bugs!

The one month that I think is better in IL than CO is October. I will miss Midwest Octobers when I move. But that is it.

When it comes to weather, Colorado beats Illinois by a landslide as far as I'm concerned

[JMM64]

Yep Colorado Springs has MUCH BETTER WINTERS!

I lived in Michigan as a kid so I've experienced the winters in both locations.

For example I remember in Michigan snow would fall in December and would still be on the ground in March (and most of the snow would become ice after a day or two). The humid climate also made winter feel VERY COLD nearly every day. The sun would also only make brief appearances. Winter snow totals were about the same in Michigan as they are in Colorado, but in MI the snow stayed on the ground for the duration of the winter.

In Colorado the sun shines extensively and the dry climate makes cold temps feel very comfortable. Also as others have said the snow melts literally the next day in Colorado, for example I had 5 inches of snow in my apartment complex on Sunday and here it is Tuesday and it's all gone and 60 degrees! It was 20 degrees on Sunday but the sun made it feel like 40 and I wore a t-shirt most of that day!

[shanen]

The sun shines. IT SHINES IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER.

That's my great epiphany since moving to the Springs from Minnesota.

[Sonic_Spork]

Marcar12, if anything winters in Fort Collins might be a bit harsher than down here in the Springs. Except for the possibility that IF AND WHEN we get winter road conditions, we probably have more hills to slide on.

I feel like we get just enough winter weather so we don't forget what snow looks like, without being so much that it's a hardship to get through it. You know how in the upper Midwest (for me it was Iowa) you can't really miss work or school for snow because if you did, you would never even GO at all during the winter? Here, if the roads get a little dodgy, I can justify staying home and using a vacation day. I've done this three times in January because of ice. Three days. Out of the entire month. I'm a serious chicken about driving in winter conditions...I can do it, I just hate to...and 3 days in the month of Jan. I felt the desire to stay home.

The one thing I don't like about our winter here is that the plants turn all brown (like they do everywhere) but they generally stay that way a lot longer than most places. When March, April rolls around, I'm ready to see some green things growing. Here, you might get snow out into April or even later, although it's going to be a rare event, and the vegetation doesn't green up until it's practically summer.

In April 2013, the day after we had an ice/snow storm here, I made a road trip to Tulsa, OK. The weather had warmed here enough that the roads were safe. It was such a wonderful treat to get into Oklahoma and see the green grass after miles and miles of brown in CO and KS.

[shanen]

Originally Posted by Sonic_Spork

Here, if the roads get a little dodgy, I can justify staying home and using a vacation day. I've done this three times in January because of ice. Three days. Out of the entire month. I'm a serious chicken about driving in winter conditions...I can do it, I just hate to...and 3 days in the month of Jan. I felt the desire to stay home.

Thank you for this! It's better that people who aren't comfortable driving stay home. Too many people who put other's lives at risk driving over-cautiously (yes, there is such a thing when the rest of traffic is driving an average of 20mph faster). I realize some don't have the luxury of vacation days, but, seriously, I appreciate you doing that since you can!

[Sonic_Spork]

Originally Posted by shanen

Thank you for this! It's better that people who aren't comfortable driving stay home. Too many people who put other's lives at risk driving over-cautiously (yes, there is such a thing when the rest of traffic is driving an average of 20mph faster). I realize some don't have the luxury of vacation days, but, seriously, I appreciate you doing that since you can!

Oh believe me. I would much rather not be on the road. If I'm out there creeping along it's because I just don't have a choice. And as I've said many times, at least I do try to choose roads with passing lanes, and I stay to the right so people can get around me, and I don't pace other cars. I do everything I can to avoid being a nuisance while still being safe (by my own standards and within my own limitations.)

But I tell ya, frankly, I've seen people going ridiculously slow on perfectly dry roads for no apparent reason (are they stoned or what??) and I've seen people flying along much faster than is really safe on icy snow packed roads. The right safe speed isn't "what other people are doing." It's what a given driver feels safe doing. And if you can't slow down or stop, and a slow driver is a hazard because of that, then you are probably going too fast or following too close.

"Everybody going slower than me is an idiot, and everyone going faster than me is a maniac."

[reed303]

Having lived in Chicagoland until age 26, and Denver area for next 35 years, I agree with earlier comments re weather.

A few additional points:
Coloradoans do not know the words "slush" or "galoshes"
Most snowfall does not actually "melt", with icy water runoff. It evaporates. My first winters in CO were interesting to watch a pile of snow just shrink in size with no runoff.

However, that does depend on an area getting direct sun after the snow. Beware of any north-facing garages or entrances. BTDT If you don't clear the snow from any area that is in constant shade, it will hang around longer than the sunny areas.

Trust us, you will love it in CO from a winter weather standpoint.