The Official Colorado Front Range Weather Thread (Denver, Colorado Springs: travel, renting)

[BSL63087]

Originally Posted by gpraceman

Looking at GhostPoet's other posts, seems he/she has more than a bit of paranoia about tornadoes.

Honestly, there are other things I would be more worried about than the chance of getting hit with a tornado. So,

From one website, regarding outdoor fears:

The Scenario: Being struck by lightning
The Odds: 1 in 240,000

The Scenario: Dying in a tornado
The Odds: 1 in 5 million

The Scenario: Dying from a bee, hornet, or wasp sting
The Odds: 1 in 5.33 million

The Scenario: Being attacked by a shark
The Odds: 1 in 11.5 million

The Scenario: Being attacked by a bear
The Odds: 1 in 36 million

The Scenario: Being bitten by a venomous snake
The Odds: 1 in 37,250

Interesting. As a young kid I used to always think that I was going to end up getting hit by a tornado. Growing up in Southern Indiana, which is considered part of tornado alley, we were always having tornado warnings and having to seek shelter just about every spring. I eventually realized that the odds of it actually happening are very small and I have stopped being scared of bad storms. Not that it couldn't happen and I still take safety precautions just in case but I don't have it in my head that a tornado is coming right at me anytime there is a tornado warning.

[formercalifornian]

Originally Posted by BSL63087

Interesting. As a young kid I used to always think that I was going to end up getting hit by a tornado. Growing up in Southern Indiana, which is considered part of tornado alley, we were always having tornado warnings and having to seek shelter just about every spring. I eventually realized that the odds of it actually happening are very small and I have stopped being scared of bad storms. Not that it couldn't happen and I still take safety precautions just in case but I don't have it in my head that a tornado is coming right at me anytime there is a tornado warning.

I'm definitely not paranoid, but I take storms very seriously. One of the worst category five tornadoes in history struck Xenia, Ohio, when I was a child. We lived about 10 miles away from town, and my parents, who were both volunteer emergency workers, responded to assist the wounded. It wiped out an entire neighborhood and was absolutely horrifying.

When my husband and I moved west, we stopped at a mall for dinner somewhere in the middle of Kansas. We weren't there very long before a siren sounded and we were directed to a storm shelter until the danger had passed. Gotta love tornado alley!

Now that we live in Colorado, the big concern is lightning. Two houses in my neighborhood have been struck in the past six months, blowing roof shingles off and scaring the wits out of everyone. That said, iIt does make for a beautiful show, especially at night.

[b.adams]

At my last home in Highlands Ranch, lightning hit the house in two spots (we were not home, thank goodness) ... and one went throught the roof and blasted the lights off the master bath vanity ... and the other went down the front of the house and blasted the bricks off the garage, then shot across the street, blew through a wall in neighbors house and fried the neighbors kitchen appliances. Crazy.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by BSL63087

I saw your post in another thread and I definitly don't think Denver is my ideal climate.


When we went to Dallas in April I didn't even take pants and I did pack my Texas Longhorns hoody just in case but I never even took it out of the suit case. Wearing jeans and a sweatshirt in the summer time (although I do understand it's only at night but still..) is insane. I guess some think upper 90s is insane and others think pants and jackets on summer nights is insane... I guess it's just all about your preferences and pick some place that fits them the best.

Denver's climate is extremely misunderstood by people not from here. It's not cold at night all summer, unless you think lows in the 60s is parka weather. And it gets over 90 plenty of days - even over 100. The difference is that you're not dripping wet from the humidity if it's 100 degrees and it still cools down to a temperature in the evening where it's comfortable to sit outside - even in shorts. I have the air conditioning bill to prove it's not cold here in the summer!

I've worn shorts in Denver on Christmas and New Year's day too. With the strong winter sun, temps can feel very nice and I've seen temps in the 70s in Nov., Dec., Jan., Feb. and March. Heck, we've just had a week of temps in the 70s and it's mid November! It's 70 degrees as I type this on Nov. 13th!

It's just a climate that doesn't do what you'd expect. Sure it can snow a foot on Sept. 30th - I've seen it happen. But three days later it was in the 80s, the snow was gone, and throughout the following winter, we never got more than a couple inches here and there that melted fast. Denver statistically gets over 60" of snow per year, but they're never on the ground at the same time! An inch here, 2 there and they melt fast inbetween snows. Remember, winter is statistically the driest season in Denver, so heavy snow is rare, last winter being a once in a hundred years, unusually snowy one. Not to mention, cold feels better in low humidity too, just as heat does. I went to Philly last winter and thought I was going to freeze to death becuase that humid cold goes straight to your bones! And it was warmer than Denver at night - just more humid.

Denver is not the same climate as Buffalo or Minneapolis. Not at all. I think the reason it gets that reputation is because the heaviest snows tend to be in October and early April. That always makes the national news, so people draw the conclusion that if it snows a foot in Denver on October 1, then the city is buried in snow until the following May. It doesn't make national news when it's 71 degrees in Denver on Christmas, as it was in 2006.

San Diego has a better climate for sure - I lived there for 9 years, and was often cold in the winter or during June Gloom. But Denver's a climate I can put up with. What I'll never put up with again is extreme heat, humidity and bugs you find everywhere east of the Rockies!

[katmoney]

^^^great post.

Coming from chicago I thought I'd seen erratic weather but Denver takes the cake. Snow then 80's a few days later. Now we are in the 70's in mid-november and tomorrow's high 46. Of course the rest of the week will be in the 60s.

I love this weather. Absolutely love it. You never know what you are going to get here.

My parents thought that people skiied to work in the winter and that it was deathly cold here. So I had to rub it in their faces that it was 70 degrees here while it's 40's back home!

[Katiana]

I have seen it be 70 degrees on New Year's Day and 70 degrees on the 4th of July. The only consistency is in the extremes. It does not get below freezing in the summer, nor above 75 or so in the winter.

[LoveBoating]

We lived in Colorado (Englewood & Parker) for 5 1/2 years. We seen several nice/sunny days in winter, but also seen very snowy days also. Last December's Holiday Blizzard (we were living in Parker then) was a big one and it hasn't been a hundred years since a storm like that......there was a major blizzard in the Spring of 2003 that completely shut down the Denver metro area. We were living in Englewood for that one. We will say this also, when stores sell lots of snow shovels and snow blowers, Denver metro area winters aren't nearly as "mild" as locals tell about.
We now live just north of Charlotte, NC and love the weather here. The humidity here isn't nearly as bad as many people in Colorado told us it would be. We do know that it gets very humid/hot here in the summer, but that is just part of living here.......like living in snow in the Denver area, just part of living there. But, when it does get that hot/humid feeling here, we will be on/in Lake Norman having lots of "water fun". And, yes, there are "some" bugs here, but NOT whopping "man eaters".
If you live in the Denver area, you will end up seeing some nasty t-storms (lightning Capitol) in the summer and cold/snow in the winter. We have plenty of photos and video to prove that.

[sberdrow]

Im getting to beleive it does not snow here like all you folks said it would. What happened to the snow storm I was supposed to see on Oct 31st. Fact is I have only seen one snow flurry.

[katmoney]

Originally Posted by sberdrow

Im getting to beleive it does not snow here like all you folks said it would. What happened to the snow storm I was supposed to see on Oct 31st. Fact is I have only seen one snow flurry.

I'm thinking the same thing but the locals tell me "Oh, just wait, it's coming!"

[tfox]

There's a story in the RMN this morning saying that it's likely to be a dry winter this year due to a developing La Nina.

Rocky Mountain News - Denver and Colorado's reliable source for breaking news, sports and entertainment: Local

2005 was also an La Nina year, and we had also very little snow in the city, though the foothills and mountains got an average amount. From the article, it seems like the mountains may get not get much either this year.