The Official Colorado Front Range Weather Thread (Denver, Colorado Springs: vacation, home)

[BSL63087]

Originally Posted by gpraceman

That is significantly higher humidity than here. In Fall and early Spring, you usually do need to have a light jacket or sweatshirt handy. I don't know that you'd really need one in June.

Just remember, there is no "perfect" climate. Not even San Diego, where I lived for 16 years before moving back here. You will make tradeoffs whereever you go. It is all about what you are willing to put up with.

I agree, I always say how you see people in jackets in June at Padres games on TV.

Denver doesn't seem like it fits what I'm willing to put up with as well as Dallas does. I can take the extreme heat a lot better than extreme cold. Just the other day I played golf with my friend and his dad and we started at about 9am when it was probably in the 70s and by the time we got on the back 9 it was heating up into the 90s. They were complaining the whole time about how insane it is to be playing in this kind of weather and I never really had much of a problem I mean it was hot and I didn't like it but I dealt with it fairly easily. Needless to say, I beat them both by about 8 strokes on the back 9 when it was at 97 by the time we finished so I guess it doesn't bother me as much as other people... And I walked and they rode in a cart.

[Mikieo415]

Are there a lot of tornados in Colorado? How about around Denver?

[gpraceman]

Originally Posted by Mikieo415

Are there a lot of tornados in Colorado? How about around Denver?

We can get them on the plains east of Denver, but they rarely ever touch down in the metro area. I guess that the proximity of the mountains protects us. The father away from the mountains you get, then chances of tornados increase.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by Mikieo415

Are there a lot of tornados in Colorado? How about around Denver?

There are some other threads on this. Denver and its suburbs do get tornadoes, but they do not tend to be very destructive or strong. The strongest tornadoes in Colorado tend to form on the very eastern edge of the state, like the recent tragic storm that struck Holly, CO, a town on the Kansas border. That storm produced one fatality, but that was the first tornado fatality in Colorado in many decades.

Large hail is probably a bigger thunderstorm-related hazard in Metro Denver than tornadoes.

[BSL63087]

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

Originally Posted by gpraceman

Down here in the metro area, it has been t-shirt and shorts weather. In the evenings it can get quite cool (50s - 60s), so do bring a light jacket (or sweatshirt) and some jeans.

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.

[gpraceman]

Originally Posted by BSL63087

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

I'm glad that you are making an informed decision. I'd rather people get a reasonable view of what weather is like here, so they are prepared if they do relocate here. The last thing we all need is more "hot house" flowers to move here and then gripe about the weather. CO weather is not for everyone.

[LoveBoating]

We have lived here in the Denver area, Englewood and now Parker, since June of 2002. In the Spring of 2003, a major blizzard took place that literally shut down everything. In the apartment complex we were living in at the time, we watched bulldozers push the snow into piles and dump trucks take the snow away. Yes, it was a big blizzard. Since that blizzard, we have seen some fairly heavy snowfall and icy conditions during the winters. Last December (2006) another major blizzard hit and snow was piled up HIGH....yes, we got that much snow. So, if you don't like living in snow/ice period, really think about moving here and living in winter here. The summers here are nice, but can get stormy and hot. The lightning shows can be spectacular to see.
Yes, a lot of locals will say that Denver metro has "mild" winters, but IMO that just isn't true. I was raised in northeast Indiana (farmer) and my wife in the Detroit, Michigan area. We never had snow/cold during Halloween week (they can here) or on Mother's Day weekend (they can here). For us, we are moving to North Carolina where there is "mild" winters (up to 5 inches of snow and that's it). We just can't handle another blizzard here. They do get ice storms in NC, but hey......you can't get perfect winter weather all the time. Another IMO, if San Diego was cheaper to live in, there would be a lot of people moving/staying there. The NWS says that San Diego has the best year-around weather in the entire U.S.. I've lived there and I'd say "yes" to that.

[McGowdog]

Good suggestion, Pittnurse! A sticky seems like a good way to do this, but any reason why it has to be on the Denver thread rather than the Colorado thread in general?

I'll take the liberty to post a couple of weather pics from southern Colorado (I hope this is ok to do here); Keep in mind, a few of these pics came from last year's blizzards, but some came from 06, 05, 04, 03; get my drift?

[BSL63087]

Originally Posted by gpraceman

I'm glad that you are making an informed decision. I'd rather people get a reasonable view of what weather is like here, so they are prepared if they do relocate here. The last thing we all need is more "hot house" flowers to move here and then gripe about the weather. CO weather is not for everyone.

I've been doing a ton of research and I'm still awhile off from moving so I have time on my side. I like Denver a lot and it looks like a great place to live but some of the reason I want to move from here is to go somewhere warmer and I just don't think Denver is any warmer in fact I think it's a little cooler. Humidity is lower but I honestly don't think it's that significant to me. I don't even notice the humidity here unless it's above about 60% and Dallas is about the same maybe slightly higher humidity wise as it is here so I don't think it's that big of a deal. I just think a warmer climate suits me more because like I said before I can tolorate the heat and I think cool/cold nights almost all year round is crazy so it probably doesn't make much sense for me to move to Denver but I could still vacation there from time to time.

[south-to-west]

Originally Posted by BSL63087

I agree, I always say how you see people in jackets in June at Padres games on TV.

Denver doesn't seem like it fits what I'm willing to put up with as well as Dallas does. I can take the extreme heat a lot better than extreme cold. Just the other day I played golf with my friend and his dad and we started at about 9am when it was probably in the 70s and by the time we got on the back 9 it was heating up into the 90s. They were complaining the whole time about how insane it is to be playing in this kind of weather and I never really had much of a problem I mean it was hot and I didn't like it but I dealt with it fairly easily. Needless to say, I beat them both by about 8 strokes on the back 9 when it was at 97 by the time we finished so I guess it doesn't bother me as much as other people... And I walked and they rode in a cart.

I went golfing one morning last June with my girlfriend's dad out in Colorado (Longmont) and I remember how incredibly refreshing it felt. I had left Atlanta where it was already 80 and very humid when you woke up in the morning. I remember that morning in Colorado and how fresh the air felt and how sunny and blue the sky was. It was probably 65 degrees and I mean it felt perfect! The sky was so damn blue and the mountains looked amazing! I couldn't think of a better way to start the day.

I know what you mean about the cold. I live here in Atlanta and I can never go back to the Upper Midwest. I enjoy the days here we get Indian summer weather in December and January. I like the fact that spring arrives in late Feb./early March and the warm weather stays until the beginning of November. But I must say, that I could easily live in Denver's climate. I also like to snowboard, which is another bonus. On the slopes in Colorado, I don't even feel cold because of the powerful sunlight. Some days, people even snowboard in long-sleeved T-shirts!

But if you really dread winter weather and are not into winter sports, you should head to Dallas. It's a nice city, the cost of living is cheap, and there are a lot of young people. If you feel that it's too hot, you can always move. But from one person who hates cold weather to another, you wouldn't be too disappointed with Denver.