The Official Colorado Front Range Weather Thread (Denver, Fort Collins: gated, vacation)

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by Pettrix

[u]
It all comes down to PERSONAL CHOICE. Some people HATE the cold and snow, others HATE the heat. One is not "better" than the other, it depends on the person.

I was in Phoenix and it was a 110F. I hated it, and drove north to Prescott to get out of the heat. I was in Denver when it was -10F with the wind chill and it was icy and snowy. I hated it.

Agreed--one climate is not better than the other.
I got tired of the snow and cold (especially in the springtime) and left for warmer temps, but this does not in *any* way invalidate the choice made by others to live in Colorado.
Looks chilly now at 6 degrees--and most of y'all had a white Christmas.
But maybe it will get up to the high 60's in January and you can break out the t-shirts again.

[VOZ]

Originally Posted by Pettrix

Here are the facts:

* Phoenix in the summer is HOT, no doubt, but it offers great temperatures from November thru March. It is an ideal winter weather getaway. Now, from April thru October it can and will get VERY HOT. Most outdoor activities are done at night during that period. Sunrise and sundown are also peak outdoor activity periods during that time.

* Colorado can be VERY cold and VERY snowy in the winter. More people DIE due to cold weather snow and ice. More accidents happen due to snow and ice. It can be FRIGID cold and we can get A LOT of snow. We are talking about the Denver metro area.

It all comes down to PERSONAL CHOICE. Some people HATE the cold and snow, others HATE the heat. One is not "better" than the other, it depends on the person.

I was in Phoenix and it was a 110F. I hated it, and drove north to Prescott to get out of the heat. I was in Denver when it was -10F with the wind chill and it was icy and snowy. I hated it.

That is the point. Each has its pros and cons. One is NOT better than the other. It comes down to personal choice...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've lived in Phoenix and Denver, and, to me, the difference is more than just a preference for either strong heat or cold. In Phoenix, the weather is CONSISTENTLY scorching hot 4 months a year. Most winter days in Denver are sunny, dry and relatively comfortable. Forty five degrees in Denver feels like sixty degrees in coastal California. Anyone who thinks everyone in Denver is trapped indoors for 3 months every winter because of bad weather has never lived in Denver. Now of course Denver does have snowstorms, but they don't happen MOST winter days. Every place has a price to pay for living there. CA has superior climate and landscape, but close to impossible living costs, terrible public schools, awful trafffic,etc. Phoenix has good winter weather but unending extremely hot weather for many months, uninspiring scenary and urban planning, more seedy people than average, etc.

[LBear]

This month, Denver experienced the 6th snowiest December on record.

Here are the two compared:

Denver VS. Phoenix

[sberdrow]

2 degrees is starting to feel as bad as 100 plus degrees to me.

[Katiana]

I take issue with the paragraph "* Colorado can be VERY cold and VERY snowy in the winter. More people DIE due to cold weather snow and ice. More accidents happen due to snow and ice. It can be FRIGID cold and we can get A LOT of snow. We are talking about the Denver metro area."

The sixth snowiest December on record means that all but 5 Decembers in the history of record keeping have had less snow. In my 27 years here, I have seen Decembers when there was practically no snow (sometimes very little the entire winter). I'm not sure of that poster's definition of frigid cold. The coldest night this December was 10 degrees on the 15th. There have been no below zero days yet this winter. Most winters have only a few. People wouldn't wax so enthusiastic about the snow and cold if we had witners like say, Minneapolis, where the above statements DO apply, particularly about the cold.

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

I take issue with the paragraph "* Colorado can be VERY cold and VERY snowy in the winter. More people DIE due to cold weather snow and ice. More accidents happen due to snow and ice. It can be FRIGID cold and we can get A LOT of snow. We are talking about the Denver metro area."

The sixth snowiest December on record means that all but 5 Decembers in the history of record keeping have had less snow. In my 27 years here, I have seen Decembers when there was practically no snow (sometimes very little the entire winter). I'm not sure of that poster's definition of frigid cold. The coldest night this December was 10 degrees on the 15th. There have been no below zero days yet this winter. Most winters have only a few. People wouldn't wax so enthusiastic about the snow and cold if we had witners like say, Minneapolis, where the above statements DO apply, particularly about the cold.

well...in Loveland/fortcollins, we have had several nights in the 2 and 3 degree temps but Im sure you were talking about Denver.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by sberdrow

well...in Loveland/fortcollins, we have had several nights in the 2 and 3 degree temps but Im sure you were talking about Denver.

Actually, the data I was referring to come from the Broomfield weather station, but yes, closer to Denver. I still stand by what I said. This isn't Minneapolis or Fargo.

[hello-world]

Originally Posted by gpraceman

It's all about the low humidity and lots of sunshine. We get over 300 days of sunshine a year. The humidity level is usually in the 30% range. The lack of moisture on your skin does make it feel warmer. Then add the warmth of the sun and you can be wearing t-shirts when it is in the 40's. We have the healthiest and thinnest population in the US, so the winters do not keep people from doing lots of outdoors stuff.

Also, with my kids, being raised in SoCal, you would think they would have trouble with the cold. That is not the case. My teenage daughter often wears t-shirts and even flip-flops to school. Check out the photos that I posted in the Colorado forum, Colorado Pics. Those show pictures from our December blizzard. Notice the pictures of my daughter and son and what they are wearing.

actually, it's not so much about the humidity (when considering why it feels warm in the sunshine at altitude, even when 40s or 50s F). it's more about the overall relative lack of air. the atmosphere is about 15% thinner at denver's altitude (850mb versus about 1000mb at sea level), so is a less effective cooling (or heating) medium, and is a less effective scattering/filtering medium of the sunshine. so, in the sunshine, you feel more intense sunshine (less of the beam is scattered away from you at altitude), and there is less air to pull heat away from you (fewer molecules per square inch kind of thing).

incidentally, less humidity would likely result in it feeling cooler, not warmer. humidity is a measure of how saturated the air is - the "less saturated", the more good sweating/evaporation from you does to cool you. in other words, if the air can take more water vapor from you, then water will more readily evaporate from you (from your breath/lungs, from your skin - why you get dehydrated more quickly and your skin gets drier at altitude). think about "heat index" in really humid places in the summer time...

[VOZ]

Originally Posted by hello-world

actually, it's not so much about the humidity (when considering why it feels warm in the sunshine at altitude, even when 40s or 50s F). it's more about the overall relative lack of air. the atmosphere is about 15% thinner at denver's altitude (850mb versus about 1000mb at sea level), so is a less effective cooling (or heating) medium, and is a less effective scattering/filtering medium of the sunshine. so, in the sunshine, you feel more intense sunshine (less of the beam is scattered away from you at altitude), and there is less air to pull heat away from you (fewer molecules per square inch kind of thing).

incidentally, less humidity would likely result in it feeling cooler, not warmer. humidity is a measure of how saturated the air is - the "less saturated", the more good sweating/evaporation from you does to cool you. in other words, if the air can take more water vapor from you, then water will more readily evaporate from you (from your breath/lungs, from your skin - why you get dehydrated more quickly and your skin gets drier at altitude). think about "heat index" in really humid places in the summer time...

------------------------------------------------------------------
I think the humidity plays a large part in the weather feeling less hot in summer and cold in winter. In Southern CA, 65 degrees at the beach feels colder than 65 degrees 15 miles inland and only 300 feet higher.

The thin air is also a factor, I agree.

[azcater]

Just FYI,

Weather.com's averages for Phoenix are ridiculous. I bought that when we decided to move from Seattle, thinking it wouldn't be so bad, we can make it through 4 months of heat. It's just not so. They may be averages, but they are not reality. I'm not kidding you when I say it's 100+ for 7-8 months of the year. I'm pretty sure we hit 100 in late March and still had 100's through Halloween. Oh and don't forget that July, Aug, Sept is monsoon season, so take 100-105 degrees and add some humidity to it.. ooh that's refreshing. Sorry, I'm a little bitter. :-)

But I totally agree that every place has it's pros and cons. We're ready to see what snow and cold is like.. and I'm much happier to pile clothes on to stay warm then to run around naked trying to cool off. There's only so much you can take off to stay cool and not get arrested. LOL!