The Official Colorado Front Range Weather Thread (Denver, Colorado Springs: homes, community college)

[hello-world]

Originally Posted by VOZ

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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.

interesting. i wonder if the beach 65 versus inland 65 might have to do with sea breeze (more wind chill at the beach) and the possibility that any houses or shrubs inland might make for more calm near the surface, while at the beach there aren't many obstructions of the breeze? i also wonder whether their might be something about the sight of water or those low fog clouds near the beach that makes it seem cooler? are there clouds over you at the beach that might block the sunlight so your body, itself, is feeling less radiant heat from sunlight? i suppose the wet sand could also be cooler (since the "wet" absorbs heat and evaporates, so the sand radiates less heat at you from below) than the dry sand/soil/pavement inland (which could then radiate more heat at you...after absorbing more heat, too, since it might be a less reflective surface for the sunbeams). so, overall, heat coming at you from more directions inland, and maybe more direct sunlight, while less body heat's being pulled away from you by breezes inland, while "looking" warmer? i don't know. interesting.

[LBear]

Pittnurse -

What I am trying to state is that snow and ice cause really bad driving conditions. They don't shutdown highways in the desert when its 115F. The do shutdown highways when its 10" of snow and ice. They do shutdown highways when its 65 MPH winds with blowing snow. The Denver family who was killed last week in Wyoming was due to bad snow, ice and wind conditions. That doesn't happen on desert roads in the winter in Phoenix.

It is just a fact. Winter driving in snow areas is hazardous when compared to winter driving on desert roads.

That's all I was trying to state....

[Katiana]

Point taken; I agree!

[love_sidewalks]

Has anyone discussed the loss of daylight that occurs when the set sets and you are living in the shadow on the east side of the mountain? I assume that the official sunset times refer to the horizon, but not the time the sun actually lowers behind the mountain. I've always lived on the west side of mountain ranges and as I consider the Boulder area, I wonder where the sun is setting with respect to the mountains and what time the sun "actually sets" during the different seasons of the year.

Any comments?

[sberdrow]

man did we have a bad wind storm last night. Im suprised the huge tree in my yard isnt in my living room. I just heard it might get as low as -3 tonight in Denver. It usually a little colder than that in Fort Collins....

[denverian]

If you can make it past tomorrow, the weather finally seems to be looking decent - probably a week of above average temps, and I heard a couple weather people mention the possibility of 60s. And thank god no snow in the forecast anytime soon. Sounds like we'll get some decent melting by the weekend. Unfortunately, the nice weather returns just as holiday vacations end!

[wankel7]

Ok, so I am a newb to Denver...but seriously...a whole interstate closed? Is it really that bad?

http://www.cotrip.org/rWeather/All_Regions_123107_142101.html (broken link)

Looking at the webcam shots it really isn't that bad. Can't they let you just do it at your own risk? I'm just bent because this was my only day off to go snowboarding

But seriously...WTF

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by wankel7

Ok, so I am a newb to Denver...but seriously...a whole interstate closed? Is it really that bad?

http://www.cotrip.org/rWeather/All_Regions_123107_142101.html (broken link)

Looking at the webcam shots it really isn't that bad. Can't they let you just do it at your own risk? I'm just bent because this was my only day off to go snowboarding

But seriously...WTF

Yes, it is that bad. You're a newbie to the area -- you'll learn.

We got home (to Silverthorne) from DIA yesterday around 3:30pm, when it was still okay. The occasional gusts lowered visibility to about 10 feet near the tunnel. But things got really interesting around 4:30, when the gusts were non-stop for an hour or two. It was so bad, I couldn't see the houses across the street. My buddies who were out driving (from Vail to Leadville, from Georgetown to Frisco, from Silverton to Breck) said it was the top 3 worst driving conditions they'd seen (and all have been living in the mountains for a l-o-n-g time). Roads were really slick, and even with chains and stud, experienced drivers were having problems.

This morning the winds are down and the visibility is much better lower in the valley (where I-70 is). The problem now is avalanche danger. The wind-loaded snow is primed for avalanches, and I-70 runs through many avy run-out areas.

You talk about letting you drive at your own risk. But it's not really. If you have a thousand "you"s out on their own risk, and one person spins out, then the next person crashes into them and so on, and pretty soon, it's not only the one person paying the cost for that risk -- it's hundreds of drivers and emergency personnel.

As for skiing/riding, many of the lifts are closed because of high winds. Loveland didn't even open today.

EDIT: And the reason the avy danger around I-70 hasn't been mitigated yet is because CDOT is having trouble doing control work higher up -- the winds are still blowing at higher elevations.

[wankel7]

Thanks for the explanation...that does make sense.

[katmoney]

I was stuck in that horrendous storm last night coming back to Denver from Keystone. I spun out and hit some snowbanks, but thankfully myself and the car are fine. I've NEVER, EVER, in my life had to drive in such terrible conditions. I am glad I got back before the roads closed.