please tell me about windsor co weather!! (Denver, Colorado Springs: how much, houses)

[future texan]

Hello!!

am highly considering a move to Windsor co in the near future...have some questions about your weather...

1. do you guys get many tornado warnings, and if so, what time of the year, and about how many warnings per year? have heard that mostly you just get funnel clouds and F-0s?? (except for 08 of course)

2. does the city of Windsor have outdoor warning sirens, and if so, what type, and how often do they test them..

3. do you guys get a lot of thunderstorms? about how many a year, and are they exciting or just run of the mill T-storms..

4. do you get a lot of hail? if so, is it large enough to cause damage, and how often does this happen?

5. what about snow? I know you can get big snowstorms, but does it melt off fast? do you have a good plowing system out there?

6. how hot are the summers?

7. is any of Windsor in a flood zone? are there any rivers or streams that can overflow and cause flooding?

8. how about the wind out there?

7. can you grow a decent vegetable garden during the summer?

thanks so much for the info, and would love to hear ANYTHING you guys and gals have to say about the weather, temps, wind speeds, etc...would love to know if it's a weather lovers paradise, or pretty boring as far as weather excitement...

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by future texan

Hello!!

am highly considering a move to Windsor co in the near future...have some questions about your weather...

1. do you guys get many tornado warnings, and if so, what time of the year, and about how many warnings per year? have heard that mostly you just get funnel clouds and F-0s?? (except for 08 of course)

2. does the city of Windsor have outdoor warning sirens, and if so, what type, and how often do they test them..

3. do you guys get a lot of thunderstorms? about how many a year, and are they exciting or just run of the mill T-storms..

4. do you get a lot of hail? if so, is it large enough to cause damage, and how often does this happen?

5. what about snow? I know you can get big snowstorms, but does it melt off fast? do you have a good plowing system out there?

6. how hot are the summers?

7. is any of Windsor in a flood zone? are there any rivers or streams that can overflow and cause flooding?

8. how about the wind out there?

7. can you grow a decent vegetable garden during the summer?

thanks so much for the info, and would love to hear ANYTHING you guys and gals have to say about the weather, temps, wind speeds, etc...would love to know if it's a weather lovers paradise, or pretty boring as far as weather excitement...

Go here first for information: Windsor, Colorado Travel Weather Averages (Weatherbase)


Windsor sits in what is known as a "dry slot" along the Front Range. It is far enough away from the mountains that it does not get as many thunderstorms in summer compared to areas near to the foothills, and is not far enough east on the plains to be in the higher moisture zones there that make for big thunderstorms. That said, Windsor can and does get some thunderstorms, with some of those being severe. Tornadoes are infrequent, but as noted, they can happen. Windsor is certainly in "Hail Alley"--one of the areas of the US most prone to severe hail. Windsor, like much of the Front Range from Denver north gets around 40 thunderstorm days per summer. Cheyenne, Wyoming, at a higher elevation (6,200 feet) gets around 50. The most thunderstorm-prone area of Colorado is around the Palmer Divide south of Denver, where thunderstorm days per year number near 60. Of Colorado's larger cities, Colorado Springs is the most thunderstorm-prone, with Grand Junction on the Western Slope being the least.

Like all of the Front Range, Windsor is fairly windy, especially in winter and spring.

Windsor, like much of the Front Range area that is a ways from the mountains, does not get a lot of snow, but can get occasional "big dumps." Blizzarding can also be problem, usually once or twice a winter--of course, sometimes it can go several years without a major blizzard, or one winter can feature several. Like most of the Front Range, March is often one of the snowiest months.

Aside from the aforementioned few severe thunderstorms and occasional blizzard, most lovers of wild weather would find Windsor pretty boring. Now, someone coming from "weather-tepid" California might think Windsor's weather pretty extreme, but for Colorado, it's fairly ho-hum, at least most of the time in most years.

For the benefit of new posters, I've been studying Colorado climate for nearly my whole life (meaning for nearly a half-century) and I've lived in numerous locations all over Colorado (and a stint in SE Wyoming). I've also been an eyewitness to some of Colorado's biggest weather events, including the South Platte flood of 1965 and the San Juan mountains flood of 1970.

[future texan]

thanks for the reply and info! this Californian only sees maybe 1-4 thunderstorms per year, with some years seeing 0 storms, so 40 days would be huge!

does Windsor have tornado warning sirens, or do you just rely on the media?

[cobmw]

The tornado risk in Windsor is very, very small. Got to go much farther east to get to tornado country. What Windsor has along with the rest of the front range is wind, cold winter nights (starting at 4pm) along with plenty of cold winter days, extreme low winter humidity, hot summers under intense sunshine and regular summer storms.

On the plus side the area gets relatively little snow that melts quickly, has clean air, low summer humidity, and many beautiful days (well at least parts of days). And the rigorours weather keeps too many people from moving here.

[jazzlover]

^Yes, but Windsor also was struck by one of the most powerful tornadoes in Colorado history in 2008--an F3; only a handful of F4 or F5 tornadoes have ever hit Colorado.


Windsor Colorado Tornado 22 May, 2008 - YouTube

[future texan]

thanks cobmv, and jazz thanks for the video. the summers sound pretty hot, and I understand Windsor is pretty desert like..have been to Loveland (coming from Estes park) and south to Denver, traveling on the 25, but haven't seen towns to the east side..

Are any parts of Loveland or Windsor prone to floods?

[jazzlover]

Since you bring up Loveland, I might as well talk about the "biggie"--the Big Thompson River flood of July 31, 1976.

Here's a video recording of the live news report from the next day, August 1, 1976--ironically, the Centennial of Colorado's admission to the Union.


Big Thompson Canyon LIVE Coverage Complete.mov - YouTube

And, thirty years later, this historical recap from the Fort Collins newspaper:

The Big Thompson - The Coloradoan - www.coloradoan.com

[StealthRabbit]

the "biggie"--the Big Thompson River flood of July 31, 1976.

BTDT, as well as the tornado in Loveland in ~1966 near the Rocky Mtn Pottery Factory (the END of the TOWER at the TOWER Motel,,,) (and a few houses and barns). I grew up in Big T Canyon, so lost several friends that night. And of the Course of the river and my life changed that day.

Windsor is pretty arid, and will have nearly identical weather to eastern Ft Collins, Timnath, Greeley, Eaton... Tornadoes are possible, as are MONSTER hail storms (I've seen 3" hail there, but 3/4" is more common). Stiff breeze in spring and winter as previously mentioned.

you MUST have irrigation to garden, some of the subdivisions there are built on the old farmland and dairy sites. If they left you top soil, you have a chance. Tunnel greenhouse and LOTS of mulch. The wind will draw every drop of moisture out of the ground. Your garden needs shelter from wind and sun. We put 100# of coffee grounds / week on our garden (free from my company). That was NICE and very helpful. I would invest in NICE retractable shade cloth and use it EVERY afternoon during hail season. Storms come daily at 3pm and are done by 3:30, tho HAIL can come till dark, seldom in evening or morning.

Consider nearby Berthoud "the Garden Spot of Colorado" or so their entrance sign read through the yrs.


Irrigation... you need it. Very nice to have a lot NEXT to an irrigation canal, BUT then you need water rights to use it...

[future texan]

Jazz thank you so much for the flood video...wow, that must have been horrible, and is always a possibility for low lying towns below mountain ranges...how much of the town of loveland itself was flooded or damaged by it? to me, floods are the worst natural disaster, and where there are rivers, there will always be floods and threats of flood..

thank you stealth rabbit, for the gardening info....sounds like there won't be much luck with that, especially with hail...where I live the gophers, grasshoppers and earwigs devour gardens, but didn't think about wind sucking the moisture away...Windsor must have an almost constant wind, even at low speeds, to dry the soil like that..,

How about growing a lawn and shrubs, or are most homes more xeriscape type landscape? what kind of trees are in the residential areas of Windsor?

[future texan]

stealth rabbit, i'm sorry to hear of the loss of your friends during the flood..