Colorado weather question (Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo: best cities, live in, restaurant)

[eqttrdr]

Can someone clue me in here..

I read online in polls, blogs, forums how colorado has some of the best weather in the united states. More specifically the best mild winter weather. There are polls showing how Denver and even the western slope are some of the best cities for year round moderate temps and best mild winters.

Yet when I go to weather.com all I see is 100 inches of snow and crazy low overnight temps for months on end and people on here saying the weather in colorado is similar to the north east US but MUCH more windy.

how exactly is that better?

there are threads even comparing PA and CO

In my own average annual temperature search it seems Montana has better year round weather than colorado?


Im so confused my head hurts.


help please

[jazzlover]

Read my many posts on Colorado climate. Colorado has more climate and weather variation from place to place, from season to season, and from year to year than most anyplace in the world. So, your generalizations can be all right . . . or all wrong.

Start with this:

Colorado Climate Center - Climate of Colorado

[Josseppie]

The front range urban corridor does have some of the best weather in the nation. Its not as humid as the southeast does not get as hot as the southwest as cold as the northeast or midwest and in places like Pueblo we have more sunny days then southern Florida. I like to call it the goldi lox climate as its not to hot and not to cold.

[bartonizer]

I love CO weather, and we tend to brag about it quite a bit. But as my friend pointed out the other day, it can be schizophrenic, and probably not for everyone. In fact, one could probably write a book on the weirdness of CO weather, especially in the winter. And it is quite a bit different on the Front Range than the Western Slope, to be sure.

Most Coloradans like the weather- and talking about it. Dealing with wild conditions is almost a communal bonding experience or a badge of pride. So is travel in the winter. After all, a lot of travel in this state requires you to go "up and over" the mountains much more than other states.

It's hard to generalize, but for much of the state high elevations and relatively low humidity create a pleasant effect. Regarding temperatures, my wife and I frequently laugh about the fact that the thermometer doesn't matter as much as other factors like sunshine, wind, and humidity. Extreme sounding numbers make the news, but don't tell the whole picture. There are actually many days in winter on the Front Range where things are quite mild and you could comfortably sit on your porch or sit on the patio at the restaurant or brewery. Except for a few storms, snow rarely gets in the way of too much and stays on the ground very long, unless you're up in elevation or further west in the state. There are some places in the state that remain iceboxes for the majority of the winter, but for the most part it is not nearly as cold as MT. And generally much sunnier.

One of the main things you learn in this state is to be prepared, always including a couple layers because things conditions change quickly. All in all, CO weather is highly erratic. But it also very pleasant far more often than people imagine, and much less grey and depressing like cities in the NE tend to be...

[Prodigal Native]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

So, your generalizations can be all right . . . or all wrong.

Quote of the day! Of course, you left out the 3rd option that the generalizations can be all right AND all wrong... it's just a matter of of an hour or two.

[hollyt00]

I've noticed more people coming to post here about wanting to move to CO because of the "mild weather"... one thing to realize is that the "polar vortex" that came down once, and the arctic chills that came down frequently this year is very common in Colorado. I live in Colorado Springs, and a few times a year, starting in November, we get below zero temperatures for days at a time. So when my friends across the country were freaking out about the cold weather, I shrugged and moved on, as I was more used to it. Our weather can be very mild at times, much like other areas across the country.


Very windy day today, not a big surprise.

It's always windy on the Front Range. I get windburn as much as sunburn here.

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by hollyt00

I've noticed more people coming to post here about wanting to move to CO because of the "mild weather"... one thing to realize is that the "polar vortex" that came down once, and the arctic chills that came down frequently this year is very common in Colorado. I live in Colorado Springs, and a few times a year, starting in November, we get below zero temperatures for days at a time. So when my friends across the country were freaking out about the cold weather, I shrugged and moved on, as I was more used to it. Our weather can be very mild at times, much like other areas across the country.


Very windy day today, not a big surprise.

It's always windy on the Front Range. I get windburn as much as sunburn here.

Sure we get cold spells but its nothing like the midwest and northeast.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by Josseppie

Sure we get cold spells but its nothing like the midwest and northeast.

A false generalization. Many places in the Midwest, especially at Colorado's latitude, have few cold spells with temperatures as cold as Colorado can get. Much of the Northeast is under the influence of the Atlantic Ocean currents, so those areas seldom get cold snaps as happen in the continental climate of Colorado. This couple of sentences from the summary of Colorado climate from the Colorado Climate Center that I cited above speaks volumes about the Colorado climate:

The climate of local areas is profoundly affected by differences in elevation, and to a lesser degree, by the orientation of mountain ranges and valleys with respect to general air movements. Wide variations occur within short distances. The difference (35 degrees F) in annual mean temperature between Pikes Peak and Las Animas, 90 miles to the southeast, is about the same as that between southern Florida and Iceland.

[CharlotteRJ]

This was my first winter in Colorado Springs, and I thought it was pretty much the best winter EVER.

I grew up in Wisconsin. I like winter, and I like the snow, but in Wisconsin, it lasts forever, with no break, no end in sight. Spring will NEVER come. Here, we get that bit of winter that I like, some snow, some cold and blowing, but then every week or so, it warms up and is nice and sunny in the middle. I get my winter that I love, but I get it in the most bearable way possible.

After growing up in the upper Midwest, I moved to Pennsylvania, then Maryland. In Maryland, winter is sometimes warmer than here, on average certainly warmer. But it's always grey and overcast and dreary. And during a Maryland winter, you don't dare look forward to summer, because once that two weeks of nice spring weather is gone, it's hot, humid, sticky, and nasty, until about October, when there's 2 nice weeks before dreary winter sets in.

Here, winter is bearable, fun for winter enthusiasts, but there's still the sun and fairly regular nice days. On top of it, you can look forward to a warm but not unbearably so, and not humid summer. We move here July 1 last year, and didn't turn on our A/C once.

It's not for everybody. Some people wouldn't like the cold that we can get in the winter. I don't really mind.

[CharlotteRJ]

Originally Posted by bartonizer

Regarding temperatures, my wife and I frequently laugh about the fact that the thermometer doesn't matter as much as other factors like sunshine, wind, and humidity. Extreme sounding numbers make the news, but don't tell the whole picture. There are actually many days in winter on the Front Range where things are quite mild and you could comfortably sit on your porch or sit on the patio at the restaurant or brewery.

Very true. Yesterday here was in the 60s, but cold and windy. Today was windy, but on my walk to the bus it was only in the 40s, but because of the sun felt nicer than yesterday.