Are people delusional about Denver's climate? (Boulder: living, to move, office)

[hammertime33]

Originally Posted by valsteele

Because it's cold in Minneapolis, however it's cold in Denver too yet people act like it's not.

Nobody acts like it doesn't get cold in Denver.

But it's certainly a different cold. Sun and no humidity make all the difference. As a kid growing up in Denver, I wore shorts year round. Pay attention on the next sunny day in the 20s or 30s - you'll see plenty of people wearing shorts. It's not uncommon to see a sunbather out in a bikini on a sunny day with snow on the ground. I doubt you'll see that in Minneapolis.

I spent 5 winters in Portland Oregon. I snowed twice in those 5 years (meaning the temperature only dropped below 32 twice in 5 years because it rains every day all winter). Those 5 winters were the coldest of my life. 45 and wet with no sun is much, much colder than 20 with bright sunshine and no humidity.

[Mini-apple-less]

Originally Posted by hammertime33

Nobody acts like it doesn't get cold in Denver.

But it's certainly a different cold. Sun and no humidity make all the difference. As a kid growing up in Denver, I wore shorts year round. Pay attention on the next sunny day in the 20s or 30s - you'll see plenty of people wearing shorts. It's not uncommon to see a sunbather out in a bikini on a sunny day with snow on the ground. I doubt you'll see that in Minneapolis.

I spent 5 winters in Portland Oregon. I snowed twice in those 5 years (meaning the temperature only dropped below 32 twice in 5 years because it rains every day all winter). Those 5 winters were the coldest of my life. 45 and wet with no sun is much, much colder than 20 with bright sunshine and no humidity.

Actually Denver winter humidity and Midwestern winter humidity are roughly the same, ie hardly any. Somewhere like Fargo has even lower winter dewpoints than Denver. Actually if it's below freezing the humidity is going to be so low no matter what that I doubt it makes a huge difference. The wind speed is far more important.

do think the intensity of the sun from the high elevation has some slight effect on making it not feel quite as cold during the afternoon though, I will say that.

Portland winters definitely feel colder than people give them credit for I agree there!

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Neditate

I've lived in CO for 33 years and I've experienced low 70s in January and February. That never, ever, ever happened where I grew up in Wisconsin!

Agreed. I grew up in Pittsburgh, at roughly the same latitude, and much lower altitude. While I've seen a few 60 degree January days there, it's nothing like here, where you can virtually count on a 60 degree day or two in January. Now someone will pull up a Jan. when it never got to 60, but I'll say in advance that's rare.

[sade693]

Originally Posted by maciesmom

Sunshine is not the same thing as temperature or climate. Anyone who believes that an inland city at over 5000 ft altitude is going to have the same climate as SD hasn't done much in the way of thinking.

Helpful hint for anyone considering moving: There is a sticky on the Denver forum titled "Official 2014-2015 Denver Winter and Snow Thread!" Guess why? We have winter and it does snow. In order for it to snow, it must get cold. Clearly that is not some big secret perpetuated by folks who are delusional about the climate here and trying to convince people it's just like living in San Diego.

I never compared sunshine to warm weather ("300 days of sunshine" and "mild temperatures" were two different statements, if you take another look at my original post; also I don't think anyone would argue that you can't have sunshine on a cold day). And I think everyone knows that it snows here sometimes. It would be silly to think that a city at such a high altitude and so close to top notch ski resorts never gets cold. The point, like the OP said, is that Denver can get very hot in the summer, very cold in the winter, and has plenty of thunderstorms and showers in a year...so, it's not particularly mild, but definitely not extreme either.

Are you from Colorado or this region of the country? Maybe it's only out-of-staters who've heard what the OP is talking about.

[maciesmom]

Nope. I've lived many years in the midwest, a good number of years in....San Diego, and been here in the Denver area for 20 years. I've never, ever heard Denver's weather described as comparable to San Diego's. Not once. Actually, it's more the opposite. I have several relatives who wouldn't visit (from the upper midwest) because they "don't like the cold". It's been difficult to convince them that 1) Denver is not actually in the mountains, and 2) We don't walk around bundled in parkas 9 months out of the year.

[woob]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

Pffft. May 2014 had 10 days where the high was in the 70s with most of the rest in the high 60s or low 80s.

August and September had 8 each and we've already had 6 this month.

Weather History for Denver, CO | Weather Underground

I'm talking about 70 degree days, not 70's. By the time it gets above 75 degrees in Denver the sun can feel brutally hot. I'm not complaining, but 78 degrees in Denver does not feel mild like 78 in Boston. In fact, because of the dryness, 78 does not feel that different than 88 here.

[emm74]

Originally Posted by valsteele

The snow melts in Boston too, it's not until you get into say Vermont that you have snow that sticks all winter generally.

That is not correct. I lived in Boston for almost 25 years before moving to Denver, and once the first big snow storm hits, where the streets and parking lots have to be plowed, there will generally be some snow on the ground from those mounds all the way until Spring. In a couple of bad years, it was all the way until July before all the snow was gone, if there was any plowing into gullies. In Denver, there is a lot less plowable snow because it melts off so much more quickly and you can get away with a minimal clearing and then it melts. In Boston, if you don't plow down to pavement, you won't see that pavement again until the spring.

[EricNorthman]

Originally Posted by woob

I'm talking about 70 degree days, not 70's. By the time it gets above 75 degrees in Denver the sun can feel brutally hot. I'm not complaining, but 78 degrees in Denver does not feel mild like 78 in Boston. In fact, because of the dryness, 78 does not feel that different than 88 here.

This doesn't make sense to me. Heat Index is a well known measure of how hot it feels by factoring in humidity. Heat index goes UP with higher humidity (Boston) and down with low humidity (Denver).

At higher altitudes, the sun can be more intense as far as sunburns. There is less atmosphere to filter out the sun's rays. Is that what you are trying to get at?

[denverian]

Originally Posted by Tom Lennox 70

I'm wondering how often flights at the airport are delayed due to snow and ice in mid-December. My family is planning a trip to Hawaii and taking off from Washington Reagan airport and most flights to Hawaii on United where we have free tickets connect through Denver. Is there a big chance of flights being delayed or even cancelled? Or should we fly out of another airport with connections through Los Angeles or San Francisco instead? I've visited Colorado once but it was in the summertime, and even then it was considerably chiller than Kansas City or places in Utah (this was on a cross country road trip). I don't fly too much and have only been through one delayed flight and it was due to snow and ice in Cleveland, Ohio where they had to de-ice the plane twice.

You're more likely to be delayed in summer due to afternoon monsoonal thunderstorms. December is one of the driest months in Denver and snow delays are rare.

[randomparent]

What I do not miss about Midwest winters is ice storms! I'm not talking about hail. I'm talking about sleet that lays down inches of ice at a time, taking down trees, utility wires, and generally creating havoc. Sometime in the early '90s, I vividly remember a winter storm system that laid down six inches of ice. The parking lot outside my apartment was a skating rink, and it was there for more than a week. The weather would warm up just enough to melt the very top of the ice, and it would re-freeze overnight smooth as glass. There was no grip for tires or shoes, so you ventured outside at your own peril.

Accordingly, there was no getting in or out of my apartment. I was trapped. Utilities were off then on then off again as crews fought to keep the electricity running. It was a mess! I've been through one really bad winter storm since moving to Denver in 2005, and while it was a doozy, it didn't hold a candle to the storms of my youth. Winters here are a walk in the park by comparison.