Michigan winters vs. Denver winters (Aurora, Boulder: university, living in, moving)

[michgirl1]

I have lived in Michigan all my life and we are now seriously considering moving somewhere with a less cloudy, winter climate because I need more sun! I don't mind cold and snow, but I have grown to hate the endless string of cloudy, depressing winter days that we have in MI.

I understand the Denver area is sunnier during the winter, but exactly how do Denver winters compare to MI ones? Are there still cloudy winter days in the Denver area? How often does the sun shine in winter? Do different areas/suburbs around Denver have more/less cloudy days than other suburbs around Denver?

[Micktooth]

I am a University of Michigan Alum,so I can tell you personally that the Denver winters are much better. The sun does shine most of the time, when it does snow, it usually is gone within a few days. The dry climate makes for much better snow. Of course, it is possible to get a real heavy snow in the Denver area, but these are usually rare. It is said that the Denver area gets about 300 days of sunshine per year!

[rolo99]

I lived in SE Michigan for my entire life until I moved here in April. The winters (at least this one) are MUCH better! It's warm enough with the sun out that I can wear just a fleece jacket most of the time. The dry air & sun makes for a much cheerier winter too. When I went to MI for Xmas it was bone chilling cold.

[MobyLL]

From City-Data:

---------------Denver Sunshine------------------------------------Detroit Sunshine




---------------Denver Cloudy Days------------------------------Detroit Cloudy Days

[denverian]

That's an interesting graph. Denver's sun is fairly consistent throughout the year. Hey, it's sunny right now! I think I'll take a walk.

[denverperson]

It snows a lot here and I would prefer it being cloudy. Think of it this way: do you want to be in a place where there is 2 ft of snow and 100% sun? I hate wearing sun glasses and my eyes are usually fried by this time of the year. It is just too bright. I still love Colorado!

[oberon]

I'm a former Metro Detroit resident. Lived there for 18 years, have lived near Denver for 3 years now. The winters here are way easier than in Michigan. There is relatively little difference in weather patterns along the Front Range. Certainly it doesn't make much difference whether you live in Parker, Boulder, Golden, Aurora, Highlands Ranch, or Commerce City, as far as weather is concerned.

[LoveBoating]

We were in Michigan (Farmington Hills) for 2 weeks on business last month (Feb 08). My wife is originally from Lincoln Park. We will tell anyone this: if given the choice of living in Michigan/Detroit winter weather or living in Denver winter weather, we would most definitely take Denver winters......"hands down". The entire two weeks we were there, very little (if any) snow melted due the daytime temps being so low. Yes, it was pretty darn cold and snowy while we were there. However, we did move out of Colorado due the winters and my surgeries. Will take the heat/humidity of NC in exchange for the snow. When the heat/humidity hit, we will either be in A/C or in Lake Norman water.

[HighlandsGal]

On the Michigan forum, there is a post about Grand Rapids' (where I am from) record-setting snow

http://www.city-data.com/forum/michi...ll-record.html

Then I hear on the news this morning that March is Denver's snowiest month with a whopping 11 inches!! HA! Too bad they still can't figure out how to clear a road though.

[suzco]

Originally Posted by HighlandsGal

On the Michigan forum, there is a post about Grand Rapids' (where I am from) record-setting snow

http://www.city-data.com/forum/michi...ll-record.html

Then I hear on the news this morning that March is Denver's snowiest month with a whopping 11 inches!! HA! Too bad they still can't figure out how to clear a road though.

in March 2003 , we had the second largest snowstorm in Denver records; 32 inches fell from March 17-20.