Colorado weather poll (Denver, Boulder: high school, tornado, rooftop)

[Mikieo415]

Here is a poll about Denver spring weather. I am trying to get a feel about what to expect this spring.

[jazzlover]

None of the above, because Colorado really doesn't have a traditional "spring." Weather patterns in the spring months in Colorado are basically a battle between wintertime and summertime weather patterns. That clash can bring heavy snow one day and 80 degree temperatures the next (or vice versa). That same clash is what causes violent tornado weather in the Plains states in the spring--cold dry air masses from the Rockies or Canada colliding with warm humid air from the Gulf of Mexico. People looking for quiet, placid, even-tempered, benign spring weather should not live in Colorado--it doesn't happen that way.

Trivia note: The heaviest one-day snowfall in Colorado history occurred in the mountains west of Boulder (Silver Lake, to be exact) in APRIL (April 14-15, 1921, 87 inches in 27 1/2 hours--read about it here: http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/...81-02-0038.pdf ).

[denverian]

This weekend certainly was interesting. My flip flops are covered in ice on my front porch! Shorts and sun one day. Blizzard-looking conditions the next. I'm just glad I only got an inch or so at my house.

[Katarina Witt]

^^^ It will go on this way for the next 6 wks or so.

[suzco]

Originally Posted by Katiana

^^^ It will go on this way for the next 6 wks or so.

Springtime in the Rockies. . .

[aeh]

Be happy it's not springtime in the Canadian Rockies, though. Although it sounds like it Colorado can get snow every month of the year, we have experienced snow every month of the year here too. Our Spring though (although unseasonably warm this year and we have had temps similar to Denver) does seem to bring huge dumps of snow in March, April, May too. Nothing begins to bud until June and trees aren't in full bloom til mid-June (at least where we live). And temps in the mid-80s in spring? Only if we're VERY lucky and just a few sporadic days at that. I now keep the little temperature icon on my computer (one for Denver, one for here in Calgary) to monitor the differences in weather. Looks like we are warmer by ten degrees right now

Although I care about the environment, as long as we're living in Canada, I am not complaining too much about global warming

[blacksmith76]

Don't plant anything until after Mother's Day, no matter how nice the weather seems, trust me!

[denverian]

Originally Posted by aeh

Be happy it's not springtime in the Canadian Rockies, though. Although it sounds like it Colorado can get snow every month of the year, we have experienced snow every month of the year here too. Our Spring though (although unseasonably warm this year and we have had temps similar to Denver) does seem to bring huge dumps of snow in March, April, May too. Nothing begins to bud until June and trees aren't in full bloom til mid-June (at least where we live). And temps in the mid-80s in spring? Only if we're VERY lucky and just a few sporadic days at that. I now keep the little temperature icon on my computer (one for Denver, one for here in Calgary) to monitor the differences in weather. Looks like we are warmer by ten degrees right now

Although I care about the environment, as long as we're living in Canada, I am not complaining too much about global warming

It's never snowed in Denver in July or August, and although I've heard rumors from long ago, I've never seen snow in June - or even a frost. The latest snow I've seen is the first week of May (and it was just a little on rooftops that melted by 9 a.m.) and the last week of September.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by denverian

It's never snowed in Denver in July or August, and although I've heard rumors from long ago, I've never seen snow in June - or even a frost. The latest snow I've seen is the first week of May (and it was just a little on rooftops that melted by 9 a.m.) and the last week of September.

We've had snow in late May this decade -- I think maybe Memorial Day, 2002 perhaps? That time, It snowed overnight, but was gone by 9am as the day warmed up well into the 70s. That's the latest I've ever seen in Denver at any rate. The Denver Post will always tell us that the latest snow on record is June 5th, but that was far before my time.

For all practical purposes, Denver's snow season is done sometime in late April. Yes, there is usually a late dose of nighttime snow thereafter, but if you blink, you'll miss the snow, so that hardly counts unless you're gardening or something.

[Katarina Witt]

It snowed in Boulder on June 4, 2005, the day my daughter graduated from high school. It turned to rain later in the day. It also snowed about that date in 1998. The "first snow, last snow" dates are very local.