I HATE this weather! (Denver, Colorado Springs: find a job, military, nicest)

[downtownnola]

I agree that there is nowhere completely immune to tornadoes, but tornadoes west of the Rocky Mountains are very rare and happen much less than east of the Rocky Mountains. This is mainly due to the fact that the warm, humid airmasses necessary to fuel supercell thunderstorms are seldom found west of the Rocky Mountains.

Denver is certainly at risk for large tornadoes- I saw a special report on one of the local news stations about 5 years ago claiming that the Denver metro area could easily be hit with a large tornado, and that the tornado could be especially devastating as many residents would blow off the warnings, thinking "large tornadoes don't happen in Denver."

Although tornadoes are very rare in the mountains, tornadoes are not rare on the plains, and people need to remember that the Front Range urban corridor is on the plains. The threat of tornadoes increases dramatically as one heads east of I-25. I too, have read that far eastern metro Denver including DIA, is indeed in tornado alley. The threat of major damaging tornadoes is obviously not as high as in places like Oklahoma City, but the threat is there and should be taken seriously nonetheless.

My heart goes out to all of the people whose lives were changed by the tornadoes yesterday.

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by LBear

Loveland apparently did NOT get hit. It hit Windsor really bad, which is only about 3 miles EAST of I-25. Another twister hit Dacono, which is only 2 miles EAST of I-25.

It looks like an F3 hit Windsor and probably F2's for the others.

Luckily that storm did not intensify until further north. If it intensified around Denver, it would have been DEVASTATING. As the storm kept close to I-25. Thornton & Northglenn would have been hit. The causality rate would be very high. Remember, downtown Denver is NOT immune to being hit by and F3 tornado. Look at Atlanta last month. It hit the downtown area.

The meteorologists on the weather channel affirmed that Denver is part of tornado alley. It is the "beginning area" of tornado alley & gets worse as you head EAST. Typically the tornadoes are WEAKER (F0 or F1) but it can get F2 or greater. This tornado hugged I-25 and ran north. It got within 2 miles of I-25, some say it crossed over WEST of I-25 but I don't know if that is official as of yet.

I am watching CNN and apparently Loveland did take some storm damage. My realtors office in Winsor got hit I guess, just a little damage he says.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by downtownnola

I agree that there is nowhere completely immune to tornadoes, but tornadoes west of the Rocky Mountains are very rare and happen much less than east of the Rocky Mountains. This is mainly due to the fact that the warm, humid airmasses necessary to fuel supercell thunderstorms are seldom found west of the Rocky Mountains.

Actually, I was surprised to learn how common tornadoes are in the west. All states have had tornado activity. For example, Los Angeles County, California had 35 tornadoes between 1950-2000. Orange County had a similar amount. Many of the Central Valley Counties had lots of tornadoes as well. It is true that none of the tornadoes are greater than F2, so at least you can say that the West is fairly immune to the big monsters. However, apparently Pacific moisture can provide a substitute for gulf moisture under the right circumstances.

[downtownnola]

Originally Posted by tfox

Actually, I was surprised to learn how common tornadoes are in the west. All states have had tornado activity. For example, Los Angeles County, California had 35 tornadoes between 1950-2000. Orange County had a similar amount. Many of the Central Valley Counties had lots of tornadoes as well. It is true that none of the tornadoes are greater than F2, so at least you can say that the West is fairly immune to the big monsters. However, apparently Pacific moisture can provide a substitute for gulf moisture under the right circumstances.

That's interesting, tfox- I did not know that either. I guess when we think that we have mother nature figured out, she throws us for a loop.

[esya]

At one of the Memorial weekend parties I was chatting with a good friend and neighbor of mine who is a psychiatrist and a researcher.

I offered my theory about people who move out here because they like outdoor recreation so much. He said he had a different theory--that people with seasonal affective disorder are drawn out here as a solution to their mood swings.

I don't know much about SAD but i thought he might be a knowledgeable source for the opinion.

Of course, I expect to get totally blitzed with negatives on this one. I leave it to others to duke it out.

[TigerLily24]

Esya, I think it is perfectly reasonable theory.

[CosmicWizard]

esya wrote:

Of course, I expect to get totally blitzed with negatives on this one. I leave it to others to duke it out.

Who wants to duke it out with me? I give up! I give up!

[LeftHook]

Originally Posted by LBear

I'm sorry, but I need to vent...

This erratic, extreme weather is getting old. Just over a week ago, it was 85F & sunny, then within 24 hours, it was 30F and snowing. Now, as I type this, it is SNOWING and the wind gusts are hitting 50MPH. The winds out here are INSANE.

Not surprisingly:
"Colorado was ranked No. 2 in the nation for installing the most new megawatts of wind power in 2007, according to the American Wind Association."

Denver has EVERY EXTREME weather phenomena you can imagine. As EVERYONE I talked to out here stated, "wait a couple of hours, the weather will change." That is 100% true!

EXTREME:
cold (-25F is the record - -40F with the windchill), heat (105F is the record, it hit 100F in Denver a couple times last year & it was in the upper 90's for weeks on end) wind (recorded straight line gusts of 75MPH in Denver), snow, thunderstorms, tornadoes (Weld County Colorado has the MOST tornadoes per any other county in the entire USA), hail (Denver has been called the "Hail Capital" of the USA - $625 million in damage back in 1990 - $50 million per year avg. hail damage in Denver), lightening (the Denver suburbs hold records for the most lightening strikes on people & property), etc, etc

The mountains are beautiful but I can't even enjoy the outdoors here on the front rage because either I get blown away by the wind & the weather is SO ERRATIC that you can't plan anything. I was supposed to LANDSCAPE today and now it is snowing and the winds are hitting 50MPH.

One thing is FOR SURE, Denver needs to add that after "sunny days", Denver has every extreme weather phenomena there is & the weather can completely change within a few hours.

Now, I am hoping that my newly planted plants don't die off in the cold....

Ok...Let's have a weather complaining contest!...I'll take Oklahoma and you take Denver, and I'll still beat you! This past winter on a Monday it was 80 degrees and on wednesday we had 10 inches of snow!....or I can talk about our WEEKLY tornadoes....or lemme tell ya about our monthly cyclones....or lemme tell you about our weekly thunderstorms....or let me tell you about our weekly 35mph winds....or lemme tell ya bout our 110 degree temps with a heat index of close to 130....or lemme tell ya about our ice storms....or........

[steveco.]

Originally Posted by LeftHook

Ok...Let's have a weather complaining contest!...I'll take Oklahoma and you take Denver, and I'll still beat you! This past winter on a Monday it was 80 degrees and on wednesday we had 10 inches of snow!....or I can talk about our WEEKLY tornadoes....or lemme tell ya about our monthly cyclones....or lemme tell you about our weekly thunderstorms....or let me tell you about our weekly 35mph winds....or lemme tell ya bout our 110 degree temps with a heat index of close to 130....or lemme tell ya about our ice storms....or........

Uhm..... you could.... Relocate??? Just a thought

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by LeftHook

Ok...Let's have a weather complaining contest!...I'll take Oklahoma and you take Denver, and I'll still beat you! This past winter on a Monday it was 80 degrees and on wednesday we had 10 inches of snow!....or I can talk about our WEEKLY tornadoes....or lemme tell ya about our monthly cyclones....or lemme tell you about our weekly thunderstorms....or let me tell you about our weekly 35mph winds....or lemme tell ya bout our 110 degree temps with a heat index of close to 130....or lemme tell ya about our ice storms....or........

well I agree with lefthook, you couldnt pay me to live there in OKlhoma. Just about everything is on the ugly side there. Don't know why anyone stays there. I have been there quite a few times when I lived in Texas. He is right, Co is a much better weather (and just about everything else) state.

I think you would like it in Colorado. People like me complain because we come form less dramatic environments..but your right, there is always worse places a person could live.