How are you coping in these snowstorms? (Denver, Colorado Springs: work, house)

[leavingcali]

I am over in California watching the snowstorms that are hitting your city on the news. How are you holding up? Is this common in Denver? Does the city completely shut down? Is it common to be prepared for this sort of thing? Is it as bleak as the Cali news reports suggest?

We are considering moving there within a year or so...not sure if I should be worried. We (hubby and I) don't have any experience living in the snow. Horrible summer heat, earthquakes, and outrageous home prices are what we have here...and that isn't working for us.

Take care! Hope you are all doing fine.

[Mike from back east]

No problem, love it here, snow is nice, stays in the mountains for those who ski and it melts out fairly fast here east of the mountains, i.e., east of I-25. The current run of storms is not usual, could be the el nina winter thing??

You'll do fine here...snow doesn't shake or burn... it melts...afterwhich your house still stands....we play in our weather....

Denver is great, Colorado Springs a bit less expensive. Study the threads, tons of info.

s/mike

[LoveBoating]

Not to start a "weather War", but any of you thinking about moving here from So. California........"go for it"!
You can listen to Mike from Back East or anyone else that lives here, but (to us, who also live here) they make the weather here sound just a bit TO PERFECT. Yes, like anywhere else, the snow does melt here, but not necessarily THAT FAST. When your street doesn't get plowed out and you have to "try" and drive thru inches (and possibly more) of snow AND, when the daytime high temperature is 1 degree (which can/does happen here at times during the winter)........you may wish (note, I did say "may") you had moved somewhere else.
Bottom Line: We do have a winter here with pretty cold temps and snow. People here don't own snowblowers, snow shovels and winter parkas for nothing!!!!!!!
Good Luck!!

[BlueWillowPlate]

People from California might be in for a bit more of an adjustment than people from back East.
Denver has had several major snow events this season, and is having another one today. See Channel 9's weather page:

http://www.9news.com/weather/default.aspx

Some folks can adjust well, others might not appreciate driving in and shoveling snow, putting up with road closures and delays, and picking up broken tree limbs.
And there's the cold. Example: once this coming storm arrives, temps are not expected to rise above freezing until New Year's Eve.
However: the sun shines a lot, snow melts, and the arid climate eases the chill factor. And at least this weather is happening during the winter time. What used to get to me is having snowstorms in May.
No place is perfect. The good aspects of Colorado are really, really good. But it makes sense to get all the facts and visit a place before moving there.

[gpraceman]

The current weather is an anomally. Usually it is years between blizzards that will actually shut down the city, not days. The last one was in 2003. We had a very dry winter on the front range last winter, so I guess we are making up for it this winter. Usually, the storm fronts go over the Rockies, dump their snow on the mountains and give a token amount to the front range. It is very infrequently that a storm will loop under CO, pull up gulf moisture and then come in from the east and dump on the front range.

Weather here can vary a lot and there is a saying here in CO, "if you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes and it will change". A bit of an exageration, but the point is that bad weather doesn't stick around for long here and then the sun is back out and it is beautiful.

Having lived in San Diego for 16 years (but born and raised here), I'll take the occasional snow and cold here over the routine 100+ temps in summer/fall there any day.

[BenWolfe]

If this storm ends up being over 18 inches in Denver it will be the first time in recorded history that we receive two record setting snow storms in such a short period of time.

We typically have one substantial snow storm approximately ever 3 years. Most of the snow storms we receive are less than 8 inches.

I grew up in Northern California and lived in the DC area for nearly 10 years and I love the weather in Colorado. (And I don't even have a 4 wheel drive vehicle.)

[TinajaCo]

I'll just echo what everybody else has said....this is exceptionally rare. I've lived in Colorado my entire life and have never seen anything like this. It's rare to get more than 5 inches of snow, and usually the sun comes out and melts the snow away fairly quickly and melts it off the payment, even if the temps are not very high. The city is never shut down by snow, unless it's a big storm (like the last one). And for the record, I do not/have never owned a 4WD car or a snow blower and have done just fine!

[BlueWillowPlate]

I had both 4 wheel drive and later, just all-wheel drive. I did okay.
Winter has definitely been heavier than usual this year.
For me, having heavy weather during wintertime wasn't so bad. It was having winter in spring and fall that got to me. That was a fairly regular occurrence, esp in spring, often with disastrous results.
On July 20, 2005, Denver tied its record for heat at 105 (breaking the '73 record for 103).
Those are extremes.

Some facts:
Average Date of Last Snow: April 27th
Date of Last Measurable Snow Last 8 Years: May 10, 2006
May 2, 2005
April 30, 2004
May 10, 2003
May 24, 2002
April 21, 2001
April 16, 2000
April 23, 1999
Seasonal Snowfall Last 10 Years: 30.4 inches 2005-2006
39.3 inches 2004-2005
38.0 inches 2003-2004
61.8 inches 2002-2003
30.2 inches 2001-2002
58.3 inches 2000-2001
45.6 inches 1999-2000
44.5 inches 1998-1999
72.1 inches 1997-1998
44.7 inches 1996-1999

October 21st is the average date in which Denver's normal overnight
low temperature hits 32 degrees Fahrenheit for the first time.

Autumn First Snow Information
Earliest Date of First Snow: September 3, 1961
Latest Date of First Snow: November 21, 1934
Average Date of First Snow: October 19th
First Measurable Snow Last 8 Years: October 18, 2006
October 10, 2005
November 1, 2004
November 5, 2003
October 24, 2002
October 5, 2001
September 23, 2000
September 28, 199

[COflower]

Heheeee, this is fun. (well except for the shoveling) but as others have said, this is not normal.

I too have lived here all my life (Colorado Springs for 25 years, Grand Junction for 2 1/2 years, Denver 2 1/2 years and back to C Springs - I'm 38).

It's a blessing though. We've had a pretty serious run with a drought here so in a way this is a godsend. Now if we can keep this up in the mountains? I would be just fine with that.

It is fun though, but for the shoveling...but I said that already and the driving in it.

I have never seen this many snowstorms in the last half of a year as I have this year. Who knows what the beginning of 2007.

[leavingcali]

glad to hear it! I am also glad to hear blizzards are typically a rare occurence in Denver. I can't wait to visit your state. It will be awhile, but I will get there (I'm a starving graduate student). Your positive posts and helpful info. keep me motivated, although a bit envious at times