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I agree with most everything in this thread. But I think people in Denver like to gloss over the winter weather in Denver. Sunshine year round, and snow always melts quickly is an exaggeration. Some winters in Denver can be just as bitter as Chicago. Yes, Denver has over 300 days of sunshine a year, but that still leaves as much as 65 cloudy days for rain and snow.
I can remember some bad winters in the 80's and 90s, from when I lived in Denver. Where it stayed overcast for over a month, with off and on snow-showers, sometimes blizzard conditions.
I don't think any of us "gloss" over the weather here. It's not a conspiracy....when you declare residency in Denver, you don't have to swear under oath "that I will lie and cover up to all outsiders that the weather in Denver really stinks but we want people to move here so we'll tell them that we get more sunny days than overcast days." I don't think any of us care if people move here or not!
I grew up in Seattle and spent tons of time visiting relatives in Portland, so I can say without any hesitation that while it may not snow as much in Portland and Seattle as it does here, winter in the Northwest means weeks and weeks (even months) of overcast days. And I mean straight overcast days where you can't even remember when you last actually saw the sun. When you grow up in it, you don't think anything of it..."day" is defined as the "bright circle behind the clouds" but it always looks like it's about 4:00 pm. I moved to Arizona after college and then lived in Florida for 3 years. When I go to visit my parents now, all I want to do is sleep. It's totally depressing.
Colorado winters are amazing. For me, my only requirement is a few days of sunshine every week and that's what we get. Is it freezing here even when the sun is shining? Yep. Does it snow for days at a time which goes hand-in-hand with cloudy days? Yep. Are there patches of snow that seem to never melt until well into spring? Yep.
But winter is not the prettiest time anywhere in the country. Snow is only nice when it first falls, then it gets brown and dirty and makes a big mess. The grass is dead, trees are bare, flowers are gone. What keeps me (and all of the rest of us here in Denver) from not wanting to kill ourselves is that it is sunny here and even if the sun doesn't melt away the snow, at least the sky is clear and you can see the mountains (which are gorgeous with snow on them). Last year, I got "eyeball burn" after shoveling the snow in my front yard. I had no idea the sun was so intense until I came inside and couldn't get my eyes to dilate for the rest of the day. They didn't get back to normal until the following morning...ouch...lesson learned! That never and I mean never happened to me in Seattle, and after 17 years of living there, that says something.
As for your comment that "it stayed overcast for over a month, with off and on snow-showers, sometimes blizzard conditions"...perhaps someone whose lived here longer than I have can verify. A month...30 days...no sunshine in Denver? Not one day of clear skies? I don't think that's likely, but perhaps?
Anyway...there are certainly more differences between Denver and Portland than just the weather. Portland has fairly mild weather...though it rains, it doesn't get overly hot (over 100) or too cold (well below freezing). When it does, it's considered unusual...every city in the US has some of those seasons that are weird.
Don't make your decision about moving to Portland or Denver based on weather. Portland stands at 50 feet above sea level. Denver is called the mile high city (5280 feet above sea level). Just those stats should make you realize there's a difference.
Portland: The rainfall averages 37.5 inches per year in downtown Portland. Portland averages 155 days with measurable precipitation a year.
Denver: The average yearly precipitation is 15.81 inches. The National Weather Service records an annual average of sunshine during 69 percent of all possible daylight hours.
Population: Denver metro is 2,506,626. Portland metro is 2,159,720. Fairly similar in population, but Denver is more spread out.
As for your comment that "it stayed overcast for over a month, with off and on snow-showers, sometimes blizzard conditions"...perhaps someone whose lived here longer than I have can verify. A month...30 days...no sunshine in Denver? Not one day of clear skies? I don't think that's likely, but perhaps?
I've lived in Denver roughly 22 years. I have no recollection of any 30 day period like that (any 10 day period for that matter). Replace snow-showers with rain and change the time frame from 30 days to 6 months and you pretty much have my recollection of the 5 winters I spent in Portland.
I've lived in Denver roughly 22 years. I have no recollection of any 30 day period like that (any 10 day period for that matter). Replace snow-showers with rain and change the time frame from 30 days to 6 months and you pretty much have my recollection of the 5 winters I spent in Portland.
Even the winter 3 years ago when we had 2' of right before Christmas, then more heavy snow each weak afterward for several weeks, I recall it being quite sunny between snows.
Thats probably accurate on what the weather can be like in Denver. It does seem to have weather extremes, but thankfully its not known for winters like Minnesota or New England.
As far as Portland, Make sure people bring a job with them to this city or area. Make sure also you are someone that can deal with the types of populations, cultures and behaviors you will see in this city. Not everyone was meant to live in Portland. There is alot more to consider than just the climate of an area when moving any where. Alot more.
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I saw a man on the LR in Portland casually wearing a pirate hat lol! I like living around nutty people. Who knows, maybe pirate hats are coming into style
I saw a man on the LR in Portland casually wearing a pirate hat lol! I like living around nutty people. Who knows, maybe pirate hats are coming into style
That would be minor. A month ago I had a guy ask me for a can. I'll let you figure out what he wanted it for. Portland's slogan is "Keep Portland Weird" Im not very impressed with the lack of interest in living a productive life many show here but. Much of the population lives up to and shows alot of interest in "Keeping Portland Weird".
One thing I've noticed is that portland is more supportive of independent businesses. Denver seems to like its chains and it seems harder to set up shop independently. For its population, portland has a much greater variety of independent restaurants, breweries, boutiques, etc.
As for your comment that "it stayed overcast for over a month, with off and on snow-showers, sometimes blizzard conditions"...perhaps someone whose lived here longer than I have can verify. A month...30 days...no sunshine in Denver? Not one day of clear skies? I don't think that's likely, but perhaps?
I didn't say no sunshine. I just said, it stayed overcast. Are you saying that Portland gets 30 days of absolutely NO sunshine? I don't think that is likely.
Anyways if you are interested you should Google the "Christmas Eve blizzard of 1982". Which is what I was thinking about when I wrote that comment. In short: The December 24, 1982 blizzard dumped 24 to 34 inches of snow on the Denver metro area. It totally shut down the city. Stranded people in shopping malls and other places for days. Killed three people. Roads remained icy and snow-packed for almost one month, and the snow cover lasted for 48 consecutive days through February 9, 1983. That was how long it took before there was enough sunshine to melt the snow.
I don't see how even the most sever weather in Portland could possibly compare to that. Being depressed by the lack of sunshine does not = being stranded in a shopping mall for days.
I didn't say no sunshine. I just said, it stayed overcast. Are you saying that Portland gets 30 days of absolutely NO sunshine? I don't think that is likely.
Oh, it happens in Portland and can stretch longer than 30 days. Here is a site that reminisces about the 2003 Portland winter (which being there, I distinctly remember - it was horrible).
"February 2003 had a very uncharacteristic SEVEN clear days"
"It began to rain on Feb. 28th, and did not let up until 28 days later, in the process setting a new March record of 27 straight days with rain..... Surprisingly, the 28 days with measurable rain from Feb. 28 to March 27 only placed tenth in the long-term annual records for "most consecutive days with measurable rain." Grimly, the fact that March had ZERO clear days apparently set no record at all"
"Early June Sunshine update: Hallejuah! May 2nd. squeaked into the category of "clear" with a cloudiness rating of 3.... But since the 2nd, there have been no further clear days, so as I write this on June 1, we have had a GRAND TOTAL of a single clear day for the period of February 26th through June 1 (this is 1 out of 97 days, which is a lowly 1 percent of days being clear!)"
"March, April, May 2003 Grand Finale count of Clear days: March= zero. April= zero. May= one. THAT'S GLOOMY!"
Quote:
Originally Posted by KaaBoom
Anyways if you are interested you should Google the "Christmas Eve blizzard of 1982". Which is what I was thinking about when I wrote that comment. In short: The December 24, 1982 blizzard dumped 24 to 34 inches of snow on the Denver metro area. It totally shut down the city. Stranded people in shopping malls and other places for days. Killed three people. Roads remained icy and snow-packed for almost one month, and the snow cover lasted for 48 consecutive days through February 9, 1983. That was how long it took before there was enough sunshine to melt the snow.
Um, sunshine alone doesn't melt snow. The Christmas eve blizzard was particularly bad because it was accompanied by very cold temperatures (which are kept colder by the snow cover - vicious cycle). It was very sunny in the days and weeks after that blizzard, but just too cold to melt the snow. That happens from time to time (see the 2006 back-to-back blizzards for the most recent example). The unplowded streets were due to governmental incompetence - and Denver's mayor lost his job over it. The 48 days of snow cover ranks 3rd all time for Denver (60 in 1913/4, 61 in 2006/7, 63 in 1983/84).
Quote:
Originally Posted by KaaBoom
I don't see how even the most sever weather in Portland could possibly compare to that. Being depressed by the lack of sunshine does not = being stranded in a shopping mall for days.
No, Portland doesn't have severe weather like Denver does. It can have month and months of unchanging weather (sometimes 97 straight days of it) - continual cloud cover, unstopping rain, and temperatures that never change more than 5 degrees.
I love Denver's occasional (and it's very occasional) extreme weather. I get really excited every 5 years or so when there's a huge blizzard in the forecast. I can't remember the last time I had as much fun as the 2006 blizzards. Time off work - throngs of people navigating the streets by foot. What a fun, social break from the norm. The major Oct. 1997 blizzard stranded me in Pueblo for 3 days. Half the hotel lost power, and complete strangers were asked to share rooms. What a blast. I spent the better part of 2 days jumping off a shopping mall roof into 12 foot snow banks, and made several friends I still have to this day.
Being depressed by the lack of sunshine does not = being stranded in a shopping mall for days.
Clearly you're a fan of Portland and I think Portland is great too. What I think is weird is your statement that being stranded in a shopping mall during a freaky storm that shut down the city equals what is "typical" of a Portland winter. Uh...no it's not. The term "unusual weather" applies to every city in the world....there are some summers that bring drought conditions and record-breaking heat...some winters that have blizzards that shut down an entire city. That's the term u-n-u-s-u-a-l. A resident of Portland doesn't say, "wow, it's unusual that I haven't seen the sun in more than 2 weeks." There's a difference between severe and typical. Severe weather brought Denver to it's knees a few years ago. It's typical for a Portland winter to include weeks and weeks of overcast days.
Again, there's no reason to argue over the weather. If you grow up in Portland or Seattle, you function quite well in overcast weather. Growing up in Seattle, we went out to recess (the bulk of the playground was covered) when we were kids and no one but the tourists use umbrellas. There are millions of people who love the Northwest and live and thrive in it despite the weather. I only notice it now because I live somewhere sunny.
The altitude alone should give anyone wanting to compare the two cities an idea that they are vastly different. To each their own.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KaaBoom
I didn't say no sunshine. I just said, it stayed overcast.
Pardon me for being anal about words...but the word "overcast" is defined by the National Weather Service this way: "Overcast happens when the entire sky becomes covered with clouds; hence the word to describe it. Sometimes clouds can be different colors such as black or white, but the word usually refers to grey. In extreme cases, it can be impossible to see distinct borders of clouds; the whole sky will be a dull white with no gaps of blue in between."
Perhaps those in the Northwest will call a day "sunny" because the sun looks a little brighter between the clouds today. As an ex-Seattleite, I recall many a day when even a patch of blue in the sky meant calling in sick to work to go boating on Lake Washington. I remember running outside to "lay in the sun" even if it was for about 10 minutes before the sun went behind the clouds for the rest of the day.
We here in Denver like to quibble with the "300 days of sunshine per year" statement touted by the Chamber of Commerce because we define a sunny day as a cloudless day. If the sky is a beautiful blue and the sun is blazing, a few clouds in the sky will then be defined not as a "sunny" day but as a "partially cloudy" day. The fact that we consider there to be a difference should tell you something.
Quote:
Originally Posted by denverkid
I've lived in Denver roughly 22 years. I have no recollection of any 30 day period like that (any 10 day period for that matter). Replace snow-showers with rain and change the time frame from 30 days to 6 months and you pretty much have my recollection of the 5 winters I spent in Portland.
Thanks! I figured it was an exaggeration, but I haven't lived here long enough to state that with any authority.
Last edited by Mike from back east; 01-25-2010 at 01:30 PM..
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