Windy in FC/Loveland? (Denver, Fort Collins: suburbs, move, pollution)

[CoNewcomer]

We currently live in a very windy area of Arizona. The wind makes it difficult to enjoy time outdoors even if the temperatures are comfortable. For example, right now the wind 25 mph with gusts of 29 and it's been doing this for days. I noticed in you local forecast that you are currently blowing around 4 mph with snow showers.

Also, I noticed that Fort Collins is ranked 5 and Loveland 8 in 101 windiest cities with a population over 50,000. Does this sound/feel right to you? You know how those lists can be deceptive. If you had to make a complaint about your weather, what would it be?

Thanks for your response.

[jwiley]

Yes the Northern front range is windy. The constant wind is the one thing I hate about weather around Fort Collins.

[bproven]

Originally Posted by CoNewcomer

We currently live in a very windy area of Arizona. The wind makes it difficult to enjoy time outdoors even if the temperatures are comfortable. For example, right now the wind 25 mph with gusts of 29 and it's been doing this for days. I noticed in you local forecast that you are currently blowing around 4 mph with snow showers.

Also, I noticed that Fort Collins is ranked 5 and Loveland 8 in 101 windiest cities with a population over 50,000. Does this sound/feel right to you? You know how those lists can be deceptive. If you had to make a complaint about your weather, what would it be?

Thanks for your response.

Well maybe I am biased b/c I like it in Ft Collins however I do not believe we have "constant" wind. However, there are windy days and sometimes very windy days. This is a very true statement - and it is especially true today

For example, right now the wind 25 mph with gusts of 29 and it's been doing this for days. I noticed in you local forecast that you are currently blowing around 4 mph with snow showers.

Personally, IMO this rarely happens. You might get 1-2 days of sustained wind, but several days is not that common.

To answer the last question, there is not much I can complain about regarding the weather here. Of course I am originally from Louisiana so Ft Collins weather is a HUGE change for the better If I had to pick something I would say the spurts of bitter cold we sometimes get during the winter (which can be compounded by the wind). However, it usually doesn't last long so I am OK with that - plus it beats the deathly smothering humidity of LA summer weather.

Like I said I came from the deep South, so my perspective is a bit skewed

[jwiley]

It is a fact that Cheyenne WY is the windiest city in the US, with Fort Collins only being about 45 miles from there we get more then our fair share of the wind.

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by jwiley

It is a fact that Cheyenne WY is the windiest city in the US, with Fort Collins only being about 45 miles from there we get more then our fair share of the wind.

You are comparing apples and oranges really. That's like saying that Estes Park gets a ton of snow, so does Fort Collins because they are only about an hour apart. Cheyenne sits above 7000 ft. - Fort Collins sits right about 5100 ft. That makes a huge difference in temperatures and wind speeds.

Having lived in Fort Collins for 3 years, I can say that yes it does get windy and yes there are days of extreme wind events, but those are rare. The higher winds often come with thunderstorms that form off the Rockies and move over Fort Collins, but because they are high-based and dry, little rain falls and instead more wind from gust fronts impact the region. I never found it to be that much of a big deal (again, with the extreme wind events, yes blowing dust is an issue, but those events happen like once every year).

[zoonik]

[quote=wxjay;3718060]You are comparing apples and oranges really. That's like saying that Estes Park gets a ton of snow, so does Fort Collins because they are only about an hour apart. Cheyenne sits above 7000 ft. - Fort Collins sits right about 5100 ft. That makes a huge difference in temperatures and wind speeds.


Haha. I completely agree with that. Ive gone from partly cloudy and 45 degrees in Loveland to 26 degrees and a raging blizzard in Cheyenne. Once you get over the ridge at the colorado border, its a whole new ballgame as the mountains don't protect the city of Cheyenne, its a wind tunnel down the prarie.

But to answer your question, there is usually a slight breeze in the air. It is much more windy in the wintertime, which sucks, but I don't feel its worse than anywhere else in colorado.

[tfox]

Northern Colorado from Boulder north is windy, and that includes Fort Collins. The winds are strongest near the foothills.

Winter wind is not all bad. In the winter, the wind can be horrid, but actually there are warm chinook winds that are actually welcome -- it is those Chinooks that actually give the front range the occasional 65+ degree days that make the winters tolerable. The chinooks also tend to force the heavy, cold air out, so cold snaps don't linger all winter long. Wind also tends to get rid of pollution. That is to say that wind can sometimes be your friend.

If you're looking for less wind, most of the Denver metro (except the far west and far southern suburbs) are less windy than northern colorado.