Morning temperature (Denver, Boulder: live in, retired, subway)

[ninjamyst]

I keep reading about mild temperature in Colorado, but every day I compare temperature in Chicago to Boulder and Boulder is colder! Usually I am checking in the morning when I leave for work. So around 7am CST. Is it normally the case that mornings and evenings are very cold, and only afternoon is mild? If so, for those that work normal 8-5s, aren't you still experiencing mostly the cold and not the mild weather?

[Miss Hepburn]

Yeah, mornings are cold...but do we ever warm up!
Poor people that work 8-5 miss the best of it, for sure.

Ah, being self-employed and semi retired at that...I work
5 hrs a week...but even in my hey day I worked
tops 18 hrs a week. I planned it that way in my 30's...

But, hey, there are the weekends!
And maybe figuring out how to get each Friday off!
Gives people incentive to cut their hours, I'd say.

[reed303]

First off, 7 AM in Chicago is 6 AM in Denver, so sunrise is about 1 hr later to start to warm things up.

Also, try comparing the "wind chill" instead. If regular temps are equal, Chicago will feel colder due to higher humidity. Having spent 10+ years in Chicago, and 35 in Denver, Chicago definitely feels colder in comparison. Try coming up out of the State St subway some January morning, and feel the wind off the lake cut right through you.

Also in Denver the higher elevation causes more sun radiation heating, allowing you to wear tee shirt and shorts, when in Chicago you would be in parka and "long handles".

Chicago isn't called the "Windy City" for nothing.

[ninjamyst]

Thanks reed303 for the feedback! I am gonna try and visit Boulder this winter to see just how cold it is compared to Chicago. I keep reading conflicting description. Some people say winter is mild and some say it's cold / snowy just like Chicago. Wind has been crazy today in Chicago and we got snow too. I think they closed off Lakeshore Drive for a bit because of the waves coming in too strong.

[Neditate]

Of course early mornings and evenings are cold - there's no sunshine!
I grew up in Wisconsin on Lake Michigan. I can tell you with complete honesty that the cold temps here feel absolutely nothing like the cold there. The times I've gone back to WI for the holidays I could not believe how cold I was - chilled me to the bone!
I have hiked in Boulder in temps in the low 20s on a sunny day and had to take my jacket off because I was too warm. (Note that I said jacket not parka) The sun is very warm here even in the winter. And there are far more sunny days here than I could ever recall when I lived in WI.

[Sobe Itsavized]

It didn't feel as cold this morning when I was heading to work. Google said it was 34-36 degrees Fahrenheit outside but it felt kind of like 40 or so. Of course that's only what it "felt" like to me.

[smtcpa]

I live in northern Illinois and now I live part time in Boulder County too, just arrived this week. I also have been comparing temperatures for the last few years. If you are comparing during this time of year and only in the morning, your observation may be correct. But like others have pointed out, it does warm up quickly. And even 50 degrees feels much warmer due to the sun, and perhaps the drier air.

Do a comparison in the winter though. Chicago winters are nasty and you will see how nice a Boulder winter is in comparison.

[Katarina Witt]

At around 6:30 AM, Mountain Time, the fall/winter temp is usually about a degree higher than the night time low. I've learned this from watching the temps over the years as a friend and I go out walking about 7 AM most mornings. As everyone says, it usually warms up fast, sometimes 10 degrees by 8 AM.

[davebarnes]

This is a useful comparison tool
Wolfram|Alpha Widgets: "Compare the current temperature of two cities" - Free Weather Widget
you can see variation during the day

[Hipchik]

Originally Posted by Neditate

I can tell you with complete honesty that the cold temps here feel absolutely nothing like the cold there. The times I've gone back to WI for the holidays I could not believe how cold I was - chilled me to the bone!

I have never felt as cold as I have in the windy city. And not just winter, but in the spring and also fall!