The wind! (Denver, Boulder, Eldora: house, living, airport)

[billeethakid]

Just wanted to comment on the wind the past few days. We had 5 motorcycles tip over at work like Dominos, the first one being 700lbs

I've been here 2 years now, is this 60 mph wind common?

[suzco]

Originally Posted by billeethakid

Just wanted to comment on the wind the past few days. We had 5 motorcycles tip over at work like Dominos, the first one being 700lbs

I've been here 2 years now, is this 60 mph wind common?

Yes. High wind is the most frequent severe weather we experience.

Edit to add:

From NOAA

Boulder wind info

Boulder has some of the highest peak winds of any city in the US. What follows is a list of significant Boulder area wind events and then a table of high winds per month.

[WhereTheSidewalkEnds]

I personally think it hasn't been as windy this winter as usual - maybe I'm just imagining things. So yes, as suzco says, it's the norm.

It just seems to wear on you after a while and make people crabby. I work from home and my office is on the 2nd story and there are times where I can't even stand to be in here. It feels/sounds like the whole house is about to come down.

[Neditate]

Originally Posted by jkcoop

I personally think it hasn't been as windy this winter as usual - maybe I'm just imagining things. So yes, as suzco says, it's the norm.

I agree with you, jkcoop. Last year seemed much windier with higher gusts. Eldora wasn't even closed a day this week that I am aware of!

[nelumbo]

There haven't been many strong wind events (70+ mph) this season, but there have been a number of moderate wind events. See the wind speed/gust plot from NCAR (this is the lab on the plains, not the mesa): NCAR Foothills Lab Weather (english, monthly)

[CCCVDUR]

That's a very informative graph from the NCAR.

Boulder is one of the windiest places in Colorado, and for that matter, the Western US:

http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/htmlfiles/westwind.final.html

[Brain Drain]

Nice link, Tom, on the wind. But while Boulder's wind does seem to be above average, according to your link it's nowhere close to the highest in the western US. Try Livingston, MT for example, that has a average wind speed 5 mph higher than Boulder. DIA is higher too, Las Vegas is comparable, etc.

Now the real question is this: Tom's link used the closest NWS Airport station at Jeffco airport for the wind date. We may be windier in town than 10 miles away (and further from the foothills) at Jeffco. So I wonder what Boulder's real average windspeed is?

As a runner and a biker, I can tell you it's been real windy lately.

[BrianPhill]

This is only my second winter here, but I've heard others who have been here longer say this winter is the worst they have seen in a long time for wind. Not necessarily for peak gusts, but having it be consistently very windy for many days.

Of all the things that concern people about the weather before moving here, particularly from warmer climates - "Can I handle the snow", "Can I handle the cold"... I think the wind is the worst. I expected cold, snow, summer t-storms, etc before moving here - I didn't anticipate the highly annoying wind in the winter.

[CCCVDUR]

Originally Posted by BrianPhill

This is only my second winter here, but I've heard others who have been here longer say this winter is the worst they have seen in a long time for wind. Not necessarily for peak gusts, but having it be consistently very windy for many days.

Of all the things that concern people about the weather before moving here, particularly from warmer climates - "Can I handle the snow", "Can I handle the cold"... I think the wind is the worst. I expected cold, snow, summer t-storms, etc before moving here - I didn't anticipate the highly annoying wind in the winter.

Interesting ... the average monthly wind speeds in Boulder are higher than most Southwestern US cities, due in part from High Pressure that is normally centered over Utah/Idaho (link below is very typical, it may expire once it's been read) with a surficical wind gradient towards low pressure systems in the Midwest. Albuquerque has a similar scenario in the spring (Apr-June) but overall is less windy. Flagstaff / Phoenix / Tuscon has some of the lowest wind speeds in the S.W. USA.

Maybe this is a factor to consider for outdoors enthusiasts in relocating???

Daily Weather Forecast for Boulder, CO - weather.com

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by Tom Lane

Maybe this is a factor to consider for outdoors enthusiasts in relocating???

Nah.... just put on a windbreaker and one of those earbands and problem solved.

The wind along the front range is noticably worse right next to the foothills. Further out to the central/ east Denver metro area, it can still be windy and annoying, but rarely the extreme hurricane force winds that the foothills can get.