Living in Boulder.... (area, humidity, grass)

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by redy2go

There have been several comments throughout these threads regarding the brutal Winters in CO - how limited are your outdoor activities save for heading to a ski resort?

im referring to Mon-Thurs before/after work type activities? When weather is nice i like to get in a few runs (road or trail) so the thought of hopping on a treadmill 5 days a week for 4 to 5 months doesn't sound too atractive.

Take those comments with a grain of salt. Look up some weather data on accuweather or wunderground. It rarely gets below zero, and even in January, the high is generally above freezing. People run year round here. I'm not a runner so I don't know what they do on the days it's physically impossible to run (e.g. 12" snow on the ground).

[Neditate]

Pansies! "Brutal" is not a word I would use to describe the winters here. (I grew up in the Midwest where winter truly is brutal.) Any place where you have 70 degree days in January and lots of sunshine does not qualify as brutal unless you come from the south, I suppose. I can recall very few times that the weather may have prohibited me from getting outside to do anything. I hike year-round and have gone on many hikes on sunny 25 degree days wearing a base layer and fleece and being too warm. The key is layering your clothing. Any running shop in Boulder has everything you need for a variety of weather conditions.

[DressageRider]

I agree with Neditate. Definitely not brutal. However, we can certainly have extreme weather. (In the sense that it can be a snow storm one day and then 60s and sunny the next.) This is what I like about Colorado. It keeps you on your toes.

Also agreeing with Neditate, layers are essential. It is good to be able to strip down or add more clothing on any practically any day of the year. You never know what you are going to be dealing with.

[qfrost]

'This is what I like about Colorado. It keeps you on your toes.'

Just another really cool thing about Colorado - I love a good thunderstorm. Or snowstorm, or heavy rain, or really windy day, or towering clouds....none of which we get where I'm stuck now.

[WhereTheSidewalkEnds]

That's funny! It's all perspective

Living here I say I miss the thunderstorms of the midwest - we just don't get them here like we had them growing up.

And the windy days.... is the one thing I truly despise about the weather here. It's horrible.

[qfrost]

I'm surprised by that, jkcoop - I would think the Boulder area would get some good, grand, real wrath-of-god type thunderstorms at times - like the midwest, where I grew up.

[WhereTheSidewalkEnds]

No, sadly it doesn't

I suppose people who don't know any different would think they are pretty grand, but nothing compared to the midwest - and you know what I mean then!

Now lightening here - that's a different story. That's grand.

We are too close to the mountains even here in Longmont, to get anything grand. I miss afternoons of rolling thunder

[qfrost]

I miss afternoons of rolling thunder.

What about having the streetlights come on during the day because the clouds are so dark it's like night outside? At least you get lightning, that's still awesome.

[WhereTheSidewalkEnds]

Originally Posted by qfrost

What about having the streetlights come on during the day because the clouds are so dark it's like night outside? At least you get lightning, that's still awesome.

LOL! I can't recall that happening here - but I know exactly what you are talking about!

The lightning here is different - I grew up in Nebraska then later lived in Texas. You know how you would getting lightning off in the distance what would last for hours? The whole sky would light up - occasionally sideways bolts? I remember sitting on our back porch just watching lightning.

Here, you high tail it in. It's scary lightning here. A few weeks ago a girl got struck by lightning while in her house! I didn't even know that was possible!

[valpoguy]

Originally Posted by jkcoop

That's funny! It's all perspective

Living here I say I miss the thunderstorms of the midwest - we just don't get them here like we had them growing up.

You must be from the OK/KS/NE/IA part of the Midwest? I'm currently in the Great Lakes area (upper midwest) and the thunderstorms are completely lame compared to the ones out west (high plains and mountains), which I miss. Is the grass always greener on the other side of the thundercloud?