Chicago winter vs Denver winter (cons, difference, live)

[mark7]

Which is and which feels colder?

[Jason_show]

Chicago is hot and humid in the summer and very cold, windy and snowy in the winter.

Denver is hot and dry in the summer and cold and dry in the winter with an occasional burst of snow. Weather in Denver is more unpredictable - it could be 50 degrees and sunny one day in the winter and then 20 degrees the next day with a blizzard.

In short, Denver Winter > Chicago Winter

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Chicago is and feels colder. Denver arguably doesn't have a true "characteristic" winter, with temps that maintain below 40 degrees (I'd argue that even cooler than 40 is more of a characteristic winter).

[RC01]

I lived nearish both and have experienced both of their weather. To put your answer simple: Chicago will be colder. Denver may have more extremes, but they also warm up to the 50s quite frequently in the winter while Chicago will consistently stay around the low 30s. Hope that helps

[marothisu]

I think this is easy. Chicago is colder on average by 10-15 degrees in the winter (in the summer they aren't that terribly different - Denver a little warmer on average, but also drier). Denver does get almost 2 more feet of snowfall than Chicago though on average, but Chicago is still colder in the winter by a bit.

[grapico]

I accidentally voted Denver ... Chicago is significantly worse, colder and greyer, snow stays longer and umm, no mountains. I know that is not technically the weather, but having majestic mountains nearby in the winter makes a ton of difference. Denver gets way more days in the 50s 60s. Denver and Chicago will both have very cold cold snaps though and will both go below 0, Denver maybe more frequent with this...?. Chicago can stay below 32 for multiple weeks at a time easy and consistently. In Denver the occurence of snow will be prolonged through more months. Denver *averages* about an inch of snow in May and September. That is pretty unheard of in Chicago, I've personally never seen snow in either month. So I know that would freaking **** me off.

Chicago like maro said is 10-15 colder in winter... and has wild swings, but usually pretty cold. Denver has even wilder swings so that is why you'll see more of the days going from 60-0 in 24 hours. It happens in Chicago also but more frequent in Denver.
A more interesting thread would be Denver winter vs DC winter... They have similar highs daytime in winter but the weather differences are more interesting.

[Dreadnought]

It was never really the temperature that bothered me in Chicago. It was very much the wind + cold. On calm days the cold was fine. On windy cold days I thought I would lose an ear.

[Mezter]

I accidentally voted Denver as well. Winter's here really aren't that bad.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by grapico

I accidentally voted Denver ... Chicago is significantly worse, colder and greyer, snow stays longer and umm, no mountains. I know that is not technically the weather, but having majestic mountains nearby in the winter makes a ton of difference. Denver gets way more days in the 50s 60s. Denver and Chicago will both have very cold cold snaps though and will both go below 0, Denver maybe more frequent with this...?. Chicago can stay below 32 for multiple weeks at a time easy and consistently. In Denver the occurence of snow will be prolonged through more months. Denver *averages* about an inch of snow in May and September. That is pretty unheard of in Chicago, I've personally never seen snow in either month. So I know that would freaking **** me off.

Chicago like maro said is 10-15 colder in winter... and has wild swings, but usually pretty cold. Denver has even wilder swings so that is why you'll see more of the days going from 60-0 in 24 hours. It happens in Chicago also but more frequent in Denver.
A more interesting thread would be Denver winter vs DC winter... They have similar highs daytime in winter but the weather differences are more interesting.

Not only does Chicago feel colder, it is colder.

I've seen snow in both September and May in Denver, more often in May. We had snow this May.

[Shikadance]

Definitely Chicago..not even close..Chicago's winters can be brutal..Influenced by frequent arctic cold blasts, winds off of lake michigan, gulf of mexico moisture can make for a very miserable winter with cold air that goes right to your bones..Can be cloudy for extended periods of time..Also has freezing rain and very cold winter rain influenced by warm air from the gulf of mexico.

Denver on the other hand has many sunny winter days and low humidity along with the thinner air makes for a very comfortable climate..However Denver does get snowstorms and they can be heavy especially in El Nino winters..Window where snow is possibly is from October to May...Usually snow that does fall melts away due to Chinook winds coming down from the Rockies... Temps fluctuate in the winter months..Very rare to have cold temps for an extended period of time