weather instability in COS? (Denver, Colorado Springs: rental car, rental, insurance)

[localinsight]

Your posts have been so encouraging about COS. I currently live in MN but am relocating for health reasons. I had lived in the SW for 22 years. After moving to MN and having difficulting finding the right medical care, I am climbing the walls due to pain from inflammation. Life was tough in the dry heat before treatment but it was easy compared to the midwest.

I am most seriously considering NM, Reno (expensive, but I really like the mountain/desert area)an Colorado Springs. My sister lives in Monument and she says, as do you all, that it is dry, but I have found differing perspectives on "dry". I can find specific data on days, months, etc. on line, but that doesn't give the appropriate picture. For instance, MN ranges from 85% - 40% humidity on the same summer day; this is tough on my joints and tissues which react to changes in air pressure and humidity. COS may be dry but it can't be as dry as the SW???

On one of the city info sites it mentioned that Nicola Tessla set up his electricity lab there because it gets more lightning than most other cities. My sister said it "only rains for a few minutes each day". That's alot of variability to the weather. Far more, infact than would be in any chart of average values.

Is the weather this variable? How frequently? What are the swings in humidity, dew point, temps within each day (typically)? Any ideas? People with migraines and sesitivity to storms have trouble?

Thanks, in advance, for your input.

[EscapeCalifornia]

There's a popular saying on the Front Range that goes, "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it'll change." That might be a hint.

[AV Native]

Localinsight, it's a pleasure to respond to someone who has already done some research and reading up beforehand.

Speaking from harsh experience, EscapeCalifornia has it right. The local saying there is indeed, "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes."

That said, considering your health concerns, I doubt Colorado Springs will fit the bill for you. There's far too much weather unstableness. A very stable weather locality, on the other hand, would be Yuma, Arizona, which is famed for being predictably dry almost all the time! Hot, too.

I still remember my very first day I ever saw Colorado Springs. The family had jetted to Denver and we were driving a rental car to Colorado Springs one June day in 1977. We could see Pikes Peak forty miles away.

And then. . .

In moved some dark and thunderous clouds. We were in Palmer Lake by this time. Oh, no, Mr. Bill! Lightning! Thunder! Lightning! Rain. . . Faster, swifter, torrents, OH MY GOD! The windshield wiper can't move fast enough even on the high speed setting! STOP THE CAR! Are we gonna be swept away by the impending flood? Maybe a wall of water is coming to us next! NOOOO. . . ALL HAIL! All the time! Pound, pound, pound, poundapound pound, poundpoundpoundpound. . . White stone popcorn coming from heaven! Unreal! What planet are we on anyway?

It stops.

No reason why, no explanation. The view of Pikes Peak is gone. The scent of ozone is everywhere. . . humidity level substantially up from where it was. Thunderstorms continue off and on into the evening and overnight.

And that was only the first day! I've seen temperatures there drop to 40 below zero (F) and drop 80 degrees in an hour. On the other hand, I've seen snow melt in May after a fierce blizzard where the street loses all snowplow drifts in hours. (High pressure, nice and dry and hot.)

You want extremes. . . you want excitement. . . Colorado Springs is your kinda town!

s/AV Native

[localinsight]

Thanks to the two people who responded to my query about the weathre instability in COS.
I would love for it to work out, as my sister has twin girls turning eight this month, and no family around except for her husband. And the photos are lovely. She is healthy - does not understand what a little rain each day could do to the vascular system.
BTW, regarding the saying, if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it will change.. I am in MN now and they also say that here, they say that somewhere east (NY or OH) as well.
Back in the late 1980's a friend (in the air force) was driving me from Denver to COS to show me around. We were in "the pass" or just about to enter it and the clouds looked bleak. He turned around, no scardy cat either, and said there was no way we would get back if a storm hit or worse could get stuck on the road. You never know.
Yuma, AZ is stable, waaaay too hot for me, though. I had to leave Southern CA as I was priced out... incredible. I am looking into Albuquerque although I imagined the weather would be almost as dynamic there as COS but perhaps not. I do need to be around a good sized city, cost and medical care are factors. This is a far more complex question than I imagined.
Thank you all for your posts about the Springs, loved reading them.

Jeanne

[CalifDreaming]

We have been here a few months and I can tell you the weather swings more then any other place I have ever visited. I do like that. It could be 90 and hot and then black clouds roll in and in five minutes it can cool to 70 and then 65.....Once the clouds come in it can get humid but you don't usually feel too bad up here. It rains almost daily here and so far I have not seen a whole day of rain.

I have had a 2 day migraine and mine are triggered by storms. I had no clue we had this many storms in a day / week. I am now on my third day of a very bad one......

Originally Posted by localinsight

On one of the city info sites it mentioned that Nicola Tessla set up his electricity lab there because it gets more lightning than most other cities. My sister said it "only rains for a few minutes each day". That's alot of variability to the weather. Far more, infact than would be in any chart of average values.

Is the weather this variable? How frequently? What are the swings in humidity, dew point, temps within each day (typically)? Any ideas? People with migraines and sesitivity to storms have trouble?

Thanks, in advance, for your input.

[AV Native]

Jeanne, glad you liked my previous post! Thanks also to whoever gave me the good rep from that post. . . I had fun writing it!

If you are thinking about New Mexico, do check out Albuquerque. I like the weather there. . . and it is much more stable in my experience than Colorado Springs.

Another New Mexico City many overlook is Farmington in the Four Corners region in the northwest part of New Mexico. It has fairly stable weather, but can be hot in the summer. Durango, Colorado several miles to the north is the summer home of several Farmingtonians. Maybe this might be worthwhile to look at. The area population is over 70,00 (Farmington, Aztec, Bloomfield, NM - Durango, Cortez, CO). If this population size works for you, please do check it out!

Reno, NV might also be worth a look. July and August are the comparitavely hotter months, but I enjoy the Reno-Sparks area when I get up there from time to time.

Can't think of any other places to have you check out further. We all know about Boise, Salt Lake City, Wichita, Lincoln and places like that. . . sorry to see you were priced out of the Golden State, where I am. Let me know if any of this helps you, Jeanne.

s/AV Native

[Nadine]

Originally Posted by localinsight

Your posts have been so encouraging about COS. I currently live in MN but am relocating for health reasons. I had lived in the SW for 22 years. After moving to MN and having difficulting finding the right medical care, I am climbing the walls due to pain from inflammation. Life was tough in the dry heat before treatment but it was easy compared to the midwest.

I am most seriously considering NM, Reno (expensive, but I really like the mountain/desert area)an Colorado Springs. My sister lives in Monument and she says, as do you all, that it is dry, but I have found differing perspectives on "dry". I can find specific data on days, months, etc. on line, but that doesn't give the appropriate picture. For instance, MN ranges from 85% - 40% humidity on the same summer day; this is tough on my joints and tissues which react to changes in air pressure and humidity. COS may be dry but it can't be as dry as the SW???

On one of the city info sites it mentioned that Nicola Tessla set up his electricity lab there because it gets more lightning than most other cities. My sister said it "only rains for a few minutes each day". That's alot of variability to the weather. Far more, infact than would be in any chart of average values.

Is the weather this variable? How frequently? What are the swings in humidity, dew point, temps within each day (typically)? Any ideas? People with migraines and sesitivity to storms have trouble?

Thanks, in advance, for your input.

I do not believe Colorado is for you. We have 4 seasons. It sound like you need an area the stays hot and dry 24/7 and all yr around. That is not Colorado.

[mes3fils]

I don't live in COS but do have it's weather set on my homepage so I see it daily. I will tell you one thing...it is VERY VARIABLE.

In the mornings the humidity is high like in the 70-80% area then in the late afternoon it could be anywhere from 30-50%.

It is also known for it's unpredictable weather....on a DAILY basis.

COS doesn't sound like a good move for you at all. But, somewhere in the SW maybe the key.

Good luck.

[localinsight]

Thanks for all your replies about the weather changes in COS. These are details that are difficult to pick up from weather, climate, or gov. sites. Actually, I found myself poking around a garden forum site, routed there from searches about Albuquerque weather. People who live plants know a lot about climate details, even on a daily basis. Since I don't garden, it's all new lingo to me.

I believe the southwest is the best place for me. Removing Cali. from the picture places more tradeoffs on the table. However, never having been a homeowner, the state is just too expensive. I found I had to live in downward transition neighborhoods just to get away from swampcoolers...

Various posts in different forums indicate that overall heat and humidity are increasing in the US. For this reason, I wanted to stay away from the low desert scorching heat areas of AZ. Check out their posts regarding heat, it's incredible what this heat island effect is doing.

That said, since I need good (not number one) medical care as well, I was looking into Albuqeurque. It is expensive there, but it seems like a great place in terms of access to services, etc. El Paso weather was more attractive but those forum members had reservations about access to medical care even for the insured, since so many have no medical insurance.
I don't know how variable the weather is in ABQ, I think that will have to be the compromise area.

Thanks as well for the Farmington area recommendation. I will definately look into that. The post I have read about that area concern mostly things to do and acceptance in the community. For NM, I need a map with altitudes to gague the weather. Even if it does get pretty hot for 2-3 months, at least it's not the 5-6 months of Palm Springs or Las Vegas.

I have also been reading the Reno posts. Reno was my destination of choice when I first decided to leave Cali. It's so nice there. The posts from this website forum are not very comforting about the area. I don't know how variable weather is there, it's not always easy to get that from people who live in typically stable climates, like NV.

So sorry to hear from the poster about the migraines. I haven't been on line much the past 3 weeks due to weather and then catching up. Recently I began taking butterbur/feverfew two times per day and it has really helped with vision problems from those headaches during thunderstorm times. Here in MN (yes I had a good reason to move here) when we have 2 weeks of stormy summer weather, for example, it remains "soupy" as the meteorolgists descibe it the rest of the time. I call it a terrarium. I envy those who just sail along.... but the sun came out for a couple of hours, they say...

My brain just checks out.

I believe it is the rapid fluctuations in air pressure, high heat and high humidity which really get me. The compromise is scorching heat but level pressure or cooler more variable weather. ABQ, Reno, or Farmington are my next targets. As soon as these storms break..


Thanks again to everyone in this forum. Colorado Forum has the friendliest people!!!