Southern Black Forest: Snow? (Colorado Springs, Boulder: how much, house, college)

[christos]

I'm thinking of building a house in the southern end of Black Forest, maybe between Vollmer and Black Forest road.

I've read the general comments that Black Forest gets more snow than the Springs - which I understand doesn't get much at all. But how about the area I'm looking at? Is there much snow there in the typical winter? Will I need a snow blower?

Thanks!

[Marcy1210]

Yes, you'll get more snow than the Springs. The snowblower, probably not. It depends on how much snow you feel comfortable shovelling. If it's the run of the mill 4-6" then probably not, but there's always that one blizzard that could occur each year... The snow is a dry snow, so it's not hard to drive through, and if your driveway is sunny, the snow should melt very quickly.

Climate
ClimateBlack Forest, COUnited StatesRainfall (in.)18.936.5Snowfall (in.)86.425Precipitation Days84100Sunny Days251205Avg. July High8286.5Avg. Jan. Low16.820.5Comfort Index (higher=better)6744UV Index5.34.3Elevation ft.7,6051,060
Black Forest, CO, gets 19 inches of rain per year. The US average is 37. Snowfall is 86 inches. The average US city gets 25 inches of snow per year. The number of days with any measurable precipitation is 84.
On average, there are 251 sunny days per year in Black Forest, CO. The July high is around 82 degrees. The January low is 17. Our comfort index, which is based on humidity during the hot months, is a 67 out of 100, where higher is more comfortable. The US average on the comfort index is

[lalahartma]

Yes, you will definitely get more snow and a good bit of wind. It probably won't be as bad as farther north, but you will get whatever weather the plains/Falco/Calhan get.

[719guy]

Hmmm.. how long have you lived out here Marcy? I've been out here for 20+ years and that's not at all "normal". Quoting Wikipedia is also not going to be an accurate picture either.

To the OP:
Black Forest is higher in elevation than COS, and will generally get temps accordingly - a bit lower than in town during the summer, and well, a bit lower every other time of the year.

Thankfully, most winters are mild, it's the late winter and early summer you have to be prepared for. A typical winter storm will do the 4-6" talked about, but the late winter, early spring storms can drop as much as 4' or more, and will snap branches and cause property damage if you don't pay attention to where you put things!

I live on 9.5 acres in Black Forest, near Burgess and Black Forest, and I've counted the winters I wish'd I had a snow blower instead of relying on breaking my or my family's backs. Two winters ago, we lost about 10 trees - most of them were snapped in half by a wet snow storm we got in April that year. The largest tree was about 18 inches in circumference. Ouch. It was in the front yard too, and I watched it split. It was interesting but scary too.

But I've been out there long enough that I wouldn't trade it for anything or anywhere else.

[Marcy1210]

Originally Posted by 719guy

Hmmm.. how long have you lived out here Marcy? I've been out here for 20+ years and that's not at all "normal". Quoting Wikipedia is also not going to be an accurate picture either.

It wasn't Wikipedia, and nothing is 100% accurate, but Sperling's site painted a picture of what general conditions are in Black Forest. I copied and pasted Sperling (as opposed to Wikipedia) because it's mostly accurate and it is easy to understand. There was a lot of information the I was hoping the OP would find beneficial in answering his questions. I'm glad you posted your observations as a current resident. That was very helpful to have another viewpoint of the weather to share with the OP who isn't familiar with the area. Wikipedia works just fine for general information, but I found Sperling to be more detailed and informative.

I have lived in CO since 1972 when I moved here to go to Boulder for college and since then, we have lived in Boulder, Littleton, Centennial (formerly Englewood), Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, and during that time have also had our house in Divide that we built it in 1975. I'm pretty familiar with most of the Front Range, and visit frequently.

Of all the 36+ winters we have spent in our home seven miles north of Divide, only two or three times did we truly need a snow blower--December 1982 (the blizzard of the century), October 1984 and March 2003. The rest of the time, shovelling by hand worked just fine, and Teller County gets as much, if not more snow than Black Forest. That's just my opinion.

[beezle1]

Often 4-6 inches of snow turns into 3 foot drifts if the wind is blowing (and it often is).

[motoracer51]

Hope you like wind. Seems like it never stops there. Vi ride my bicycle through Black Forest pretty frequently as we have family that lives off Austin Bluffs.