Denver in the Spring and Summer (Louisville: suburbs, average, humid)

[JrzDefector]

lpfan921, I'm moving to Denver from Jersey. I know what it is you're worried about though - those godawful stretches of cold rain we sometimes get that are so depressing in Jersey and PA when it's supposed to be warm and sunny.

A current Denver resident should probably back me up on this, but keep in mind that the weather is always changing. There are some days it's going to be cold at night, but days are warm. You're not going to get those long rains like we get here in the east. Likewise in winter there will be cold snaps, but nothing like the long winter slogs where it's just rain and slush for weeks on end. There are breaks. And it snows earlier and later than it does even in upstate PA, but you still get warm days mixed in there.

If you can cope with the little cold bits in summer/spring and the late/early snows, you'll be fine. But if you're looking for warmth and sunshine all the time, every day throughout the typical spring/summer months, then maybe Denver isn't for you.

[awarren09]

Mid-June of last year we had an extreme cold spell. It was wet and gloomy for a couple days and it stayed in the 40s. That was very unusual and I don't think there was another "cloudy day" for the rest of the summer.

[xeric]

If you are a real lover of hot summers (as I am), you'll probably be a bit disappointed by Denver's. Mostly because the consistently hot period is so short and even during that period of time you can get cool fronts that drop the daytime highs into the low 70s. Plus there are quite a few thunderstorms and as others have mentioned they usually break the heat for the day.

That being said, I'm now living in a place that's a couple degrees cooler on average then Denver/Boulder in the summer and I'd love to have those degrees back. It's most pronounced during the night - when I lived in Boulder I enjoyed summer nights where the temp. usually didn't drop below 75 degrees until after midnight. In Fort Collins, the temperature usually drops must faster after sunset. I don't know about Denver, but my impression is that it's closer to Boulder when it comes to nighttime lows.

[xeric]

Originally Posted by Cupcake77

California is your best bet then

A bit off topic, but I found a site once (can't find it again unfortunately) that had the average diurnal range for cities all over the West. The city with one of the largest was Paso Robles, CA: Average July high 92.7, average low 50.3. Compare that to Denver's average in July - high 88.2 low 59.0.

Apparently Paso Robles (which is ~20 miles inland) is dominated by hot desert-like air in the daytime (in summer) and cool coastal air at night. So it heats up a lot more in the day but cools down to the same temperature as the nearby coastal towns at night.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by xeric

A bit off topic, but I found a site once (can't find it again unfortunately) that had the average diurnal range for cities all over the West. The city with one of the largest was Paso Robles, CA: Average July high 92.7, average low 50.3. Compare that to Denver's average in July - high 88.2 low 59.0.

Apparently Paso Robles (which is ~20 miles inland) is dominated by hot desert-like air in the daytime (in summer) and cool coastal air at night. So it heats up a lot more in the day but cools down to the same temperature as the nearby coastal towns at night.

I'm very thanful for Denver's relatively cool summer evenings. I enjoy sitting out on the front porch, and it's perfect for that from about late May to late September. I've lived in S. Texas and Kansas, where it's still miserably humid and hot in the middle of the night, and then but BUGS! No thanks. Denver's summers are similar to where we lived in Orange County, although daytime highs were a bit lower on average in OC.

[lpfan921]

Originally Posted by xeric

If you are a real lover of hot summers (as I am), you'll probably be a bit disappointed by Denver's. Mostly because the consistently hot period is so short and even during that period of time you can get cool fronts that drop the daytime highs into the low 70s. Plus there are quite a few thunderstorms and as others have mentioned they usually break the heat for the day.

Hmm... this could be a problem. Might not be the best place for me. Thanks for the insight!

[lpfan921]

Originally Posted by JrzDefector

lpfan921, I'm moving to Denver from Jersey. I know what it is you're worried about though - those godawful stretches of cold rain we sometimes get that are so depressing in Jersey and PA when it's supposed to be warm and sunny.

A current Denver resident should probably back me up on this, but keep in mind that the weather is always changing. There are some days it's going to be cold at night, but days are warm. You're not going to get those long rains like we get here in the east. Likewise in winter there will be cold snaps, but nothing like the long winter slogs where it's just rain and slush for weeks on end. There are breaks. And it snows earlier and later than it does even in upstate PA, but you still get warm days mixed in there.

If you can cope with the little cold bits in summer/spring and the late/early snows, you'll be fine. But if you're looking for warmth and sunshine all the time, every day throughout the typical spring/summer months, then maybe Denver isn't for you.

Glad someone understands what I am talking about! I could deal with an occasional cool day in the summer but for the most part I would like it to be warm and sunny from April thru the end of September. Judging from these posts, i may need to try Texas or Arizona instead. Although I have heard that Colorado is absolutely, stunningly and breathtakingly gorgeous.

[1mikey1]

I live in Denver and I didn't know we got a Spring. High today, 47 degrees. This is May 15th. Summer is longer than Spring, making it a few months long.

[buffalobirdie]

This is my first summer in Denver after living in FLorida for 25 years. I have to say I was disappointed today to find the temp was above 90 (it is only June 5th) and to me it felt almost as gross and even as humid as Florida (Ok, not quite, but still uncomfortable). After experiencing a cold winter here I thought the trade off was to be a nice summer with some very hot days in August and September, not an entire summer of blazing heat. I guess I was wrong to assume.

[CruisingUSA]

Originally Posted by buffalobirdie

This is my first summer in Denver after living in FLorida for 25 years. I have to say I was disappointed today to find the temp was above 90 (it is only June 5th) and to me it felt almost as gross and even as humid as Florida (Ok, not quite, but still uncomfortable). After experiencing a cold winter here I thought the trade off was to be a nice summer with some very hot days in August and September, not an entire summer of blazing heat. I guess I was wrong to assume.

Hi, I'm also from Florida and lived there 21 years. This heat is unbearable and it's been feeling much more humid. Allergies are also bad. I did visit here last year mid-June and although it was in the 90s it felt cooler and lighter than Texas and Florida 90.

But since I moved here in January and got acclimated to 4 degrees for a high and 20s for the high consistently over several weeks this is too much. I'm glad that it chills off at night, but my place also doesn't have A/C. I'm about to have a fit this is ridiculous. You cannot have a structure with paper thin windows without A/C in the summer.

I don't know what braniac architect decided to build all these buildings with no A/C. The cold I can deal with and it was very cold here in the winter but I could light a fire and throw on a sweater and feel comfortable.

So basically Denver is frigid in the winter and SULTRY in the summer. I hope we get a surprise snowfall like people said happens once in a blue here in June. It's amazing how this places changes from winter to summer. It's like 2 different cities in 1.