Are there "mild winter" neighborhoods around Denver? (Castle Rock: house, live in)

[bumbleb177]

Thanks so much, all of this info has been very helpful. I'm glad I posted the thread.

We're hoping to find a place in our price range close to downtown, so it sounds like we'll be okay as far as snow goes. But we've also been looking at homes in Arvada/Wheat Ridge; would that be considered the "foothills." On a map it seems kinda close to the areas with the "hurricane-force" winds.

We've also been looking around Sheridan, and around Cherry Creek State Park. Anyone have thoughts on these places with respect to snow?

Thanks again- your info has been super helpful!!

[Katarina Witt]

We've also been looking around Sheridan, and around Cherry Creek State Park. Anyone have thoughts on these places with respect to snow?

It will not be much different than anywhere else.

[Katarina Witt]

I missed something in your previous post. No, Arvada and Wheat Ridge are not considered the foothills. Going directly west, Morrison may be considered foothills. Actually, foothills is kind of an ambiguous term as the terrain goes from fairly flat to mountains pretty fast. Evergreen could be considered foothills or mountains, depending on the definition.

I don't mean to be snide, but why are you moving to Colorado? If you are really concerned about snow, perhaps you shouldn't move here. There is no place in the metro area you can live w/o experiencing some snow. It's often hit and miss, but your area will get some no matter where you live. There is really no place in all of Colorado that is snow free.

[bumbleb177]

I don't mean to be snide, but why are you moving to Colorado? If you are really concerned about snow, perhaps you shouldn't move here. There is no place in the metro area you can live w/o experiencing some snow. It's often hit and miss, but your area will get some no matter where you live. There is really no place in all of Colorado that is snow free.

Perhaps I'm sounding more concerned than I am or ought to be. I definitely don't want a place that is "snow free;" I love the snow It's just that my husband and I are buying our first house, and I didn't want to buy a place just to find out that a "local" denverite could have told me that the snow/wind there is worse than other areas.

Living in San Francisco, I definitely see that there is such a thing as a "micro-climate." Where I live is nice and sunny, but just a one mile to the west, and it's miserably foggy and windy.

[Katarina Witt]

Perhaps I'm sounding more concerned than I am or ought to be. I definitely don't want a place that is "snow free;" I love the snow It's just that my husband and I are buying our first house, and I didn't want to buy a place just to find out that a "local" denverite could have told me that the snow/wind there is worse than other areas

.

I really don't think such areas exist around Denver, certainly not in little pockets. As some of the posters have said, perahps there is more snow in Douglas Co. I don't know. I don't live there. Perhaps less in the city and immediate adjacent suburbs, but this would be a very small difference. And as tfox said, it is different depending on the particular storm, upslope, downslope, etc.

[formercalifornian]

A couple of tips...

To avoid wind, stay away from neighborhoods on the tops of ridges, like the ones you find on the east side of Castle Rock. The snow isn't necessarily any heavier in Douglas County, but the higher elevation winds whip it into significant drifts. Of course, that breeze is really nice in the heat of summer, so it's a trade-off. Also, avoid houses with north facing driveways, and check to make sure that the driveway is in good condition and drains properly, or you'll find yourself with a skating rink all winter.

[oberon]

The San Francisco Bay Area is well-known for its microclimates, and I've certainly been there enough times to know about some of them. But Denver is not anything like that. Your weather experience will be almost indistinguishable from that of anyone else's anywhere else in metro Denver, all things considered. It would be, however, somewhat colder and snowier in the mountains, once you go west of Golden.

[gpraceman]

Originally Posted by oberon

I assume by "north facing" people mean the driveway's on the north side. Yeah, that has to suck.

There are neighbors down a street near us with north facing driveways. They have a perpetual ice dam in the gutter in front of their driveways and the snow stays on their lawns long after that of homes across the street.

Originally Posted by oberon

Also shovel as soon after the snow finishes falling as you can or you'll just make it harder on yourself.

Our driveway faces southwest, which works out pretty well. I often hold off shoveling until the afternoon and let the sun melt much of it away. That didn't work so well this last winter with the unusual number of storms we had, so I am glad to have a snow thrower as a backup. If I had a north facing drive I'd end up shoveling more.

[McGowdog]

Originally Posted by cdsfloors

lol! I never thought of it before either...until we moved into this (north facing) house. The snow NEVER MELTS off the driveway! It stinks! Everyone on the other side of the street hardly ever even has to shovel, their driveways usually melt off pretty quickly on there own (unless its really large amounts). Our next place will definitely be south facing!

Terri

I've found that an ice pick and a shovel work pretty good. I moved into my first house on Thanksgiving Day and I had about 12" of ice to deal with. Once I got the ice up, I found the snow removal to be good excercise!

Are there "mild winter" neighborhoods around Denver?

This seems like a strange question. Logic tells me that when it snows on a rich man's lawn, it also snows on a poor dog's arse!

But actually, it does sometimes storm like crazy out in the Elizabeth-Kiowa area and Denver gets a trace, or sometimes it snows a bunch west of I-25 but nothing east of it. For the most part, nobody knows what's gonna happen.

[Huckleberry3911948]

Originally Posted by bumbleb177

Hi,
Looking at different places to live in/around Denver, I'm wondering which neighborhoods/suburbs have the "mildest" winters. I'm somewhat of a novice on snowy weather, being from San Francisco and previously from Louisiana!

I've learned a lot of general info on weather through the forum, like "the low humidity makes it feel warmer," and "don't buy a north-facing house," and "the wind makes it feel a lot colder," and " a fwd/awd vehicle will help," and "higher elevations generally mean more snow."

I just can't seem to find much specific info on the differences in weather from neighborhood to neighborhood (or maybe there's really no difference... I don't know).

So my questions are:
1) Which neighborhoods/suburbs of Denver have less snow (or where does it melt quicker)?
2) Are there less windy places than others?
3) What are the higher/lower elevation areas around Denver? I tried to find an elevation map online with no success...

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated, as we're trying to narrow our choices of areas in which to live.

Thanks in advance!!!

kind of like do you want your icee freeze with extra frozen strawberries or without? either way denver is a very very cold place after san fran and louisiana. i mean yes i know SF fog belt can be rough and so are those icy rains in L.A. but hard hard winter in Denver, i mean they shut it down with storms sometimes its so bad.
talk to a locale but denver is a notch up.
quebec has got some underground they aught to have that in denver. maybe they do. good luck.
stephen s
san diego ca