Cold weather does it suck? (Denver: versus, stats, dinners)

[maciesmom]

Even if you get 70 in the middle of Feb., it drops to 25-30 at night. Which means no deck or outside events in the evening without being bundled up.

That may be true in the winter but in the summer, that is one of my favorite things here. The temp drops in the evenings in the summer too so you CAN spend summer evenings on the deck - and little to no mosquitos also! Sure beats sitting inside with the A/C constantly.

[MantaRay]

Cold weather is fine as long as it's not that much below freezing, it is sunny out, and the humidity is low. Low to no wind on top of that is even better. 40, overcast, and windy in San Francisco is much worse than 30, sunny, low humidity, and low winds in Denver.

[the3Ds]

The nice thing about Denver is that while it may be cold, it is almost always sunny. Cold and windy or cold with weeks-long overcast days would get to me.

I've lived a lot of places and I frankly am not sure what I would rate as the worst: August in Tampa, September in Phoenix or pretty much all Winter and Spring in Seattle. Denver has nothing compared to those places.

The good thing about Denver is that it rarely goes below 0 except at night. There are a lot of cities where 0 is when it "warms up".

You'd experience the same shock coming from Houston as we did moving from Tampa. Winter is cold, summer is warm. It's called Seasons and after not having them for a while, I am genuinely appreciative of them now. Unless you are outside a lot, you'd need a decent winter jacket, some sweaters and boots. And, since it's Denver, the week you are wearing the jacket and sweater, a few days later, you'll only need a light jacket. The weather here is crazy.

[MantaRay]

Originally Posted by the3Ds

I've lived a lot of places and I frankly am not sure what I would rate as the worst: August in Tampa, September in Phoenix or pretty much all Winter and Spring in Seattle. Denver has nothing compared to those places.

I haven't lived in all those places, but here's my take- the type of weather in winter and spring in Seattle would make me stay inside all the time. The cold, wet, and overcast happens during the day as well as at night. No relief except to remain indoors. August in Florida is sticky and miserable, but there is the morning and there is dusk to do things outdoors, and of course night will be comfortable to go out and do things as well. I've been in Tucson and Phoenix in the summer, and it's basically the same thing- try to stay indoors during the middle of the day, but the mornings, evenings, and nights are ok. So it comes down (in that comparison you bring up) to a matter of which is worse- having to stay inside during the middle of the day or having to stay inside all day and night to escape the discomfort of the weather?

In Denver, there is a "good comfortable time" to do things outside all year long, regardless of season. Not all cities can say that.

[the3Ds]

Originally Posted by MantaRay

I haven't lived in all those places, but here's my take- the type of weather in winter and spring in Seattle would make me stay inside all the time. The cold, wet, and overcast happens during the day as well as at night. No relief except to remain indoors. August in Florida is sticky and miserable, but there is the morning and there is dusk to do things outdoors, and of course night will be comfortable to go out and do things as well. I've been in Tucson and Phoenix in the summer, and it's basically the same thing- try to stay indoors during the middle of the day, but the mornings, evenings, and nights are ok. So it comes down (in that comparison you bring up) to a matter of which is worse- having to stay inside during the middle of the day or having to stay inside all day and night to escape the discomfort of the weather?

In Denver, there is a "good comfortable time" to do things outside all year long, regardless of season. Not all cities can say that.

You are correct and that's why I like Denver.

What's interesting about someone asking about the weather is that it's the same answer for everything...one person's hell is another's heaven-on-earth. Seattle, Tampa and Phoenix are all well-functioning cities that have huge populations. Everyone gets along just fine. I don't remember (growing up in Seattle) ever NOT being outside...you just did it in a rainjacket. Yes, it's not fun to commute in a snowstorm, but it's not any worse than trying to drive in a Florida summer downpour either. Yes, the weather gets cold but I didn't much enjoy burning my hands on the steering wheel and seatbelt holder (and that's with a window screen) in Phoenix either.

It gets cold in Denver in the winter. But, unlike so many other areas in the northern part of the US, it's not a continuous cloudy, overcast season. It can snow here one day and be nearly 70 degrees a few days later (and that's in the winter). Living in Denver means you never really "put away" the summer and winter clothes. But, I like it.

[dncf]

300 days of sunshine? Not likely in Denver. If it is sunny it will still be so cold you wouldn't really want to go outside. Denver is very overrated but I can see it from locals perspectives. You have to talk yourself into liking it or you will be miserable freezing your butt off while people in Arizona and California complain about 55 degrees being chilly, 55 here is great. But be prepared for more 30-25 degree days than nice ones.

[Moonwalkr]

I'm not a local but the 30 degree days here when it's not cloudy/windy feel quite nice compared to the damp chill to the bones 30 degrees out east. Not sure about talking to oneself to prep for the weather, maybe the panhandlers do that since they are outside all day?

[spartan5]

Has anyone here moved from MN to CO? Was the transition fairly easy? Are the winters in the Denver area a lot milder than in MN? Or Colorado Springs?

[denverian]

Originally Posted by spartan5

Has anyone here moved from MN to CO? Was the transition fairly easy? Are the winters in the Denver area a lot milder than in MN? Or Colorado Springs?

I'd say a lot milder. Today, for instance: Average high is 50, but it's 45 and sunny right now. I just came inside and I was pretty warm walking the dog in the sun (the sun's stronger at this altitude) and with no wind, it was nice. The coldest average highs in late Dec. and January are 43. We had a lot of way below average temps in December with highs in the 20s and a few in the teens, but overall this has been a colder than normal winter in MN and CO. This Jan. was fairly normal - very little snow and temps generally in the 40s for highs.

[D-town 720]

What I like about cold weather is when I walk to the store and buy my TV dinners they stay frozen when I get home