Wind in Northern Colorado (Fort Collins: live, areas, weather)

[WyattE]

Is there much difference with the wind in Ft. Collins area compared to Cheyenne Wyoming? I hear in Cheyenne it is awful but since Ft. Collins isn't too far away, is it the same as Cheyenne?

[wxjay]

Short answer - Yes.

Cheyenne is higher in elevation and as such is more susceptible to very windy conditions. Fort Collins gets its share of windy weather, but the winds have to be just right for the strongest winds to descend from the foothills. The false alarm ratio for "Wind Storm Warnings" is quite high in Fort Collins (based on the time I lived there and also based on my casual observations).

Cheyenne is also more susceptible to chinook flow because of the higher mountains to the west. The foothills outside of Fort Collins tempers the chinook flow.

[movingin2new]

I'm a transplant but - many people have told me it's much worse up in Wyoming. I haven't lived in Wyoming to compare but in general, the plains areas along 80 are incredibly windy. It also probably depends on whether you are in an area buffeted by some natural or artificial barrier. Wyoming is a lot of wide open space whereas FC has the foothills and the Rockies and therefore may be more protected than - say - eastern Colorado or Nebraska or Wyoming, etc. It can definitely get windy here and there's a post on this site about it.