Quote:
Originally Posted by Hatetheheat01
To me the following sounds like very nice weather/nice state to live:
Get all four seasons.
Very, very low humidity all year long.
Generally high of 80-85 for the day in the summer time.
Can live in a big city without being near forests/wooded areas and don't come across many insects or critters- atleast not in the big cities (don't like bugs or critters at all) but yet can still experience all four pretty seasons.
Does this sound like the state of Colorado to any or all of you?
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I live in the lowlands of Colorado, and the climate is quite pleasant in my opinion. Humidity is low although not excessively so (~15% is typical for summer afternoons). Considerable differences between day and night year round, averaging >15ºC. Oddly, Köppen classifies places like this with places like Houston or Jacksonville. They're almost nothing alike though.
I notice more than 4 seasons here:
Green summer: Mid June to late July. Rain is abundant, coming in afternoon thunderstorms. Highs typically above 30ºC, but the all-time record is a mere 41ºC, and some days that are cloudy throughout may never go above 25ºC. Lows are typically around 15ºC. Wildflowers and butterflies are abundant in wilderness areas.
Gold summer: Late July to mid September. Hot days (typically 30-35ºC) but cool nights (avg. 15ºC). More predictable and drier than the green summer. Lowest humidities are usually seen in the gold summer, below 10% in the daytime. The grass is typically dry in this period.
Autumn: Mid September to mid November. Leaves changing color, days going from hot early on to mild later. First snow averages October 18, earliest September 3, latest November 28. Sometimes, the snow is preceded by a hot day (polar vortex).
Early winter: Mid November to late January. Average temperatures fall to near 0ºC, with highs usually 5-10ºC. Snow is fairly common, usually preceded by a mild day with high 15-20ºC and low >0ºC, and followed by a very cold day, with low possibly dropping to -20ºC. The snow is dry and rarely more than 15cm accumulates. In shaded areas, snow can stay throughout the winter, while in most places it melts within a week or two.
Late winter: Late January to early March. Average temperatures rise slightly, and sometimes chinooks are present that cause prolonged periods without frost. Snow is rarer, and -20ºC is also only seen once every few years.
Spring: Early March to mid June. Starts off as the snowiest part of the year, and the snow is typically wet as well, with temperatures only slightly below 0ºC during the snow events. Later on, the grass turns green in late April, and last snow averages April 26 (earliest March 3, latest June 3), transitioning to long periods of mostly light, cool rain. Days start out cool and get warmer over time. Higher humidity is often present, but it is almost never uncomfortable. Precipitation events often last for a whole day or more and result in >2.5cm total.
An optional gap between spring and green summer often contains the hottest day of the year, with a low as high as 20ºC and a high above 35ºC, but most days in this gap are cooler. 35ºC highs during the rest of the summer typically don't cause warm nights.
In Denver there are generally no forests, and insects aren't bad in the summer, with the worst that happens being a cloud of gnats above your head that could only disorient you somewhat if you look up. Forests are widespread in the mountains, however. Even there bugs aren't that annoying. Some mountain towns have summer highs averaging 27-30ºC like you suggested, some are cooler.
Aspen trees are known for their colors in the autumn, changing earlier at higher elevations. Temperatures get colder as elevations increase as well, with summer averages falling below 10ºC around 3500m. Some patches of year-round snow can be seen from the city.
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