Weather - A Big Surprise

Hi!

I promised myself that I wouldn't do the usual what I ate, what I watched on TV, what I ate for breakfast ...... what the weather was like today sort of blog. I'm breaking that promise just this one time.

The weather here is the biggest surprise so far! I've been warned by native Coloradans (Coloradians?) not to tell anyone about the weather. I just never could keep a secret though, so here goes.

We arrived in Denver in August and spent a week and the weather was beautiful, warm sunny days, cool nights and just a hint of breeze. Every now and then, a cooling shower that came and went in little more than minutes.

We moved to Denver in October and the days were warm, but not hot and the nights were cool bordering on cold. Throughout October there was sun every day, just a few clouds
now and then ...... but one could really sense that fall was here and winter wasn't far behind.

In November, I got my first taste of the weather I had expected. I researched the climate in Denver before we moved, found that the average daytime temperature is 45 and the average night time temperature is 19. Things freeze at night and thaw during the day ..... each day! And it got colder and colder. We had a storm come in from the Pacific Northwest and it snowed and the temperatures plunged .... down to a wind chill of -29 degrees at Denver International Airport one night! For almost two weeks, the temperatures never broke through the freezing point. We routinely saw temperatures anywhere from 0 degrees to 12 degrees ..... for the highs of the day. Luckily (for us) the storm moved on East and dumped a significant amount of snow from Chicago to the coast.

We bought new clothes, bundled up and ventured out. We has some grocery shopping to do one day and braved the 12 degree weather, but had to stop for coffee, a warm up and a "blow your nose" break part way through the walk. We went home and got more clothes.

That weather seems to be gone now. We count on waking up each morning to a cloudless sky with bright sunshine streaming through the windows. Granted, there's still a pond of ice on the roof of the apartment house across the street, but we are assured that we'll be comfortably warm in an hour or so. The days aren't long, but the warmest part of the day typically reaches 45 degrees, and if you are in the sunshine, you can walk around outside in a light coat or sweater! Almost like Spring!!

It's a good feeling to know that the winters here are not uncomfortable. I believe that I'm more comfortable here at 45 degrees than I was in the Bay Area at 60 degrees. One reason, in addition to the altitude, might be the low humidity. I'm not sure exactly how low humidity works to keep you warmer than a high humidity environment; we typically run humidity levels arouund 16% instead of the 70% we experienced before.

Yesterday and today the temperatures were in the 60s - in the Winter- in Colorado! (Shhhh don't tell anyone else!). We were out in the car buying some kitty litter (yes, the kitties are still alive and well and enjoying the new digs) and we had the window open and the air conditioner on!

So, summary, the weather here is better than I ever thought winter weather could be. It's likely to change and provide us with new experiences, but we're ready for the best kept secret Coloridians have.