Thursday, October 24, 2019
Winter is really here all ready. 240 days until summer. I should not be surprised; I have lived in Colorado Springs for more than 25 years. I know the tradeoff for being so close to the mountains (and the deer, wildcats, and bears… oh, my!) is a very long winter. Every year I cannot watch the forecast for Pueblo (40 miles southeast of me) in May and September, because it is consistently 10 degrees warmer there than Colorado Springs.
Where you live matters a lot to the kind of weather you experience in Colorado. Denver is north of Colorado Springs about 60 miles. Unless there is a storm that does not move south, the temperature in Denver is usually a few degrees warmer than Colorado Springs because Denver has a lower altitude. Pueblo’s altitude is even lower, and it is south which is why it is 10 degrees warmer usually in Pueblo.
Even which part of Colorado Springs you live in matters for the type of weather you experience. I had lived on the southeast side of Colorado Springs for many years before I bought my current house. During those years I noticed a pattern in the snowfall around town. If you live south of Austin Bluffs Parkway and east of Interstate 25, you get much less snow than the northwest parts of town get.
The north part of Colorado Springs is closer to the mountains west of Interstate 25 than the south side, so you can live a mile or two west of Interstate 25 and get less snow as long as you are south of downtown. We had a snowstorm last night. The northern school districts are closed or delayed today. All the southern school districts are open without delays.
Black Forest is on the very north part of Colorado Springs. Black Forest got 10 inches of snow. The Broadmoor neighborhood is about two miles straight west of my house on the southside. Broadmoor neighborhood got five inches of snow. I might have gotten two inches in my neighborhood on the grass, however none of it is on the roads.
During an average winter we need to shovel snow two or three times at my house. A friend of mine, who lives on the northwest side, shovels 10-15 times during an average winter (and it is deeper). Her house is 15 miles from mine. Where you live matters.
My piece of advice to you is to research an area before you buy your forever or retirement home. I use a wheelchair; snow is my enemy. 14 years ago, I started searching for my forever home. 12 years ago, I bought the home I live in now. I searched for two years. I looked in Pueblo because of the longer summer. I searched all of southern Colorado Springs. I was looking for a specific house, ranch with a walkout lower level, facing south.
I found my ranch with a walkout lower level, facing south in the south (barely) west part of Colorado Springs. It turns out my lower level faces south (not the front of the house), so we still shovel two to three times a year. If I lived across the street, we might only shovel once on a light snow year. It turns out this really is my forever home.
By the way, it is now two o’clock and most of the snow is melted in my part of town. What a beautiful day!
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.
Winter is really here all ready. 240 days until summer. I should not be surprised; I have lived in Colorado Springs for more than 25 years. I know the tradeoff for being so close to the mountains (and the deer, wildcats, and bears… oh, my!) is a very long winter. Every year I cannot watch the forecast for Pueblo (40 miles southeast of me) in May and September, because it is consistently 10 degrees warmer there than Colorado Springs.
Where you live matters a lot to the kind of weather you experience in Colorado. Denver is north of Colorado Springs about 60 miles. Unless there is a storm that does not move south, the temperature in Denver is usually a few degrees warmer than Colorado Springs because Denver has a lower altitude. Pueblo’s altitude is even lower, and it is south which is why it is 10 degrees warmer usually in Pueblo.
Even which part of Colorado Springs you live in matters for the type of weather you experience. I had lived on the southeast side of Colorado Springs for many years before I bought my current house. During those years I noticed a pattern in the snowfall around town. If you live south of Austin Bluffs Parkway and east of Interstate 25, you get much less snow than the northwest parts of town get.
The north part of Colorado Springs is closer to the mountains west of Interstate 25 than the south side, so you can live a mile or two west of Interstate 25 and get less snow as long as you are south of downtown. We had a snowstorm last night. The northern school districts are closed or delayed today. All the southern school districts are open without delays.
Black Forest is on the very north part of Colorado Springs. Black Forest got 10 inches of snow. The Broadmoor neighborhood is about two miles straight west of my house on the southside. Broadmoor neighborhood got five inches of snow. I might have gotten two inches in my neighborhood on the grass, however none of it is on the roads.
During an average winter we need to shovel snow two or three times at my house. A friend of mine, who lives on the northwest side, shovels 10-15 times during an average winter (and it is deeper). Her house is 15 miles from mine. Where you live matters.
My piece of advice to you is to research an area before you buy your forever or retirement home. I use a wheelchair; snow is my enemy. 14 years ago, I started searching for my forever home. 12 years ago, I bought the home I live in now. I searched for two years. I looked in Pueblo because of the longer summer. I searched all of southern Colorado Springs. I was looking for a specific house, ranch with a walkout lower level, facing south.
I found my ranch with a walkout lower level, facing south in the south (barely) west part of Colorado Springs. It turns out my lower level faces south (not the front of the house), so we still shovel two to three times a year. If I lived across the street, we might only shovel once on a light snow year. It turns out this really is my forever home.
By the way, it is now two o’clock and most of the snow is melted in my part of town. What a beautiful day!
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.