Fort Collins Vs Minnesota (Loveland: how much, best school, living)

[ibrahim3]

I live in minnesota thinking about moving to ft.collins, what i am looking
for is really good schools( what is the best school in high school, with alot of after school stuff) but my biggest problem is the cold temp i can handle snow
but nothing too cold, is ft.collins warmer then minnesota



I was wandering if you guys can tell me if ft.collins is
what i think

[xeric]

I'd say that all of the high schools are above average. I don't know about weather vs. Minnesota. Most people that live here (myself included) probably have the impression that Minnesota is colder, but I've never lived there. Ft. Collins is bone dry in the middle of the winter, so I'd suspect it is a lot sunnier then Minnesota. Average seasonal snowfall is 50+ inches, but this time of year, that snow contains very little water content. Temperatures fluctuate a lot in winter because of two primary factors:

1. Downslope (or "chinook") winds tend to cause warm temperatures (for winter). This happens when moist air masses from the Pacific are forced over the western Rockies. The air cools as it ascends, reaches its dew point, and precipitates it's moisture as snowfall. By the time the air masses reach the eastern slopes of the Rockies they have very little moisture left. They descend to the Front Range as dry air masses. Moist air loses/gains around 3 degrees of temperature per 1000 feet, while dry air loses/gains roughly 5 degrees per 1000 feet. So if the temperature is 40 degrees at 5000 feet on the western slope of the Rockies, it will ascend to the divide (at 12000 feet or so) where it will be 40 - (7 * 3) = 19 degrees. Then it descends back to 5000 feet on the eastern slopes where it will now be 19 + (7 * 5) = 64 degrees. Some degree of downslope flow is pretty common in the winter, but this is counterbalanced by 2 below.

2. Arctic air masses combined with high elevation. Because there are no mountain ranges blocking air masses from Canada, arctic air can slide straight south over the Great Plains. When this happens, temperatures can slip well below zero along Colorado's Front Range, while the mountains and western side of the Rockies remain relatively warm (because the very cold air is heavy and stays close to the ground, and because the predominant wind flow is from west to east).

To summarize: average high temps. in January, in the Fort, are a relatively high 40 degrees (with night time lows averaging 14 degrees). Mild spells are fairly common. Severe cold spells are less common but they do occur (the coldest recorded temperature in Fort Collins was -41 degrees, which is low even for the Front Range). However, winters are pretty long in that snow in May and late September is not uncommon. Generally it will warm back up within a day but the snow wreaks havoc on the trees in the city (because it is wet and heavy and the trees have leaves on them), and gardens.

This is probably too much detail for you, but I'm kind of a climate geek.

[chilaili]

Minnesota can be very much colder than Colorado overall. Winter lasts a lot longer up there than it does here, usually starting around October and going till the end of April. How cold it gets and how much snow varies a lot. The last few years the Winters in Minnesota have been comparatively mild but this year they are having extremely cold temperatures and a lot of snow. The state is, however, very prepared for these things with 100s of snow ploughs, gritting, the skyway system in the cities that lets you travel from store to store without ever going outside, etc.

Go over to the Minnesota forum and look for posts on the education system there. They have a very good school system in the Twin Cities and a good community spirit.

[cobmw]

True that the average daily high in the coldest months (December, January, February) does not fall below 40 degrees. But today never reached 20 and tomorrow will get no warmer than 15 degrees. Then again last week there were several days in the 50's and 60's.

[kiki1964]

I am from Minnesota, born and raised in Iowa, lived in Loveland for 6 months and then moved to Minnesota about 5 years ago. So, is the weather better in Loveland/Ft. Collins? YES!!! Basically, we moved back here 5 years ago and have been wanting to get back to Colorado ever since. If you have more questions about Minnesota/Colorado differences, just ask and I will help if I can.

[cobmw]

Actually it never made it past 10 degrees today. Sun was out some and there was little wind. But quite cold nevertheless. Good thing it's not like this all the time or I'd be living with the liberals.

[kiki1964]

The HUGE difference between Minnesota and Colorado is the humidity. The humidity is what makes our high temps unbearable (unless you love feeling like you're stepping into a sauna when you walk out the door) and the humidity also makes you feel the cold to your bones. Our 10 degrees feels a lot colder than 10 degrees out there and it is true that the sun really makes a difference in Colorado. I remember getting in my car in the winter and not even turning on the heat because the sun actually made it toasty warm. Here I'm warming up the car for 20 minutes just to run to the store.

[cobmw]

True what you say about the humidity and the Colorado sun. You do need to compensate for Colorado's low winter humidity with a humidifier. Even then some of my friends are fighting sinus infections frequently. The winter sun is nice. And the low himidity makes 35 degrees in the sun seem not so bad. But the sun at high altitude in the summer is a pain. There is little atmosphere above you at 5000 feet to protect you from the sun's rays. So the summer sun feels hot. Standing ourside in the summer for more than a few minutes is painful for me. tTe sun goes right through my shirt and hurts my skin. Got to stay in the shade.