Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Anyone out there who has lived on both areas that can describe the differences in weather between Denver and Boise? The averages show Boise being colder in winter and slightly hotter in summer. But sometimes someone who has lived both places can give a better comparison, as sometimes averages don't tell the whole story. Especially interested in the difference between the Boise and Denver in the winter months. I have hear Boise is more overcast in winter? How overcast is Boise in winter and for what months?
My sister used to live in Denver and I've been there a bunch. I think it's accurate to say that Boise is colder in the winter but also hotter in the summer. Denver gets more precipitation a year and a lot of that is in the form of snow, though I think it's like Boise in the sense that it doesn't stick around long most of the time. One winter when my sister was there they got dumped with something like three or four feet, and that doesn't happen in Boise. The overcast months in Boise would be December and January when we have inversion conditions. We generally get at least one strong inversion per winter, and this last winter we had two. The year prior we had a really bad inversion that lasted almost a month, but that's quite a bit longer than normal.
To me, there are a lot bigger differences between the two cities than the weather. Obviously Denver is far larger. Whether that's good or bad depends on who you ask.
Thanks IdaD. So December and Jan are the only the only 2 months Boise has a lot of overcast? Mostly abundant sunshine the other 10 months?
Well you get the normal storms that come in off the pacific, especially in the spring. And then late summer is wildfire season in the west so the smoke can sometimes get pretty bad. Some years we don't get any smoke at all, some years are awful, and most years fall somewhere in between. But for the most part Boise is a pretty sunny place.
I lived in Denver for 10 years, and Boise for 3. I currently live in Boise. Denver is colder. Boise has more of a Pacific Northwest climate. Winters in Boise are long and gloomy, there is very little snow. Winters in Denver get massive snow storms, and it can get very cold there. But you will also have warm days in Denver during the winter if a high pressure system sets up. We don't get warm days in Boise during the winter. Denver is often sunny during the winter. I think Boise has nicer summers, but both cities have nice summers. Boise has more trees so to me it is a more enjoyable place to spend summer. Boise also has a river, which Denver, does not. Yeah, there is a river in Denver, but honestly it's more like a stream. Boise has a real river. Boise has inversions in the winter because we are in a valley. The inversions last for 2 weeks at least. It is awful. The sun disappears completely during that time, and it really affects people. If you see the inversion from above the city, it looks just like a blanket smothering the city. Above in the mountains it is sunny. Down below beneath the thick fog is Boise, although you can't see it because it's covered in the inversion. Winters are much better in Denver. Summers are better in Boise. Both get hot, both have low humidity.
I prefer Boise. It is a manageable, clean, friendly, safe little city. In Denver all the neighborhoods I could afford to own a home in were largely Hispanic. In Boise, the odd thing you'll notice is that the lawn maintenance crews are white guys. This is so uncommon to Denver. Boise is big enough to have a cosmopolitan look and feel, but still retains charm. I forgot to mention that in Denver no matter how hot it gets during the day, the nights cool off remarkably because of the elevation. We don't have that in Boise. Not that the nights stay hot. But they don't have a dramatic cool down like in Denver.
My daughter lives in Denver and we live in Eagle. I would say Denver has more "severe" weather by far. We're 1/2 mile up, they are 1 mile up. I've seen it where one day it can be 70 degrees in Denver and the next, it'll drop a foot of snow. Yesterday for instance, flooding and large sized hail with more of the same today. Denvers metro population is around 3 million now. I came from San Diego where the population is over 3 1/2 million now. Yes, better weather there, but I wouldn't trade this lifestyle in Boise for that any day.
I am currently living in a suburb south of Denver and looking relocate to Boise metro area/Treasure Valley (considering Middletown, Nampa, Caldwell, or Meridian – if can even afford Meridian anymore). We are studying this for a possible move spring 2022.
Here are our weather-related concerns/questions and any info would be greatly appreciated:
1) Seems like a lot of daytime RAIN (not snow) in the weather app here in Boise in December 2021 (and I have been checking Boise daily to see and compare to here)... how is the ICE on roads since temps drop considerably and I am sure it freezes overnight?
2) From what I have read, the Boise area gets less snow (compared to Denver metro), but does it melt quickly soon after snow falls in Treasure Valley?
3) Which leads to my next question: if snow in Boise area indeed melts relatively fast, what sun exposure (east? West? South?) do you need for good snow melt off your driveway after snow??
4) Denver area (the east side of the Rockies) is very dry like Boise metro, it seems. But do the "foothills" east of Boise green up eventually or is it always kind of a dry/sagebrush type thing?? Denver is kinda... brown... and clay soil. Should I expect the same in Boise/Treasure Valley area?
5) How are the summer NIGHTS in Boise? Is it sun late into evening since Rockies are East of the area? Do temps cool down considerably from day to night in summer?
6) Do you get damaging hail to roofs/cars in Boise area, generally?
7) How “heavy” and wet is winter snow? (not sure if my question makes sense… is the snow in Boise area generally wet/heavy and sticky or “dry powder snow” and lighter easier to shovel, at least at first before overnight freeze)?
8) Is the weather generally stable/easily predicted in Boise area? Do weather apps get it right more often than not?
Thanks for the info.... I think these weather-related questions and answers will help many who have questions.
I totally appreciate the info.
Ps. I am going to be answering questions on my hometown of Orlando, FL (which I work and live in 4 months out of the year at least) and on the south Denver metro/DTC area where I have lived the last 8 years on and off. I am very familiar with both areas. I will be helping these forums as well.
Please ask me any questions you may have about these 2 cities! Happy New Year!
I am currently living in a suburb south of Denver and looking relocate to Boise metro area/Treasure Valley (considering Middletown, Nampa, Caldwell, or Meridian – if can even afford Meridian anymore). We are studying this for a possible move spring 2022.
Here are our weather-related concerns/questions and any info would be greatly appreciated:
1) Seems like a lot of daytime RAIN (not snow) in the weather app here in Boise in December 2021 (and I have been checking Boise daily to see and compare to here)... how is the ICE on roads since temps drop considerably and I am sure it freezes overnight?
2) From what I have read, the Boise area gets less snow (compared to Denver metro), but does it melt quickly soon after snow falls in Treasure Valley?
3) Which leads to my next question: if snow in Boise area indeed melts relatively fast, what sun exposure (east? West? South?) do you need for good snow melt off your driveway after snow??
4) Denver area (the east side of the Rockies) is very dry like Boise metro, it seems. But do the "foothills" east of Boise green up eventually or is it always kind of a dry/sagebrush type thing?? Denver is kinda... brown... and clay soil. Should I expect the same in Boise/Treasure Valley area?
5) How are the summer NIGHTS in Boise? Is it sun late into evening since Rockies are East of the area? Do temps cool down considerably from day to night in summer?
6) Do you get damaging hail to roofs/cars in Boise area, generally?
7) How “heavy” and wet is winter snow? (not sure if my question makes sense… is the snow in Boise area generally wet/heavy and sticky or “dry powder snow” and lighter easier to shovel, at least at first before overnight freeze)?
8) Is the weather generally stable/easily predicted in Boise area? Do weather apps get it right more often than not?
Thanks for the info.... I think these weather-related questions and answers will help many who have questions.
I totally appreciate the info.
Ps. I am going to be answering questions on my hometown of Orlando, FL (which I work and live in 4 months out of the year at least) and on the south Denver metro/DTC area where I have lived the last 8 years on and off. I am very familiar with both areas. I will be helping these forums as well.
Please ask me any questions you may have about these 2 cities! Happy New Year!
Lots of new homes in Meridan but not affordable to me.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Updating this thread due to its usefulness...
