Denver tourist information

Weather  ^*

Denver has a semi-arid climate with four distinct seasons. While Denver is located on the Great Plains, the weather of the city and surrounding area is heavily influenced by the proximity of the Rocky Mountains to the west. The climate, while generally mild compared to the mountains to the west and the plains further east, can often be very unpredictable. Measurable amounts of snow have fallen in Denver as late as Memorial Day and as early as Labor Day, and trace amounts have been recorded in every month of the year.

The average temperature in Denver is 50.1°F (10.1°C), and the average yearly precipitation is 15.81 in (402mm). The season's first snowfall generally occurs around October 19, and the last snowfall is about April 27, averaging 61.6 in (156cm) of seasonal accumulation. Although Denver's Convention and Visitor Bureau claims Denver receives over 300 sunny days a year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration places that figure at about 250 days of sunshine a year.

Denver's winters can vary from mild to cold, and although large amounts of snow can fall on the mountains just west of the city, the effects of orographic lift dry out the air passing over the Front Range, shadowing the city from precipitation for much of the season. Additionally, warm chinook winds can occasionally be felt as air passing over the mountains heats as it descends. Nevertheless, winters are generally mild, with the coldest temperature ever recorded in Denver was recorded on January 9, 1875 at -29°F (-34°C), though the last time Denver recorded a temperature below -20°F (-29°C) was in 1990.

Spring brings with it significant changes as Denver can be affected by air masses on all sides, whether arctic air from the north, which occasionally combines with Pacific storm fronts bringing snow to the city. In fact, March is Denver's snowiest month, averaging 11.7 in (29.7 cm) of snow. Additionally, warm air from the Gulf of Mexico can bring the first thunderstorms of the season, and continental warm air can bring summer-like warm and dry conditions.

Starting in mid-July, the monsoon brings tropical moisture into the city and with it come frequent short (and occasionally severe) late-afternoon thunderstorms. However, despite this tropical moisture, humidity levels during the day generally remain very low. The average high during the summer is 85°F (29°C) and the average low is 56°F (13°C).

In the autumn, the tropical monsoon flow dies down and as arctic air begins to approach, it can combine with moisture from the Pacific Northwest to bring significant snowfall to the city – November is Denver's second snowiest month, and Denver's greatest recorded snowfall from a single storm, 45.7 in (116 cm), fell in late autumn from December 1 to December 6, 1913.

Temperature - Yearly Average

Denver was founded in the Kansas Territory in 1858. That summer a group from Lawrence, Kansas, arrived and established Montana City on the banks of the South Platte River. This was the first settlement in what was later to become the city of Denver. The site faded quickly, however, and was abandoned in favor of Auraria and St. Charles City by the summer of 1859. The site is now Grant-Frontier Park and includes mining equipment and a log cabin replica.

Corruption, Crime and Grubstakes
In the first few years, while the town grew, land parcels were often traded freely for grubstakes (funds given for a stake in the profits) and in the course of gambling by miners in Auraria. The city was incorporated on November 7, 1861, several months after the formation of the Colorado Territory. In 1865, Denver became the capital of the Colorado Territory, and in an 1881 state election, that distinction became permanent. The mid 1880s saw a huge rise in city corruption, as crime bosses, such as Soapy Smith, worked side-by-side with elected officials and the police, to control the elections, gambling, and the bunko gangs. By 1890, Denver had grown to be the largest city west of the Mississippi River. It would lose the title at the turn of the century to Los Angeles, however.

Winter Olympics, Wait .... Nope
Denver was selected to host the 1976 Winter Olympics to coincide with Colorado's centennial anniversary, but Colorado voters struck down ballot initiatives allocating public funds to pay for the high costs of the games, so they were moved to Innsbruck, Austria. The movement against hosting the games was based largely on environmental issues and was led by then State Representative Richard Lamm. Lamm was subsequently elected as Colorado governor in 1974.

I did it 1st!
The cheeseburger was invented in Denver by Louis Ballast who operated the Humpty Dumpty Barrel drive-in. He applied for a patent on his now famous invention in 1935. It has been speculated that he wasn’t the first person to add cheese to a hamburger, but nobody has an earlier patent, and no evidence to debunk his claim has emerged.

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