Colorado/NewMexico Weather
 

hi, i am traveling to denver, ouray, durango, cortez, albuquerque and santa fe this august (last two weeks). I don't want to overpack and need advice on weather. Pants, shorts, sweaters? How cold will it get at night..thanks

Well, speaking for the Denver area-it will probably be in the 90's udring the day...hopefully getting down to the 60's in the evening. HOPEFULLY. HAve a great trip!

Normally, temperatures will be something high but the problem in summer
in this region are the thunderstorms..
We were here for 2 weekks from 26th of July to 08th.of august and by chance only one thunderstorm for us (area from
Durango/Monticello/Moab/Monument valley/Bluff/Durango).
But I'm sure during the same period and
in nearby area someone would have had more thunderstorms...
Normally they arrive at the end of afternoon so the all day is good for visiting.
If you would hike, a short pant with good shoes and T shirt are OK and don't
forget the water(1 gallon/day/personn).
For the evening, in Durango/Cortez a long pant is usefull because temperature is a little cooler...
For 2 weeks, I've used 2 shorts for hiking, one bermuda and one long pant for more quite activities and visiting,
1 T Shirt every 2 days and 2 shirts with
short sleeves...And never far from us, a rainjacket, never used this year...
You'll have a great vacation because the region is wonderful and all the cities you choose have something special
from old West in Durango/Cortez to indian and spanish flavor in santa Fe/Albuquerque...
Erik and Anny Monpetit.

Include one pair of long pants, a windbreaker, and a wool or fleece sweater. Some of your destinations can get pretty chilly in the mornings. The first freeze in Durango happens in mid-September, so you could easily have nights into the forties by late August. Ouray could even have frost. Have a great time!

If this helps at all, the weather forecasters are saying that the "monsoons" will start next week. Don't panic, it's bit of a misnomer. Afternoon showers, not torrential downpours.

Some of those 'summer showers' will be real downpours and may have lightning and possibility of flash flooding, not to mention hail. Bring warm weather clothes for the days and cool weather clothes for the nights. If doing any hiking, take rain gear and warm jacket as temperatures can dive 20-30 degrees during/after one of those storms. Lightning can be deadly so learn some basic rules (never be the tallest thing around or be under the tallest thing - hills/trees). You're pretty safe in your car but take shelter quickly. Some of the worst lightning is in the leading & trailing edges of such storms.

PS: I'm here in Colorado Springs and we've had a couple people struck by lightning this year. Think both were on golf courses. Here is a good site for info: http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/12...lightning.html