YES! There are two possible Banana Belts in Colorado. The rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains can be described as a Banana Belt. An argument can be made that entire the Front Range is a Banana Belt. Dry down-sloping winds keeps the area warmer and drier than the region as a whole. Credit: KUSA
A “BANANA BELT” is a region within a larger geographic area that has warmer weather than the rest of the region.
Question: So why do the temperatures often look so cold in Colorado?
Answer: Did you know meteorologists official temperature readings are taken in the shade? The National Weather Service noted that actual heat indices can be up to 15 degrees higher in full sunshine than in the shade! So in an area claiming 300+ days of sunshine a year, it’s no wonder that it feels much warmer than the weather reports suggest! SHADE? What SHADE?
