What Temp Does Water Freeze, in Denver?

People are saying the freezing point doesn’t change no matter what the altitude or atmospheric pressure is and although that may be scientifically and mathematically true, I can assure you that the deviation of freezing and boiling in Denver is about 3 to 4° below normal. Standing water freezes at about 28-29°F (instead of ~32°) yet it can snow at 36°. And although it’s said water boils at about 203-204°F (8 to 9° lower, instead of at a normal ~212°) I have only measured the same difference in freezing, boiling at 209° even with a ton of salt added. The locals have always known the phase points to be sightly lower than average and not by belief alone, but tried and tested experimentation.

It’s probably a combination of many factors; mountain to valley air pressure, general high altitude, dry dessert air, unusual geographic location (the Denver “bowl”), and undoubtedly many others, but there is quite a variation depending upon where you live. I can also confirm that in upstate NY, when humidity is high and pressure drops quickly, standing water can easily freeze at 36°.

Geography & the local environment, wind currents & air pressure, moisture patterns & weather anomalies, density of contaminates & human caused air-pollution, countless factors known & others otherwise insignificant (like the density of local vegitation & native flora or the amount of urban sprawl & paved development) all skew measurements. Individually they’re to slight to calculate, but combined they do have a measurable effect; exactly what all the variables are, how exactly they change things, to what degree, when and why, we may never know.