Colorado is a fantastic spot for outdoor events. The mountain views, blue skies, open spaces, and pleasant evenings make it tough to beat. However, anyone who has spent time here knows the weather can change quickly.
A sunny afternoon can quickly turn windy. After sunset, temperatures often drop fast. Summer storms may bring rain, hail, or lightning. In spring and fall, warm days can become chilly in just a few hours.
You don’t need to move every event inside. Just be sure to include a weather plan from the beginning. Whether you’re planning a wedding, fundraiser, festival, corporate event, graduation party, or backyard get-together, here’s how to get ready for Colorado’s most common weather challenges.
1. Start With a Tent, Not Just a Rain Plan
A tent can give shade on hot afternoons, make gatherings more comfortable when it’s windy, and protect tables, décor, food stations, and equipment from the weather.
Primary Event Rentals offers tents and canopies in many sizes and styles, including white, peak, and clear-top tents, as well as larger options for big groups. You can also add sidewalls, flooring, lighting, heating, or cooling, depending on your needs.
When picking a tent, think about more than just the number of guests. Consider what else might need cover if the weather shifts. Will you need to protect the bar, buffet, DJ or band, gift table, or dance floor? Planning for these ahead of time makes it easier to handle sudden changes in weather.
Explore Primary Event Rentals’ tent options
2. Prepare for Wind Before It Arrives
Wind is often one of the trickiest parts of outdoor events in Colorado. It can impact everything from linens and signs to décor and temporary structures.
The National Weather Service’s Denver/Boulder office specifically identifies strong winds as a concern for outdoor events because they can move materials and tents, creating safety hazards. The NWS recommends that event organizers determine weather thresholds ahead of time, including the wind limitations of temporary tents and canopies.
That’s why it’s important to have your tent installed by professionals. Discuss the location, ground surface, tent size, anchoring, and weather needs with your rental team instead of waiting until the last minute. Inside the tent, remember to plan for wind as well. Pick décor and table setups that can handle a breeze, secure light items, and have a plan to move important things under cover if needed.
3. Keep Guests Comfortable When Temperatures Climb
For warm-weather events, creating shade should be one of your first priorities. A tent or canopy can give guests a comfortable place to get out of direct sunlight without taking them away from the event.
We’re happy to offer cooling options, such as misting fans, to help keep outdoor spaces comfortable during hot weather. Consider where guests will spend the most time. Areas like seating, dining, bars, registration tables, and buffet lines can all benefit from shade or extra cooling.
Also, think about the timing of your event. If you can, avoid the hottest part of the afternoon to help keep guests comfortable.
4. Don’t Underestimate a Cold Colorado Evening
A warm afternoon doesn’t mean the evening will stay that way. After sunset, temperatures can drop fast, especially at higher elevations or in spring and fall. Guests who felt fine during cocktail hour might be looking for jackets by dinner.
Patio heaters and other heating options from Primary Event Rentals can help you use your outdoor space longer and keep guests comfortable on cool evenings. When planning, check the expected temperature at the end of your event, not just the start. For example, if your wedding starts at 4 p.m. but dancing goes until 10 p.m., you’ll likely face different weather by then.
5. Give Guests a Better Surface Underfoot
A storm the night before can leave the grass muddy and soft. High heels might sink into the lawn, and heavy foot traffic can quickly turn wet spots into a mess.
We offer flooring and dance floor options that can help create a more finished and functional event space. Their tent options can be paired with flooring solutions ranging from ground coverings to more substantial flooring systems.
Consider adding flooring for dining areas, dance floors, entrances, bars, and other busy spots, especially if your venue has grass or uneven ground.
6. Use Sidewalls Strategically
Tent sidewalls are a key part of your backup plan if rain, cooler temperatures, or wind become a problem. Primary Event Rentals has clear, windowed, and solid sidewall options, so you can add weather protection without losing the outdoor feel. Talk about sidewalls when you book your tent, not just when the forecast changes. This helps you know your options and choose what works best for your event and location.
7. Have a Real Lightning Plan
At this point, weather planning is about safety, not just comfort. The National Weather Service recommends that outdoor event organizers have a lightning safety plan before guests arrive. This means identifying safe shelter, choosing someone to watch the weather, deciding when to stop activities, and figuring out how to notify guests.
Most importantly, an event tent is not safe during a thunderstorm with lightning. The National Weather Service says to move people into a sturdy enclosed building or, if that’s not possible, an enclosed hard-topped vehicle. Wait at least 30 minutes after the last thunder before resuming activities.
Read the National Weather Service’s outdoor event weather-planning recommendations
Before your event, decide exactly where guests and staff will go if lightning is nearby. Don’t wait until you hear thunder to make a plan.
8. Protect More Than Your Guests
Your weather plan should cover the entire event setup.
Think about:
- Catering and buffet equipment
- DJ, band, and sound equipment
- Bars and beverage stations
- Linens and tabletop décor
- Registration and check-in areas
- Gifts and personal belongings
- Staging and entertainment areas
- Electrical equipment and lighting
Primary Event Rentals has more than just tents. They offer tables, chairs, linens, lighting, dance floors, staging, catering equipment, heaters, and cooling equipment. Planning these pieces together helps you create an event layout that works in any weather.
9. Assign Someone to Watch the Weather
Just checking the forecast a few days before your event isn’t enough. The National Weather Service suggests picking someone to be the event’s weather watcher. This person should monitor forecasts, radar, and changing conditions, and let everyone know when it’s time to use the weather plan.
This is especially important for bigger events, where no one person may notice changing weather while everyone is busy with setup, vendors, guests, catering, and entertainment. Decide in advance who has the authority to make weather-related decisions.
10. Build Your Backup Plan When You Build Your Event
The best weather backup plan is one you never have to use. But if you do, you’ll be glad you made decisions before the weather changed.
When planning an outdoor Colorado event, ask:
Where will guests go if conditions change?
What equipment needs protection?
How will we handle heat or a sudden temperature drop?
What happens if the ground is wet?
Who is watching the weather?
What conditions would cause us to delay, relocate, or end the event?
Most importantly, talk about weather backup plans with your venue and rental company early on. Rentals like tents, sidewalls, heaters, fans, and flooring add flexibility, but they aren’t a replacement for a real severe-weather safety plan.
Plan for Colorado. Then Enjoy the Event.
Primary Event Rentals has tents, sidewalls, flooring, heating and cooling equipment, lighting, tables, chairs, and more to help you create a flexible outdoor setup. If you’re planning an event in Northern Colorado, the mountains, or Wyoming, their team can help you figure out what equipment you might need before the big day.
Visit www.PrimaryEventRentals.com or call 970-646-3432 to start planning your event and discuss rental options.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Weather Survival Guide
1. What should I rent for an outdoor event in Colorado?
What you need depends on the season, venue, number of guests, and type of event, but a tent or canopy is usually a good place to start. Depending on the weather, you might also want sidewalls, flooring, patio heaters, misting fans, lighting, tables, chairs, or staging. Planning for both day and evening conditions can help you choose what’s best.
2. Is an event tent safe during a thunderstorm?
A tent can protect from sun and light rain, but it isn’t safe during lightning. The National Weather Service recommends moving guests into a sturdy enclosed building or a hard-topped vehicle if lightning is nearby.
3. When should I reserve weather-related rentals?
Reserve weather-related rentals as early as you can. If you wait for the forecast, the tents, heaters, fans, sidewalls, or flooring you want might already be booked. Talking about weather needs when you first reserve gives you more time to make a solid backup plan and see what’s available for your event.
Primary Event Rentals
Serving Colorado and Wyoming
Call Primary Event Rentals at (970) 646-3432 for tent, table, chair, and decor rentals.
Email orders@primaryeventrentals.com
