Denver Climatological Preview - July 2024 |
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A Preview of Thornton's July Weather - A Hot and Stormy Month
Change is of course the one constant in Denver's weather but come July, things actually get pretty consistent.
The standard formula for a day in July is a sunning morning, clouds developing in the late morning and early afternoon. Come mid-afternoon, thunderstorms are rolling off of the foothills and into the metro area and the eastern plains. These storms do occasionally reach severe status containing hail, gusty winds and heavy downpours of rain.
In fact, the worst hail storm on record in Denver history hit western sections of the city on July 11th, 1990. Baseball and softball sized hail from this ferocious storm caused millions of dollars worth of property damage.
July is the most stormy month of the year in fact with thunderstorms occurring on average 11 days per month - or once every three days. These slow moving storms are one of the reasons July is Denver's second rainiest month with an average of 2.16 inches of rain (second only to May).
However, these storms are also often very localized and cause widely varying precipitation amounts across the metro area. It is not unusual for one area of down to be deluged while others remain entirely dry. With these severe storms, flash flooding remains a possibility.
Being our hottest month, the average monthly temperature for July is 74.2 degrees.Temperatures have ranged from a record high of 105 degrees on July 20, 2005 down to a record low temperature of 42 degrees on July 31, 1873.
July high temps average 89.4 degrees and this is the month when we typically see the most consecutive days above 90 degrees. 25 times streaks of 10 or more consecutive days above 90 degrees have been recorded entirely in July or at least partially starting in June or ending in August. Average highs range from 87 degrees on the first of the month and climb to 90 degrees by the end of the month.
Low temperatures during the month average 58.9 degrees. The month kicks off with an average low of 57 degrees and ends with a normal of 60 degrees.
Two record 90 degree heat streaks stand out, both 24 days in length. These two were the longest 90 degree streaks in Denver history and occurred July 11 to August 3, 2012 and July 13 to August 5, 2008.
The summer of 2012 was also notable for Denver having recorded a total of 73 days with temperatures at or above 90 degrees. This easily bested the previous record-holder of 61 90 degrees in 2000.
July Extremes
JULY: Dever's Top 5 Coldest (mean temperatures):
78.9 degrees 2012 *** Warmest month is Denver history 1872-2012
77.8 degrees 1934
77.7 degrees 2005
77.6 degrees 2008
77.3 degrees 1936
JULY: Dever's Top 5 Warmest (mean temperatures):
67.4 degrees 1895
68.2 degrees 1906
68.7 degrees 1915
68.8 degrees 1904
68.9 degrees 1891 & 1950
JULY: Denver's Wettest
6.41 inches 1965
5.92 inches 1998
5.60 inches 1997
5.24 inches 1919
4.75 inches 2001
JULY: Denver's Driest
0.01 inches 1901
0.08 inches 1939
0.24 inches 2008
0.27 inches 2005
0.31 inches 1917
Outlook for July 2024
The Climate Prediction Center 's long range forecast unfortunately points to a continuation of the hot, dry weather we saw in June. Temperature outlooks give the entire state a 60 to 80% chance of seeing overall above average temperatures. In terms of precipitation, the agency gives heightened chances for below normal levels.
For More Information
Temperature Normals and Extremes for July
Monthly Temperature, Rainfall and Snowfall Extremes for July
JULY AVERAGE STATISTICS * Normals & Means, 1981 - 2010 |
|
TEMPERATURE |
|
| AVERAGE HIGH | 89.4 |
| AVERAGE LOW | 58.9 |
| MONTHLY MEAN | 74.2 |
| DAYS WITH HIGH 90 OR ABOVE | 16 |
| DAYS WITH HIGH 32 OR BELOW | 0 |
| DAYS WITH LOW 32 OR BELOW | 0 |
| DAYS WITH LOWS ZERO OR BELOW | 0 |
PRECIPITATION |
|
| MONTHLY MEAN | 2.16 INCHES |
| DAYS WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION | 8 |
| AVERAGE SNOWFALL | 0 |
| DAYS WITH 1.0 INCH OR MORE SNOWFALL | 0 |
MISCELLANEOUS JULY AVERAGES |
|
| HEATING DEGREE DAYS | 6 |
| COOLING DEGREES DAYS | 289 |
| WIND SPEED (MPH) | 8.3 MPH |
| WIND DIRECTION | SOUTH |
| DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORMS | 11 |
| DAYS WITH DENSE FOG | 0* (Less than 1) |
| PERCENT OF SUNSHINE POSSIBLE | 71 |
JULY EXTREMES |
|
| RECORD HIGH | 105 ON 7/20/2005 (TIES AS HOTTEST DENVER TEMPERATURE) |
| RECORD LOW | 42 ON 7/4/1903 AND 7/31/1873 |
| WARMEST | 78.9 IN 2012 |
| COLDEST | 67.4 IN 1895 |
| WETTEST | 6.41 INCHES IN 1965 |
| MAXIMUM 24 HOUR MOISTURE | 3.43 INCHES IN 1951 |
| DRIEST | 0.01 IN 1901 |
| SNOWIEST (Could include hail) | NO SNOWFALL EVER RECORDED IN JULY |
| LEAST SNOWIEST | NO SNOWFALL EVER RECORDED IN JULY |
* Historical weather statistics gathered from the National Weather Service's Denver / Boulder forecast office data archives.