Following on colder and wetter than normal weather in previous months, Thornton’s May returned us to drier and warmer than normal conditions.

The month started out with a bit of a wintry blast of cold temperatures and snow.  In fact, Denver even set an all-time May low temperature on the 2nd of the month.

The cold and snow that started the month were probably overall the most notable feature of the month.  The rest of May was not particularly extraordinary in any aspect.

Denver’s average temperature for the month was 57.9 degrees.  This was 0.8 degrees above average.  Here in Thornton we were just slightly cooler with an average temperature of 57.6 degrees.

Thornton’s temperatures ranged from a high of 89.2 degrees on the 14th down to a low of 20.7 degrees on the morning of the 2nd.  Denver saw a maximum temperature of 88 and a low of 19 degrees.

Official Denver temperature records for the month included:

DAILY RECORDS:

DATE        TEMPERATURE     TYPE OF RECORD     OLD RECORD   YEAR LAST SET
MAY 2ND     19 DEGREES        RECORD LOW       22 DEGREES       1954
MAY 14TH    87 DEGREES     TIED RECORD HIGH    87 DEGREES       1996

MONTHLY RECORDS:

DATE        TEMPERATURE     TYPE OF RECORD     OLD RECORD   YEAR LAST SET
MAY 2ND     19 DEGREES      TIED RECORD LOW    19  DEGREES   MAY 3RD 1907

In terms of precipitation, Denver recorded only 0.82 inches, far below the average for May of 2.12 inches.  Here in Thornton Mother Nature was far more generous as we recorded 2.35 inches.

The snow that started the month totaled 4.3 inches in Thornton, 3.4 inches in Denver.  Both were well above the May average of 1.1 inches snowfall.

Click here to view the ThorntonWeather.com May 2013 Climate Summary