Our look back at this week in Denver weather history contains much of what you would expect to see this time of year – high winds, snow storms, and cold but also a rare February thunderstorm. 

21-22

IN 1909…A MAJOR STORM DUMPED 12.9 INCHES OF HEAVY SNOWFALL OVER THE CITY.  NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 37 MPH ON THE 22ND.  TEMPERATURES DURING THE STORM HOVERED IN THE 20’S.

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IN 1893…NORTHWEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 36 MPH WITH  GUSTS TO 50 MPH.

IN 1900…NORTHWEST WINDS SUSTAINED TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS  TO 45 MPH WARMED THE TEMPERATURE TO A HIGH OF 61 DEGREES.

IN 1910…A COLD FRONT CAUSED A REMARKABLY SHARP DROP IN  TEMPERATURE FROM 43 DEGREES AT 3:00 AM TO ONLY 3 DEGREES  AT 8:30 AM.  THESE WERE THE HIGH AND LOW TEMPERATURES FOR  THE DAY.  EARLY WEST WINDS SWITCHED TO NORTHEAST BEHIND  THE FRONT.

IN 1927…WEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 42 MPH WITH A MEASURED  MAXIMUM VELOCITY TO 60 MPH.

IN 1954…STRONG AND GUSTY WEST WINDS PERSISTED THROUGHOUT THE  DAY.  THE HIGHEST WIND GUST RECORDED AT STAPLETON AIRPORT  WAS 58 MPH.

IN 1960…SNOWFALL TOTALED 5.9 INCHES…PRODUCING NEAR-BLIZZARD  CONDITIONS IN SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW AT STAPLETON AIRPORT  WHERE NORTHEAST WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH REDUCED VISIBILITY  TO 1/2 MILE.

IN 1986…HIGH WINDS OCCURRED IN THE FOOTHILLS.  WIND GUSTS OF  65 TO 70 MPH WERE REPORTED AT GOLDEN GATE CANYON…AND A PEAK  GUST OF 83 MPH WAS RECORDED AT ECHO LAKE.  NORTHWEST WINDS  GUSTED TO ONLY 29 MPH AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

IN 1988…A WIND GUST TO 83 MPH WAS RECORDED IN BOULDER WITH  80 MPH CLOCKED AT ROLLINSVILLE.  NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO  45 MPH AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

IN 1996…WIND GUSTS TO 63 MPH WERE REPORTED IN WESTERN  ELBERT COUNTY.  SOUTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 45 MPH AT  DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

IN 1999…STRONG POST-FRONTAL…BORA WINDS DEVELOPED OVER THE  FOOTHILLS AND SPREAD OVER THE NORTHEAST PLAINS.  PEAK WIND  GUSTS INCLUDED:  87 MPH AT GOLDEN GATE CANYON; 84 MPH AT  WONDERVU; 80 MPH AT THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC  RESEARCH MESA LAB; 75 MPH AT THE ROCKY FLATS ENVIRONMENTAL  TEST FACILITY; 74 MPH AT JEFFERSON COUNTY AIRPORT NEAR  BROOMFIELD; 72 MPH AT THE GAMOW TOWER ON THE UNIVERSITY OF  COLORADO CAMPUS IN BOULDER; AND 60 MPH AT BENNETT.  WEST  TO NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 44 MPH AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL  AIRPORT.

IN 2000…THUNDER WAS HEARD ACROSS MUCH OF METRO DENVER.  THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHWEST METRO DENVER PRODUCED 1/4  TO 1/2 INCH DIAMETER HAIL AT PINEHURST COUNTRY CLUB.  A  THUNDERSTORM AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PRODUCED  WIND GUSTS TO 34 MPH.  THIS WAS ONLY THE 6TH TIME SINCE  1891 THAT THUNDER HAD BEEN REPORTED IN FEBRUARY.
22-23

IN 1985…A SNOWSTORM STRUCK THE EASTERN FOOTHILLS WITH 8 TO  15 INCHES OF NEW SNOW.  THREE TO 7 INCHES OF NEW SNOW FELL  ACROSS METRO DENVER AND PARTS OF I-70 WERE CLOSED AT TIMES.  SNOWFALL TOTALED ONLY 3.3 INCHES AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL  AIRPORT WHERE NORTHEAST WIND GUSTS TO 29 MPH WERE RECORDED.

IN 1992…A SNOW STORM DUMPED HEAVY SNOW IN THE FRONT RANGE  FOOTHILLS.  CONIFER RECEIVED 12 INCHES OF NEW SNOW WITH 7.5  INCHES AT ASPEN SPRINGS.  SNOW ONLY DUSTED THE PLAINS AND  METRO DENVER…BUT WINDS WERE STRONG WITH A GUST TO 43 MPH  FROM THE NORTH AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE  SNOWFALL TOTALED ONLY 0.3 INCH.  THIS WAS THE ONLY  MEASURABLE SNOWFALL OF THE MONTH…EQUALING THE RECORD  FOR THE LEAST SNOWIEST FEBRUARY FIRST SET IN 1970.  RARE  THUNDER FOR FEBRUARY ACCOMPANIED THE SNOW DURING THE EARLY  MORNING HOURS OF THE 23RD.

IN 1999…STRONG CHINOOK WINDS DEVELOPED ON A VERY LOCALIZED  SCALE OVERNIGHT IN AND NEAR THE FOOTHILLS OF NORTHERN  JEFFERSON AND SOUTHERN BOULDER COUNTIES.  PEAK WIND REPORTS  INCLUDED:  82 MPH AT THE ROCKY FLATS ENVIRONMENTAL TEST  FACILITY…80 MPH AT THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC  RESEARCH MESA LAB IN BOULDER…77 MPH NEAR NEDERLAND…AND  75 MPH ATOP THE GAMOW TOWER ON THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO  CAMPUS IN BOULDER.

22-29

IN 1960…HEAVY SNOWFALL OF 6.1 INCHES AT STAPLETON AIRPORT ON  THE 22ND AND 23RD MARKED THE BEGINNING OF A PROTRACTED COLD  SPELL WHICH LASTED UNTIL THE END OF THE MONTH.  THE CLOUDY…  COLD WEATHER WAS ACCOMPANIED BY OCCASIONAL LIGHT SNOW OR  FLURRIES AND FOG.  NEW RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES FOR THE DATES  WERE SET ON THE 24TH THRU THE 29TH WITH THE LOWEST  TEMPERATURE OF 11 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON THE 28TH.  THE  SEVEN CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF LOW TEMPERATURES OF ZERO OR BELOW  HAD BEEN EXCEEDED IN DURATION ONLY 4 TIMES PREVIOUSLY.  NEW  LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES FOR THE DATES WERE SET ON THE 23RD…  24TH…AND THE 26TH THRU THE 29TH WITH THE LOWEST MAXIMUM  TEMPERATURE OF 8 DEGREES RECORDED ON THE 26TH.

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IN 1904…WEST WINDS SUSTAINED TO 42 MPH WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS  60 MPH WARMED THE TEMPERATURE TO A HIGH OF 63 DEGREES.

IN 1907…A THUNDERSTORM…RELATIVELY RARE IN FEBRUARY…WAS  OBSERVED OVER THE CITY.  THE CHANCE OF OCCURRENCE IS  AROUND ONCE EVERY TEN YEARS.

IN 1977…WHILE 60 TO 100 MPH WINDS PRODUCED A HUGE DUST  STORM OVER MUCH OF EASTERN COLORADO…ONLY AN EXPERIMENTAL  WINDMILL AT THE ROCKY FLATS NUCLEAR PLANT WAS DESTROYED IN  THE DENVER AREA.  WINDS AT ROCKY FLATS WERE CLOCKED TO 90  MPH.  NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 46 MPH AT STAPLETON  INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

IN 1986…WIND GUSTS TO 79 MPH WERE CLOCKED AT ECHO LAKE IN  THE FOOTHILLS WEST OF DENVER.

IN 1992…A RARE FEBRUARY THUNDERSTORM OCCURRED.  THIS WAS  ONLY THE 5TH TIME SINCE 1891 THAT THUNDER HAS BEEN HEARD  IN FEBRUARY.

IN 1994…PERIODIC HIGH WINDS OCCURRED OVER THE HIGHER  ELEVATIONS OF THE FRONT RANGE EASTERN FOOTHILLS.  THE  STRONGEST WIND GUSTS REACHED 87 MPH ATOP SQUAW MOUNTAIN  NEAR IDAHO SPRINGS.  SOUTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO ONLY 25  MPH AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

IN 1996…HIGH WINDS GUSTING AS HIGH AS 76 MPH WERE REPORTED  ALONG THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS AND ADJACENT URBAN CORRIDOR.  WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH WERE REPORTED ATOP TABLE MESA NEAR  BOULDER AND TO 63 MPH IN BROOMFIELD.  WEST WINDS GUSTED TO  38 MPH AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

23-24

IN 1935…NORTHWEST WINDS SUSTAINED TO 37 MPH WITH GUSTS AS  HIGH AS 47 MPH PRODUCED CONSIDERABLE BLOWING DUST BEHIND  A COLD FRONT ON THE 23RD.  THE DUST WAS DAMPENED BY 7.0  INCHES OF SNOWFALL OVER DOWNTOWN DENVER FROM THE LATE  EVENING OF THE 23RD THROUGH THE EVENING OF THE 24TH.

IN 1997…HEAVY SNOW FELL IN THE FOOTHILLS.  SNOWFALL TOTALS  INCLUDED 8 INCHES AT SUNSHINE CANYON NORTHWEST OF BOULDER…  AND 6 INCHES AT MORRISON.  SNOWFALL TOTALED ONLY 2.4 INCHES  AT THE SITE OF THE FORMER STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.  EAST WINDS GUSTED TO ONLY 22 MPH AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL  AIRPORT ON THE 23RD.

23-25

IN 1912…A SEVERE WINTER STORM DUMPED 14.2 INCHES OF SNOWFALL  OVER DOWNTOWN DENVER.  SNOW FELL CONTINUOUSLY FROM 9:40 AM  ON THE 23RD UNTIL 9:15 PM ON THE 25TH WITH MOST OF THE SNOW…  9.2 INCHES…ON THE 24TH.  TEMPERATURES WERE MOSTLY IN THE  20’S.  NORTHEAST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 20 MPH ON THE 24TH.

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IN 1908…A DUSTSTORM OCCURED IN THE CITY FROM MID-MORNING  THROUGH MID-DAY.  NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED FROM 30 TO  35 MPH.

IN 1927…NORTHWEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 42 MPH WITH AN  EXTREME VELOCITY TO 46 MPH.

IN 1924…FOG DEPOSITED A LIGHT COATING OF GLAZE…WHICH WAS  VERY THIN AND ONLY ACCUMULATED ON THE WINDWARD SIDE OF  COLD OBJECTS.  STREETS AND SIDEWALKS BECAME SLIPPERY.

IN 1956…A STRONG COLD FRONT PRODUCED NORTH WIND GUSTS TO 54  MPH…BUT LEFT ONLY 2.0 INCHES OF SNOWFALL AT STAPLETON  AIRPORT.

IN 1959…HEAVY SNOWFALL TOTALED 7.5 INCHES AT STAPLETON  AIRPORT…WHERE NORTH-NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTED TO ONLY 18 MPH.

IN 1968…WEST-NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 49 MPH AT STAPLETON  INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.  THE STRONG CHINOOK WINDS WARMED THE  MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE TO 61 DEGREES…THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE  OF THE MONTH THAT YEAR.

IN 1986…WIND GUSTS TO 65 MPH WERE REPORTED AT TABLE MESA IN  BOULDER.  WEST WINDS GUSTED TO ONLY 28 MPH AT STAPLETON  INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 70  DEGREES EQUALED THE RECORD FOR THE DATE.

IN 1991…THE ONLY MEASURABLE SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH TOTALED  ONLY 0.8 INCH AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE  NORTH WINDS GUSTED TO 28 MPH.  THE LIGHT SNOW FELL FOR MOST  OF THE DAY.

IN 1994…HIGH WINDS RAKED THE EASTERN FOOTHILLS.  WIND SPEEDS  OF 70 TO 80 MPH WERE COMMON.  WIND GUSTS TO 110 MPH WERE  RECORDED AT THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH  IN SOUTH BOULDER…WHILE IN NORTH BOULDER WINDS GUSTED TO  95 MPH.  THE STRONG WINDS BLEW THE ROOF OFF A BUILDING AT  RED ROCKS COMMUNITY COLLEGE IN LAKEWOOD…CAUSING THE  EVACUATION OF ABOUT 1500 PEOPLE.  A SEMI-TRAILER AND A  DELIVERY TRUCK WERE OVERTURNED.  IN LAKEWOOD…A HOME UNDER  CONSTRUCTION WAS DESTROYED BY THE WINDS.  THERE WERE  NUMEROUS REPORTS OF VEHICLES DAMAGED BY FLYING DEBRIS…AND  MANY AUTOMOBILE WINDSHIELDS WERE SHATTERED.  WEST WIND GUSTS  TO 47 MPH WERE RECORDED AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

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IN 1887…NORTHWEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 47 MPH.

IN 1904…THE LOW TEMPERATURE COOLED TO ONLY 49 DEGREES…THE  ALL-TIME RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR FEBRUARY.

IN 1957…NORTH WINDS GUSTED TO 49 MPH AT STAPLETON AIRPORT.

IN 1998…A BORA WIND STORM DEVELOPED IN THE FRONT RANGE  FOOTHILLS AND ADJACENT PLAINS AS WINDS GUSTED BETWEEN 60  AND 75 MPH.  PEAK WIND GUSTS DURING THE STORM INCLUDED:  75 MPH ATOP BLUE MOUNTAIN NEAR WONDERVU…60 MPH IN SOUTH  BOULDER AND AT JEFFERSON COUNTY AIRPORT NEAR BROOMFIELD.  WEST WINDS GUSTED TO 32 MPH AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

IN 2000…HIGH WINDS OCCURRED IN AND NEAR THE FOOTHILLS.  WINDS GUSTED TO 84 MPH AT THE ROCKY FLATS ENVIRONMENTAL  TEST FACILITY SOUTH OF BOULDER AND TO 71 MPH ATOP NIWOT  RIDGE IN THE MOUNTAINS WEST OF BOULDER.  WEST WINDS GUSTED  TO ONLY 36 MPH AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

25-26

IN 1971…A WIND GUST TO 100 MPH WAS RECORDED IN BOULDER AT  THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH.  THE COLD  WEST WINDS GUSTED TO 53 MPH IN DOWNTOWN BOULDER.  NO DAMAGE  WAS REPORTED.  NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 31 MPH ON THE  25TH AND TO 38 MPH ON THE 26TH AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL  AIRPORT.

IN 1984…A HEAVY SNOW STORM LEFT 1 TO 2 FEET OF NEW SNOW IN  THE FOOTHILLS WEST OF DENVER.  I-70 WAS CLOSED…STRANDING  SKIERS RETURNING FROM THE MOUNTAINS.  MOST HAD TO SPEND  SEVERAL HOURS IN IDAHO SPRINGS.  THE SNOW SPREAD OVER METRO  DENVER WITH 9 INCHES AT LITTLETON…CASTLE ROCK…AND BOULDER  AND UP TO 5 INCHES IN AURORA AND DENVER.  SNOWFALL TOTALED  ONLY 3.6 INCHES AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE  NORTH WINDS GUSTED TO 31 MPH.

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IN 1884…HEAVY SNOWFALL TOTALED 6.0 INCHES IN DOWNTOWN  DENVER.

IN 1908…A DUSTSTORM OCCURRED IN THE CITY DURING THE  AFTERNOON.  NORTHWEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED FROM 14 TO  24 MPH.

IN 1918…PRE-FRONTAL CHINOOK WINDS FROM THE SOUTHWEST…  SUSTAINED TO 43 MPH WITH A MAXIMUM VELOCITY TO 52 MPH…  WARMED TEMPERATURES TO A HIGH OF 62 DEGREES.

IN 1954…STRONG CHINOOK WINDS GUSTING TO 52 MPH DURING  THE MORNING WARMED THE TEMPERATURE IN DENVER TO A BALMY 65  DEGREES BY EARLY AFTERNOON.  A VIGOROUS CANADIAN COLD FRONT  DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON PRODUCED NORTH WINDS AT SUSTAINED  SPEEDS OF 52 MPH WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 65 MPH AND BILLOWS  OF BLOWING DUST…WHICH REDUCED THE VISIBILITY TO AS LOW AS  1 MILE AT STAPLETON AIRPORT.  SHOWERS LEFT HALF AN INCH OF  SNOW ON THE GROUND AS THE TEMPERATURE DIPPED TO A LOW OF  27 DEGREES BEFORE MIDNIGHT.

IN 1989…A BRIEF RAIN SHOWER PRODUCED A MICROBURST WIND GUST  TO 51 MPH AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

IN 1997…SNOWFALL TOTALED 4 TO 6 INCHES IN AND NEAR THE  FOOTHILLS.  ONLY 0.8 INCH OF SNOW FELL AT THE SITE OF  THE FORMER STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.  NORTHEAST  WINDS GUSTED TO 29 MPH AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

26-27

IN 1893…HEAVY SNOWFALL TOTALED 7.9 INCHES IN DOWNTOWN  DENVER.  MOST OF THE SNOW…6.7 INCHES…FELL ON THE 27TH.  NORTHEAST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 18 MPH WITH GUSTS TO  30 MPH BEHIND AN APPARENT COLD FRONT.

IN 1939…HEAVY SNOWFALL OF 8.1 INCHES WAS THE HEAVIEST OF  THE MONTH IN DOWNTOWN DENVER.  NORTH WINDS SUSTAINED TO  21 MPH ON THE 26TH AND TO 28 MPH ON THE 27TH CAUSED MUCH  DRIFTING.  THE GREATEST SNOW DEPTH ON THE GROUND WAS 7.8  INCHES AT NOON ON THE 27TH.

IN 1987…A SNOWSTORM DROPPED 4 TO 8 INCHES OF SNOW ACROSS  METRO DENVER…CAUSING FLIGHT DELAYS AT STAPLETON  INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE SNOWFALL TOTALED 3.8 INCHES  AND NORTH WINDS GUSTED TO 24 MPH.  BOTH I-70 AND I-25  WERE CLOSED FOR A TIME TO THE EAST AND SOUTH OF DENVER.

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IN 1896…NORTHWEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 46 MPH WITH  GUSTS TO 58 MPH.

IN 1902…NORTHWEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 50 MPH WITH  GUSTS AS HIGH AS 60 MPH.  THE HIGH TEMPERATURE WAS  44 DEGREES.

IN 1918…A POST-FRONTAL HEAVY SNOW STORM DEVELOPED OVER  DOWNTOWN DENVER.  SNOWFALL TOTALED 8.4 INCHES AND  NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 30 MPH WITH A MAXIMUM  VELOCITY TO 32 MPH.

IN 1963…WEST WINDS GUSTED TO 55 MPH AT STAPLETON AIRPORT.

IN 1974…A WIND GUST TO 99 MPH WAS RECORDED IN BOULDER.  WEST WINDS GUSTED TO 43 MPH AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL  AIRPORT.

27-28

IN 1918…HEAVY SNOWFALL TOTALED 9.6 INCHES IN DOWNTOWN  DENVER.  MOST OF THE SNOW…8.4 INCHES…FELL ON THE 27TH.

IN 1931…A MAJOR WINTER STORM DUMPED 12.0 INCHES OF HEAVY  SNOWFALL OVER DOWNTOWN DENVER.  THIS IS THE GREATEST 24  HOUR SNOWFALL EVER RECORDED DURING THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY.  NORTH WINDS GUSTED TO 18 MPH ON THE 28TH.

IN 2006…A WARM SPELL RESULTED IN 3 TEMPERATURE RECORDS.  THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 73 DEGREES ON THE 27TH EQUALED  THE RECORD HIGH FOR THE DATE.  HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 77  DEGREES ON THE 28TH WAS A RECORD HIGH FOR THE DATE  AND EQUALED THE ALL TIME RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR  FEBRUARY FIRST SET ON FEBRUARY 4…1890.

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IN 1896…NORTHWEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 54 MPH WITH  GUSTS TO 65 MPH.  THE WINDS WARMED THE TEMPERATURE TO  A HIGH OF 56 DEGREES.  THIS WAS THE SECOND CONSECUTIVE  DAY OF STRONG WINDS IN THE CITY.

IN 1958…AT STAPLETON AIRPORT…SNOWFALL TOTALED 5.3 INCHES  AND NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTED TO 24 MPH.

28-1 

IN 1875…6 INCHES OF SNOW FELL FROM 3:15 PM ON THE 28TH TO  1:00 AM ON THE 1ST.  PRECIPITATION FOR THE TWO DAYS WAS  0.50 INCH.