Just announced! The Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers second season will premiere on Sunday, October 19th. For those that haven’t seen this show before, it is absolutely incredible as you follow a group of chasers trying to – literally – drive into a tornado. As you know, the 2008 tornado season was one for the record books and the Storm Chasers team was right in the thick of it. I will be watching with great interest as they spent a lot of time in north central Kansas right where my family is from.
ThorntonWeather.com's picks for the best drives to view the fall foliage.
This time of year many folks head to the hills west of Denver in search of gold – fall foliage gold. This year thanks to the warm and dry weather, the season is running longer and a bit later than normal so this coming weekend looks to be a great one to get out and go for a drive in the mountains. Where to go? Below are five of ThorntonWeather.com’s favorite ones near Denver. After that, we will tell you where you can find a great website that provides regular updates on viewing conditions.
I-70 Corridor – If you’re looking for the easiest route, then this one is for you. Simply head west on I-70 about 110 miles to Avon. Between Vail and Avon, both sides of I-70 are lined beautifully with aspen.
Rocky Mountain National Park – One of the most popular summer destinations in the state is of course also a prime spot to view aspen in all their glory. Once in the park on Trail Ridge Road, head toward Bear Lake. Glacier Gorge Junction provides a beautiful spot and you of course also get to enjoy all the splendor that Rocky Mountain National Park has to offer.
Peak to Peak Highway – This little road trip can be a dual purpose trip – gambling and fall foliage viewing! Take U.S. 6 through Clear Creek Canyon and then 119 through Blackhawk and Central Center. You can of course stop there if your wallet is fat enough and donate some money to the casinos. From there continue on 119 toward Nederland. Take highway 72 toward Ward and Allenspark. There you will find more golden aspen than you can imagine, all with the Continental Divide nearby.
Poudre Valley Canyon – Heading north on I-25 take Colorado 14 west and into Poudre Canyon and Roosevelt National Forest. As you continue west you will come very near timberline as you come to Cameron Pass. Amazing views abound!
Guanella Pass – This is a nice, relatively short drive from Denver. From C470 take 85 through Bailey and Conifer, a nice drive unto itself. When you come to the town of Grant, take the Guanella Pass Scenic and Historic Byway north to Georgetown. The air is pretty thin along the way as you climb in excess of 11,500 views through the Pike and Arapahoe National Forests. Fair warning – about 10 miles of the road is gravel but it is well maintained.
So do you think you will try one of these drives? Or maybe one of the other dozens (hundreds?) that are possible? Before you go, be sure to check out the U.S. Forest Service’s Fall Colors website! It provides weekly updates on viewing conditions throughout the Rocky Mountain region and is a great resource to plan your trip. The site is usually updated once a week on Fridays. Click here to view the Rocky Mountain Region 2008 Fall Color Report.
As part of a special “Best of” series on Examiner.com, I recently penned an article about what was one of the most significant storms in Denver history – the 1982 Christmas Eve blizzard. It is republished here as I thought everyone might like to check it out:
Looking back through history, Denver and Colorado have had some extraordinary weather stories. When looking to pick a “best” or most significant weather event, reaching far back into the history books one might choose the Georgetown blizzard of 1913 which dumped an astonishing 86 inches of snow or perhaps the Big Thompson Flood of 1976 which claimed 145 lives. More recently, there were the holiday storms of 2006 or the Windsor tornadoes from 2007. But, there is one storm that historically stands out not only because of its severity in terms of the weather but also because of the long lasting impact it caused in Denver and Colorado which is still being felt today – the Christmas Eve Blizzard of 1982. For those of you that didn’t live in Colorado then or are too young to remember, a trip through the history books shows why this storm was so significant. Those that do remember it have memories that will last a lifetime.
This week in Denver weather history - September 27- October 4
A new weekly feature for ThorntonWeather.com – This Week in Denver Weather History. The National Weather Service maintains a historical archives of weather history across the nation and makes it available to the public. ThorntonWeather.com will start publishing that information weekly.
So, let’s stroll down memory lane with This Week in Denver Weather History.
26-28 IN 1936…THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL EVER RECORDED IN SEPTEMBER
AND THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL EVER RECORDED SO EARLY IN THE
SEASON DUMPED A TOTAL OF 16.5 INCHES OF SNOW ON DOWNTOWN
DENVER AND 21.3 INCHES AT DENVER MUNICIPAL AIRPORT. THE
15.0 INCHES OF SNOW MEASURED FROM 6:00 PM ON THE 27TH TO
6:00 PM ON THE 28TH IS THE GREATEST 24 HOUR SNOWFALL EVER
RECORDED IN SEPTEMBER. THIS WAS THE FIRST SNOW OF THE
SEASON. THE SNOW WAS INTERMITTENT THROUGH THE 26TH…BUT
CONTINUOUS FROM EARLY AFTERNOON ON THE 27TH TO AROUND
MIDNIGHT ON THE 28TH…EXCEPT FOR A PERIOD OF RAIN DURING
THE AFTERNOON OF THE 28TH WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO A LOSS OF
DEPTH ON THE GROUND. THE GREATEST SNOW DEPTH ON THE GROUND
DOWNTOWN WAS 13 INCHES WITH 8 INCHES AT DENVER MUNICIPAL
AIRPORT. THERE WERE NO HIGH WINDS WITH THE STORM AND
TRAFFIC WAS INTERRUPTED FOR ONLY A SHORT PERIOD. THE
STORM PRODUCED PROPERTY DAMAGE ESTIMATED AT 7 MILLION
DOLLARS. WITH TREES AND SHRUBS IN FULL FOLIAGE…THE LEAVES
CAUGHT AND HELD THE HEAVY WATER-LADEN SNOW…UNTIL THE
BRANCHES SNAPPED FROM THE WEIGHT. MORE THAN 3000 WORKMEN
WERE CALLED TO REMOVE THE DEBRIS AND SNOW FROM THE CITY. THE
CITY FIREMEN WHO WERE OFF DUTY…AS WELL AS ALL THE RESERVES…
WERE ASKED TO REPORT TO THEIR STATIONS. ALL SCHOOLS IN THE
CITY REMAINED OPEN…BUT ATTENDANCE WAS ONLY 50 PERCENT OF
NORMAL. GRADE SCHOOL STUDENTS WERE SENT HOME AT NOON ON THE
28TH. THE EARLY STORM CAUGHT STOCKMEN WITH MANY CATTLE STILL
IN HIGHER RANGES. WARM WEATHER FOLLOWED THE SNOW…WHICH HAD
ALL MELTED BY THE END OF THE MONTH…EXCEPT FOR A FEW INCHES
IN SHELTERED PLACES.
A Preview of Thornton's October Weather - Fall is Here
With the first full month of fall here, October usually brings one of the quietest weather months in the Denver area with plenty of mild, sunny days and clear, cool nights. The month actually has our second highest amount of sunshine with 72 percent with September having the most with 74 percent. Interestingly enough, the month following, November, is one of the lowest sunshine months with only 64 percent. Typically October brings our first real taste of winter with the first freeze on average coming on the 7th of the month and the first snow on the 15th of the month.
If you have been thinking that the weather this month has been a bit odd you are right! It was pointed out to me by a reader recently just how much things have been out of kilter. If you look at the table below you will see what we mean.
Date
Normal High
Official High *
Departure
From Normal
Difference From
Previous Day
08/31
82
91
+9
+2
09/01
82
85
+3
-6
09/02
82
63
-19
-22
09/03
81
75
-6
12
09/04
81
74
-7
-1
09/05
81
54
-27
-20
09/06
80
68
-12
14
09/07
80
79
-1
11
09/08
80
52
-18
-27
09/09
79
86
+7
34
09/10
79
80
+1
-6
09/11
79
63
-16
-17
09/12
79
61
-18
-2
09/13
78
74
-4
13
09/14
78
62
-16
-12
09/15
78
73
-5
11
09/16
77
80
+3
7
09/17
77
81
+4
1
09/18
77
79
+2
-2
09/19
76
76
0
-3
09/20
76
79
+3
3
09/21
76
77
+1
-2
09/22
75
87
+12
10
As you can see, we have had eight days thus far in September with temperatures 10 degrees or more above or below normal. Seven of those eight were below normal, six of those were 15 or more degrees cooler than usual. We had one day, the 5th, when we the mercury only climbed to 54 degrees – a whopping 27 degrees below what we would normally expect.
That in and of itself is noteworthy but also notice the temperature swings from day to day. 12 days we have had temperature swings of 10 degrees or more. Four of those days had swings of 20 degrees or more! On the 8th we dropped 27 degrees from the previous day and were 18 degrees below normal. We then followed that up on the 9th by climbing 34 degrees above what we had on the 8th and were 7 degrees above normal.
Now that is some weird weather and if you feel like things have been going up and down – you are right!
Special thanks to David Canfield of Thornton for accumulating the data and bringing this to our attention!
Today at 9:44am marks the Autumn Equinox – the first day of fall. The days are definitely getting shorter and we are seeing less and less daylight. The spring and autumn equinox mark the two days of the year when the center of the Sun will spend a nearly equal amount of time above and below the horizon at every location on Earth and night and day will be of nearly the same length. In short, there is 12 hours between sunrise and sunset. Here along the Front Range we are pleased to see summer-like weather today and for most of the week.
A dry and stable weather pattern will settle in over much of the state and with it usher in well above normal temperatures. The normal high temperature for this time of year is 75 degrees and on Monday we will be a good bit above that as we reach 85. There will be a slight chance for thunderstorms late today but those will be few and far between.
As the week progresses we will continue to see above normal temperatures with 80 on Tuesday, 82 on Wednesday, 85 on Thursday and 84 on Friday. Enjoy it while you can – the snow could be flying any day now!
Searchers go through houses in Crystal Beach, Texas on Monday in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Smiley Pool / Houston Chronicle
Recovery efforts from Hurricane Ike continue in Texas in the wake of the devastating storm. The death toll in the state stands at 17 however tens of thousands of people chose not to evacuate and officials are concerned the actual toll is much greater than that. It could take years for a full accounting of the missing to happen as it is thought that some that stayed behind and chose to ride the storm out were simply washed away into the Gulf of Mexico.
Search and rescue personnel have completed a search for survivors and the Red Cross is now performing welfare checks on people named by relatives. An estimated 90,000 people stayed behind and accounting for them will be virtually impossible. The death toll will of course not climb to that high of a number but it is expected that at least some of that number will never be accounted for.
In the coastal town of Crystal Beach, the stench of rotting animals and livestock permeated the air where dozens stayed behind. One account told of a survivor seeing a friend pulled out to see when she couldn’t hold onto the rafters of a home.
Seabrook, TX police officer Jeff Galyean hugs his 4th grade teacher, Sue Harral, on Tuesday in front of her home. The house was swept into the middle of the street and was several hundred feet from its foundation. Mark Wilson / Getty Images
ThorntonWeather.com's new weather webcams provide a great way to view current conditions.
We are pleased to announce the latest addition to our growing stable of features: Weather webcams! ThorntonWeather.com now features two live cameras that provide a great look into the current weather conditions in Thornton. The west camera provides a good view of the western sky to see what is approaching and happening right now. The east camera looks toward the plains and will show good “on the ground” conditions, particularly come winter when it starts snowing.
The pictures from each camera are updated and uploaded to the website every five minutes. We also feature a time-lapse movie of each camera showing the previous 24 hours worth of images that is kind of fun to watch. 🙂
This is an exciting new feature and we are sure it will quickly become one of our most popular! You can click here to view the webcam images right now! They are also accessible from our menus by going to Live Conditons and then selecting Weather Webcams.
What do you think of our webcams? Are there other features, changes, or enhancements you would like to see ThorntonWeather.com incororate? Click the “Comment” link below and let us know!
A TV cameraman tapes the wreckage left by Hurricane Ike In Galveston. Bob Pearson / EPA
With the passing of Hurricane Ike, emergency responders in the Houston and Galveston area begin the task of aiding and rescuing the approximately 140,000 people who chose not to evacuate the area as the storm approached. Debris and flooding made the task extremely difficult and hazardous for those tasked with helping recover from the devastating storm.
Texas Governor Rick Perry expressed frustration at having to put rescuers’ lives on the line for those that chose to ignore the warnings. Thousands of 911 calls poured in as the storm struck Friday night and into Saturday morning. As of Saturday night the governor’s office said 940 people had been saved. Another 600 were rescued from Louisiana floods.
More than 3 million people in Texas were without power at the height of the storm. 180,000 in Louisiana face the same problem. Power providers in the region say it could take weeks before power is fully restored.
Hurricane Ike made landfall over Galveston at 12:10am MDT on Saturday and was over 900 miles across at one point. As the storm moved inland, it continued to produce hurricane condtions for over 100 miles. As damaging as the storm was, it could have been much worse. Authorities had predicted storm surges of 20 to 25 feet but thankfully that did not bear out. The greatest surge occurred at Sabine-Pass near the Texas-Louisiana border and was measured at 15 feet.
Weather, natural disasters & climate news and information.
As part of a special “Best of” series on 
Today at 9:44am marks the Autumn Equinox – the first day of fall. The days are definitely getting shorter and we are seeing less and less daylight. The spring and autumn equinox mark the two days of the year when the center of the Sun will spend a nearly equal amount of time above and below the horizon at every location on Earth and night and day will be of nearly the same length. In short, there is 12 hours between sunrise and sunset. Here along the Front Range we are pleased to see summer-like weather today and for most of the week. 
