Storm Chasers on the Discovery Channel - the new season starts in October.
I was recently on the Discovery Channel’s website wondering when the next season of Storm Chasers was going to air. In looking around I found one of the show’s chasers, the operator of TornadoVideos.net, had compiled his own top 10 tornado videos. These are absolutely incredible!
For those that have never seen Storm Chasers, be sure to keep an eye out for it on Discovery when the next season starts in October. The upcoming season will feature lots of video from the record setting tornado season that just finished as well as the team’s new and improved Tornado Intercept Vehicle – a highly modified truck that they drive straight into tornadoes!
If August 2008’s weather thus far had to be summed up in one word it would be WET! Last Thursday a low pressure system began moving into the region from Saskatchewan, Canada. Ahead of the system a cold front moved into northeastern Colorado and by Friday that low pressure had settled over Colorado.
Over a three day period through Sunday morning, this produced lots of rain and record cool temperatures. As it stands today in fact, August 2008 has climbed to # 3 on the all-time wettest August’s on record – and we still have 12 days left in the month.
Denver’s top 5 wettest Augusts
5.85″ 1979
4.47 ” 1951
4.03″ 2008 (4.76″ recorded in Thornton)
3.87″ 1923
3.69″ 1991
While our August moisture has been great, it has not erased the deficit in precipitation overall for 2008. Up until this month, we had nine straight months with below average precipitation. Through the end of August, Denver historically averages 12.07 inches of precipitation. As of today, even with our record setting August, we only have recorded 7.31 inches in 2008. Certainly the recent storm highlights that we could easily catch up with one or two wet systems moving through but it does also serve as a reminder that we are still quite dry.
Record temperatures too! With the wet cold front came record setting cool temperatures too. Friday, August 15th, Denver reached 59 degrees which demolished the previous record low maximum temperature of 68 degrees set in 1880. Saturday, August 16th we reached 58 degrees which again broke the previous record low maximum for the date of 63 degrees set in 1890. ThorntonWeather.com recorded 58 and 57.2 on August 15th and 16th respectively.
Will Barrack Obama accept the nomination in rain or shine?
The last time one of the major political parties held a major part of their political convention outdoors was 48 years ago. On July 15, 1960 John F. Kennedy accepted his party’s nomination in the Los Angeles Coliseum before 50,000 people. Denver isn’t Los Angeles though and our weather is a lot more volatile than sunny southern California. As locals all know, the one thing consistent about Colorado weather is the inconsistency and that is true in the month of August.
As the end of the month comes, we start to notice our daylight hours getting fewer and even a bit of a chill in the early morning air. Historical temperature extremes for August are somewhat interesting. First, the highest temperature ever reached in Denver was actually recorded in August – 105 degrees on August 8, 1878 (also tied on July 20, 2005). Second, while there has never been snow in Denver in August, twice the mercury has dropped to 40 degrees to serve as a reminder the white stuff isn’t too far off – those occurrences were on August 22, 1904 and August 24, 1910.
On August 28th, the day Barrack Obama will accept the nomination, the normal high temperature is 83 degrees. Extremes? Our record high temperature for that day, set multiple times – most recently in 1969 – was 94 degrees. The lowest high temperature ever recorded on the 28th is 66 degrees in 1898.
Generally the chance for severe storms decreases in August but precipitation is not unusual at all. Cooler air near the surface helps to create a stable atmosphere thus keeping thunderstorms from usually becoming too intense. After the middle of August, tornadoes and damaging hail are pretty rare. The slow movement of storms this time of year are more likely to produce potentially heavy rain.
From midnight to noon convention visitors can usually expect clear conditions but it is the afternoon and evenings when things could get interesting. Those are the times when thunderstorms roll across the Front Range – typically 8 days a month have them, 9 with measurable precipitation.
Will weather be a factor for the DNC in 2008? We won’t know that until it gets closer but it could be interesting.
Updated Saturday, 8/16/08 @ 5:19am – Denver officially reached a high temperature of 59 degrees on Friday (Thornton reached 58). This crushed the old record low maximum temperature of 68 degrees set in 1880. Saturday has the potential to do the same with a forecast high of 56.
From a record setting heatwave just a couple of weeks ago to cool and wet and possibly record setting temperatures at the other end of the spectrum too! Colorado is nothing if not inconsistent! 🙂
A closed low has developed over much of Colorado and temperatures have dropped considerably and rain has fallen over much of the Front Range. Rain showers and isolated thunderstorms will dominate the weather Friday as will cool temperatures. Friday’s forecast high of 62 degrees is in fact 24 degrees below normal for this date. If that forecast holds true, we could set a record for the lowest high temperature for the date as well – the previous record is 69 degrees set in 1933! The same holds true for Saturday as well with a forecast high the same as Friday and the lowest high temperature on record of 68 degrees set way back in 1874.
The rain brings much needed moisture to the Front Range but it will be slow in falling and shouldn’t pose much in the way of flooding problems. As of this writing, the Rocky Mountain Weather Network is showing pretty consistent precipitation across the metro area with 0.29″ having fallen at ThorntonWeather.com so far. The moisture will be on and off through Saturday night and then begin decreasing Sunday and into Monday.
It looks like the first part of next week we will return to more seasonal weather and temperatures into the 80’s.
August is usually one of nicer weather months as summer winds down and temperatures cool. The Democratic National Convention will be in Denver August 25th to August 28th and chances are the weather will be just fine. A look back at historical weather events on those days though shows some interesting things have occurred in Denver weather history.
Some of the highlights in Denver weather history include:
August 1875 saw grasshopper swarms in Denver.
August 25
In 1875 in the period from August 19th to the 20th grasshoppers appeared in great numbers in Denver. Weather records say the “streets were literally covered with them” and swarms were seen on each day. All gardens in the city were ruined as were many rural crops. News stories say that on the 30th the grasshoppers were so numbers as to “almost darken the sun.”
In 1910, the lowest temperatures every recorded in August – 40 degrees – was recorded on August 24, 25 and 26.
In 1951 a microburst produced a 50 mph gust of wind at Stapleton International Airport. In 1964 thunderstorm winds gusted to 59 mph.
More recently, in 1994, lightning struck a power pole in Louisville causing a two hour power outage.
August 26
The aforementioned grasshopper plague and low temperatures occurred on this date.
In 1944 one of the most destructive hail storms in the city caused nearly one million dollars in damage as it struck between 2:00 and 3:00pm. Hail from very small to 1 ½ inches was reported and covered the ground to depths up to six inches in some areas. Downtown Denver recorded 0.95 inch of rain and heavy hail. News reports of the day report people being cut by broken glass, people being stranded by flooded cars, sewers backing up as they were unable to handle the deluge, buildings being flooded, trees stripped, telephone poles downed and more. The next day the American Red Cross was designated by the War Department to grant any and all priorities needed to repair the damage.
In 1961 two workmen suffered a broken foot and bruises when severe winds blew in the walls of a warehouse under construction.
On the 26th and 27th in 1980, two thunderstorms hit Arvada and Westminster dumping 1.5 inches of rain in an hour. Streets were washed out and homes and cars sustained damage. Three homes in Arvada sustained damage from lightning.
August 27
The 1875 grasshopper invasion continued.
Lightning is always a danger in Colorado.
In 1967 a young woman that was horseback riding in west Denver was killed when she was struck by lightning; the horse died soon thereafter. Another woman and young man riding with her were injured when they were thrown from their horses. Lightning also did damage to houses in Arvada in 2003 and Parker in 2005.
1996 saw some excitement in the Fort Lupton area when 2 – 3 inches of rain fell in a 45 minute span. A local college suffered damage when its roof leaked. A weak F0 tornado was also reported in the area.
Not so long ago in 2002 large hail struck the metro area on this date. Hail as large as 2 inches was reported in Jefferson County as well as 1.5 inches in Golden and Lakewood, 1 ¼ inches in Nederland, and 1 inch hail in Elizabeth, Louviers, Rollinsville and Blackhawk.
2004 saw a cold spell hit the Denver area. That year on the 27th the high temperature only reached 55 degrees setting a record low maximum for the date. The low temperature of 48 tied the record low as well.
August 28
Yes, the grasshopper swarm in 1875 continued.
The cold spell in 2004 yielded a low temperature on this date of 42 degrees setting a record.
1968, lightning again reared its ugly head. One man was seriously injured while riding a roller coaster at Denver Amusement Park. An airline employee was injured by lightning while working on a plane at Stapleton International Airport. Also, lightning caused serious damage to a Denver house and minor damage to several others.
Also on this date…. In 2002 a thunderstorm produced ¾ inch hail in Parker and in 2005 lightning sparked a small fire near Jamestown.
NOAA says there is a greater chance for hurricanes in the coming months.
In their August update to hurricane season forecasts, experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have changed their predictions for the season and now expect a greater chance of hurricanes this season. They are now predicting an “above normal” season with 14 to 18 named storms – up from the 12 to 16 they predicted in May.
The forecasters now believe there is an 85 percent chance that this above normal trend will take place (up from 65 percent in May).
“Leading indicators for an above-normal season during 2008 include the continuing multi-decadal signal – atmospheric and oceanic conditions that have spawned increased hurricane activity since 1995 – and the lingering effects of La Niña,” said Gerry Bell, Ph.D. of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. “Some of these conditions include reduced wind shear, weaker trade winds, an active West African monsoon system, the winds coming off of Africa and warmer-than-average water in the Atlantic Ocean.”
The updated 2008 hurricane outlook.
Thus far in 2008 there have been five named storms and the most active hurricane period – August to October – is just now beginning. Will this prediction hold true? Unfortunateley forecasters have struggled in recent years with their predictions. Last year NOAA predicted 10 hurricanes and only six formed. The year prior, 2006, nine hurricanes were forecasted by NOAA but only five formed. In 2005, the year Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in the worst U.S. natural disaster, the forecasts underestimated storm activity.
Quite an eventful time we have had over the last 72 hours or so in terms of weather. Some of the more noteworthy items:
The streak ends. With cooler air finally moving into Colorado, Tuesday, August 5th marked the last day of our streak of 90 degree or higher temperatures. Wednesday the temperature reached 88 degrees at DIA thus breaking the heat wave and ending the streak at a record 24 days. The previous record of 18 days was last set 107 years ago in 1901! Click here to view the official statistics for the streak. Here at ThorntonWeather.com, our streak wasn’t quite as long. While the official streak dates back to July 12th, Thornton did have one day – July 17th – where the temperature “only” reached 88 degrees. If we start counting for Thornton on the 18th, that would put the Thornton streak at 17 days. But, let’s face it, “hot is hot” no matter how you look at it!
A racoon takes shelter in a storm drain at 120th & Colorado Blvd. Image courtesy 9News.com.
Record seting rainstorm on Wednesday, August 6th. As we discussed in our previous entry, severe weather moved across the Front Range bringing everything from thunder and lightning to funnel clouds and tornadoes to severe rain. Various watches / warnings were issued including Tornado Warnings, Flash Flood Warnings / Watches and more. Rain totals varied across the metro area with Thornton, particularly the northeast portions of the city, receiving the lion’s share. At ThorntonWeather.com, we measured a whopping 2.43″. The vast majority of that fell in a 70 minute time span from 6:00pm to 7:10pm. Rain rates were reading between 3″ and 7″ per hour during that timeframe! That is ThorntonWeather.com’s #1 rainiest day on record since going into service in October 2006; the previous record was 2.2″ set on April 24, 2007. Some street flooding was reported in Thornton but thankfully little real damage. At DIA they recorded 1.29″ of rain, breaking the old record for the date of 1.1″ set in 1929.
Cooler weather to prevail today. Significant moisture in the atmosphere and cooler temperatures should keep the excitement level down today – at least compared to yesterday. After noon there will be a chance for rain and those that do get rain can expect it to be heavy at times. As long as the temperatures stay down, we shouldn’t have the severity that we experienced yesterday though. Click here to view the latest forecast.
Be safe, use your head, pay attention! A bit of a report from the soapbox today. As we were looking at pictures of the storm on various news sites, we came across one submitted to 9News from a Thornton resident of children playing in the street in the rain. Now, that makes for a wonderfully fun picture and I am sure the kids had fun too but we do question how smart the parents were of these kids. At the time Thornton was getting hit with the storm, lightning was popping across the entire area and there was a Tornado Warning issued as funnel clouds had been spotted. Is outside playing in the street really where kids should be in a case like this? That fun would come to a quick end if lightning struck or worse yet, one of those funnel clouds developed into a tornado. Is that little bit of fun worth the risk of losing your child? THINK ABOUT IT! It may be worthwhile to review our Weather Education Series on Lightning and Tornadoes.
An exciting evening in Thornton as far as the weather goes. Just before 6:00pm Wednesday a slow-moving severe thunderstorm over north Thornton brought everything from funnel clouds to lightning to torrential rain.
The Thornton radar image when the storm was at its height. The storm dumped over 2" of rain in 1 hour.
Rain began falling in the area of 120th and Colorado Blvd at 6:00pm and over the next 70 minutes dumped 2.36″ of precipitation. Lightning and thunder were predominant for the entire time as well. At 6:40 the National Weather Service issued a Tornado Warning when several funnel clouds were spotted between south Thornton and Dacono. These slow moving storms presented a clear and present danger but appear to have passed relatively uneventful. Minor street flooding has been reported in some parts of Thornton but otherwise little damage.
As of this writing, a Flood Advsiory and Flash Flood Watch remains in effect for much of the Denver metro area. Radar does indicate the storm is deteriorating and things should beging to settle down now.
As always, please stay tuned to ThorntonWeather.com for the latest. Be sure to monitor our Warnings and Advsiories page for realtime updates on current watches and warnings.
We have turned on the capability for visitors to leave comments to postings in your news / blog section. This is a great way for you to share your thoughts on the weather, comments on a topic, suggestions for us, or if you have a question about a topic, you can ask it here and we will respond.
Leaving a comment / question is very simple. If you are viewing a page that lists multiple stories (like the main index), at the bottom of each story you will see a link that says “X Comments” – clicking on that will take you to that individual posting where you can leave your comment. If you are viewing an individual posting already, at the bottom of that posting is a section that says “Leave a reply” – simply fill out the form and your comment will be sent.
Oftentimes these comment sections turn into nothing more than a repository for “comment spam” but we have implemented measures to help control this. In addition to some behind the scenes software that will control this, we also will have the system set so that we must manually approve a comment before it appears. Don’t worry – there won’t be any censoring of comments – we are going to do this temporarily until we are sure we aren’t going to get spammed with comments.
Now you can leave comments & questions to us!
We are excited to be able to implement this new feature to help us share our passion for everything weather! So, do you have anything to say? Let us know!
Here in Thornton our high thus far today has reached 88.3. However, out at DIA where the official Denver measurements are taken, the temperature reached 91 degrees. This of course extends the streak to 41 days. From the National Weather Service:
The Denver heat wave continues. At 243 pm the temperature at Denver International Airport reached 91 degrees. This temperature extends our current streak of consecutive 90 degree days to 24 days in a row. It is amazing that 24 consecutive 90 or above high temperatures were recorded breaking the 18 day streak last set 107 years ago in 1901.
So far in 2008 41 ninety degree days have been tallied. 2008 remains 9 days away from the 10th top seasonal total of 50 set in both 1960 and 1964.
It looks like the first part of next week we will return to more seasonal weather and temperatures into the 80’s.
