After a cold and snowy start to the season in October and November, December saw things dry out and warm up. Unfortunately, January 2020 continued the most recent trend with temps well above normal and very little precipitation.
The month was largely uneventful with no notable weather events. Daytime high temperatures were routinely warmer than normal and no precipitation was seen until the very end of the month. When we did finally see some snow on the 29th and 30th, it was minimal, amounting to little more than a dusting.
Thornton’s overall average temperature for the month came in at 34.1 degrees. This is well above the long term Denver average for January of 30.7 degrees. As usual, the Mile High City’s official reading at Denver International Airport came in warmer than us at 34.6 degrees.
Temperatures in Thornton ranged from a high of 61.4 degrees on the 4th down to a low of 10.8 degrees on the 11th. Denver saw its maximum reading of 62 degrees on the 4th and 8th and its lowest of 7 degrees on the 11th.
In terms of precipitation, Denver averages 0.27 inches in January. Both Thornton and Denver fell well short with 0.03 inches and 0.14 inches respectively.
Snow was in short supply with 0.6 inches falling in Thornton and 0.9 inches in Denver. Both were far short of the average of 7 inches for Denver in January.
In the end, the month was Thornton’s warmest, driest and least snowy January since ThorntonWeather.com came online in 2007.
Click here to view Thornton’s January 2020 climate report.
From the National Weather Service:
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
717 AM MST SAT FEB 1 2020
...................................
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2020...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2020
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 76 01/27/1888
LOW -29 01/09/1875
HIGHEST 62 01/08 76 -14 62 01/04
01/04
LOWEST 7 01/11 -29 36 -5 01/01
AVG. MAXIMUM 48.0 44.0 4.0 44.6
AVG. MINIMUM 21.1 17.4 3.7 19.5
MEAN 34.6 30.7 3.9 32.0
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 1 5.5 -4.5 6
DAYS MIN <= 32 31 29.4 1.6 29
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 1.7 -1.7 1 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 2.35 1883 MINIMUM 0.01 1933 1934 1952 TOTALS 0.14 0.41 -0.27 0.75 DAILY AVG. 0.00 0.01 -0.01 0.02 DAYS >= .01 2 4.1 -2.1 6
DAYS >= .10 1 0.9 0.1 2
DAYS >= .50 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.0 0.0 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.13 01/27
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
TOTALS 0.9 7.0 6.2 2019
RECORD 24.3 1992
TOTAL
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 937 1063 -126 1016
SINCE 7/1 3436 3531 -95 3388
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
.................................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 10.1
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 4/220
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 40/290 DATE 01/01
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 53/290 DATE 01/01
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.50
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 10
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 17
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 4
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 49
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
As we begin the new year the winter chill begins to set in. While January can see its share of extremes, the month historically sees stable temperatures and is usually relatively dry.
The weather during the month of November in Denver metro area can offer just about anything. While it is normally a quiet month, it can be prone to extremes.
