High pressure was the dominant weather feature for the month of October and that led to a pattern that blocked off moisture and kept temperatures well above normal.  Record-setting highs were made while precipitation was a rare event.

The historical average monthly temperature for the month of October in Denver is 50.9 degrees.  That number was easily eclipsed.  Here in Thornton we saw an average temperature of 55.8 degrees.  Out at DIA where Denver’s official numbers are kept, it was much warmer with an average of 57.8 degrees.

• October 2016 top shots: Monthly photo slideshow

Both averages for October 2016 were far above normal.  Officially the month was so warm it became the fourth warmest October on record in Denver.  The number one spot was quite secure though with an average of 59.9 degrees back in 1950.

Temperatures in Thornton ranged from a high of 84.8 degrees on the 16th down to a low of 27.1 degrees on the morning of the 20th.  Out at the airport, the warmest reading was 86 degrees and the lowest 25 degrees, both on the same days that Thornton saw its warmest and coldest readings.

Denver recorded four record daily high temperatures during the month.  The first record high came on the 15th of the month to be followed by records on the 27th and 28th then a tie for the record high on the 31st.

In terms of precipitation, the same high pressure that kept things warm, kept things dry as well.  Thornton recorded a mere 0.43 inches in its rain bucket, all during the first half of the month. The airport was a bit drier with 0.26 inches recorded.

On average Denver receives 1.02 inches of precipitation in October so both locations were far below normal.  While it was certainly dry, it was not so much so that it was a record-setter as the month failed to make it into the top 20 driest Octobers.

No snow was recorded during the month so we are still awaiting that first event of the season.  This however is not entirely unusual as historically, 27% of Denver’s October fail to see any of the white stuff.

Click here to view Thornton’s October 2016 climate report.

From the National Weather Service:

CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
244 AM MDT TUE NOV 1 2016

................................... 

...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2016... 

CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2016

WEATHER         OBSERVED          NORMAL  DEPART  LAST YEAR`S
                 VALUE   DATE(S)  VALUE   FROM    VALUE  DATE(S)
                                          NORMAL
................................................................ 
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
 HIGH              89   10/16/1991
                        10/10/1910
 LOW               -2   10/29/1917
HIGHEST            86   10/16        83       3       87  10/11
LOWEST             25   10/20        22       3       28  10/28
AVG. MAXIMUM     74.5              65.3     9.2     70.1
AVG. MINIMUM     41.2              36.6     4.6     42.8
MEAN             57.8              50.9     6.9     56.5
DAYS MAX >= 90      0               0.0     0.0        0
DAYS MAX <= 32      0               0.4    -0.4        0
DAYS MIN <= 32      3               8.5    -5.5        1
DAYS MIN <= 0       0               0.0     0.0        0

PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
 MAXIMUM         4.17   1969
 MINIMUM            T   1934
TOTALS           0.26              1.02   -0.76     1.76
DAILY AVG.       0.01              0.03   -0.02     0.06
DAYS >= .01         3               5.3    -2.3        6
DAYS >= .10         1               2.4    -1.4        3
DAYS >= .50         0               0.5    -0.5        2
DAYS >= 1.00        0               0.1    -0.1        0
GREATEST
 24 HR. TOTAL    0.22   10/05 TO 10/06           10/20 TO 10/21

SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
 TOTAL             MM   MM
TOTALS            0.0               4.0

DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL     231               440    -209      274
 SINCE 7/1        310               581    -271      301
COOLING TOTAL      17                 5      12       16
 SINCE 1/1        878               769     109      877

FREEZE DATES
RECORD
 EARLIEST     09/08/1962
 LATEST       06/08/2007
EARLIEST                        10/07
LATEST                          05/05
.................................................. 

WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED              10.0
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION   4/197
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION    33/260    DATE  10/04
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION    42/270    DATE  10/03

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)     40

WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM              0     MIXED PRECIP               0
HEAVY RAIN                0     RAIN                       1
LIGHT RAIN                3     FREEZING RAIN              0
LT FREEZING RAIN          0     HAIL                       0
HEAVY SNOW                0     SNOW                       0
LIGHT SNOW                0     SLEET                      0
FOG                       4     FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE      3
HAZE                      0

-  INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R  INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T  INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.

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. Given the lack of precipitation of the last few months though, we certainly would welcome some moisture.

October is historically the second sunniest month and conditions are generally calm.

However we also will usually see our first taste of winter during the month with the first freeze and first snowfall of the season.  Temperatures as well will start to drop and by the end of the month the average nighttime lows are below freezing.

For complete details on our historical October weather and what we can expect in the coming month, read our complete October weather preview here.

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