February in Colorado typically brings to an end an extended period when average temperatures are at their lowest. Winter begins to loosen its grip and temperatures get warmer but precipitation is not a particularly common event during the month.
Thus far, our snow season has been a bit of a disappointment and while January brought some of the what stuff, it wasn’t a lot. February is only our sixth snowiest month so we can’t count on much else.
Temperatures however do usually see a nice rebound during the month. Average high temperatures climb from an average of 44 degrees at the start to 50 degrees by the end of February.
Thornton, Colorado’s January 2024 temperature summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)
The month of January offered a bit of a mixed bag of weather, showcasing the kinds of extremes our weather is known for. While we saw a period of bitter cold, the month ended with a string of mild days.
The first few days of the month were nice enough, with calm, dry conditions and temperatures above normal. From there, we entered a period dominated by colder than normal mercury readings. Most notable, Arctic air that arrived on the 12th and sent the thermometer down.
The following three days saw highs only in the single digits and four mornings with below zero lows. During that period we also received our most notable snowfalls of the month although they did not amount to much. Thornton received 1.8 inches on the 13th and 2.5 inches on the 15th.
The last half of the month saw things turn warmer with above normal readings for the final 10 days of the month. The last four days were very nice with readings of 60+ degrees.
In the end, Thornton’s January 2024 average temperature came in at 28.7 degrees. That was 1.9 degrees below our running 18-year average for January of 30.6 degrees. Temperatures ranged from a high of 62.5 degrees on the 28th down to a low of -12.2 degrees on the 16th.
Out at Denver International Airport where the Mile High City’s official measurements are taken, they saw an average temperature for the month of 28.2 degrees. This was well below their long term January average of 31.7 degrees.
January is rarely a wet month and it was not in 2024. Thornton saw a mere 0.25 inches of snowmelt. This was a good bit below our January average of 0.42 inches.
Denver received more precipitation than us, but not by much. They saw 0.28 inches in their bucket, a good bit below their January average of 0.38 inches.
Snowfall for the month was respectable but as indicated above, dry. Thornton had a January total of 5.4 inches. This was 0.9 inches below our 18-year average for January of 6.3 inches.
Out at the airport, Denver saw less than us recording only 3.6 inches. This was well below the Mile High City’s January average of 6.4 inches.
Thornton, Colorado 2023 Temperature Summary (ThorntonWeather.com)
That’s another year in the books and looking back, there really weren’t any particularly notable events in terms of the weather for Thornton. We did end up a bit warmer than average and precipitation was well above normal.
The year started off on the cold and snowy side. January saw temps more than 3 degrees cooler than average and it was our snowiest month of the calendar year with 11.2 inches. The next few months were relatively quiet. After three consecutive months with below normal levels of precipitation, May arrived and Mother Nature let it rain. Thornton recorded almost double the May average.
June was cooler than normal and rain continued to arrive in copious amounts with us getting more than double the average. July continued to be wetter than normal and temperatures climbed with Thornton hitting or beating the 100 degree mark three times. August saw a bit warmer than average temperatures and again saw three days with 100 degree or warmer readings.
As temperatures cooled, we continued to run warmer than average. In fact, the last six months of 2023 saw warmer than average temperatures. Most notably, December was a whopping 6.6 degrees warmer than average. The last three months of the year also saw below average precipitation.
In the end, Thornton saw an average annual temperature of 51.3 degrees. This was a bit above the running 17-year annual average of 50.7 degrees.
Out at Denver International Airport where the Mile High City’s official records are taken, they were just a hair cooler with an annual average of 51.0 degrees, 0.2 degrees below Denver’s long term annual average.
Precipitation was most notable for the year as Thornton saw 21.89 inches of rain and snow melt. That put the year in the books as the wettest year of the past 17 years and easily bested the annual average of 15.30 inches.
Denver was quite wet as well, although not quite as much so as us. They recorded 18.94 inches in their bucket, 4.46 inches above their annual average.
Thornton, Colorado December 2023 Temperature Summary (ThorntonWeather.com)
Thornton wrapped up 2023 with similar weather conditions as had been seen the previous two months. Temperatures were well above normal and precipitation was scarce.
The month was a quiet one, lacking any sort of real weather drama. We started out on the cool side but then put together a string of well above normal days from the 4th to the 7th. We then turned colder and saw our first and biggest snow of the month, 1.7 inches, on the 9th. The balance of the month saw some ups and downs, mainly ups, with only three more snowfalls, all very light.
Thornton ended the month with an average temperature of 37.1 degrees. This was far above the running 17-year average for the month of 30.5 degrees. It also put December 2023 into the books as the warmest December of those 17 years, besting the previous warmest of 37.0 degrees in 2021.
The warmest temperature of 68 degrees was seen on the 19th while the coldest temperature of 11.2 degrees came on Christmas morning.
As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City was similarly warm. Denver’s December 2023 average temperature was 37.4 degrees, besting Thornton’s number. That too was well above their long-term average for the month of 31.2 degrees and goes into the Denver weather history books tying December 1929 as the 17th warmest December on record.
Along with the warmth, we saw little precipitation. Thornton recorded a mere 0.26 inches in the bucket. That was only about half of the 17-year running average for December of 0.45 inches. Much of that can be attributed to the relative lack of snowfall as we only saw 3.1 inches of the white stuff. That is less than half of the 8.4 inches Thornton has averaged during December over the past 17 years and the third least snowy December over that period.
Out at the airport, it was quite dry as well. Denver recorded only 0.12 inches in their bucket, far below the long-term average of 0.35 inches. The Mile High City was also lighter on snow than us, seeing only 1.4 inches. That puts December 2023 into the books as the 18th least snowy December on record.
Winter officially begins at 8:27pm MST on Thursday, December 21, 2023.
Astronomical winter arrives in Thornton Thursday evening and with the solstice also comes the shortest day of the year.
Winter officially begins at 8:27pm MST on Thursday, December 21, 2023.
The Winter Solstice occurs when the North Pole is tilted at its furthest from the sun – 23.5 degrees away. This results in the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
Here in Denver, with sunrise at 7:17am and sunset at 4:38pm, our day Saturday will be 9 hours, 21 minutes and 14 seconds long.
The following day, Friday, it will be about a second longer and each day from now through to the Summer Solstice in June will get gradually longer as well.
While we have a short day on the solstice, it is nothing like what will be experienced in the Arctic Circle. Areas north of there to the North Pole will have no direct sunlight at all. Conversely, areas south of the Antarctic Circle toward the South Pole will have 24 hours of daylight and have a midnight sun.
Did you know that there is a difference between the astronomical seasons that we are discussing here and meteorological seasons?
Meteorological seasons differ slightly and are geared toward matching the calendar with the annual temperature cycle. This is done primarily for meteorological observing and forecasting and in many ways it is more logical than the astronomical seasons.
For the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological spring covers the months of March, April and May. Summer brings the hottest months of the year and so meteorological summer is June, July and August. Meteorological fall then is September, October and November followed by the coldest months of December, January and February as meteorological winter.
Thornton, Colorado’s November 2023 Temperature Summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)
For the second month in the row, Thornton saw a period of temperatures above normal and precipitation below normal. Were it not for a cold snap and snow to end the month, it would have been much worse.
Most of November saw a continuation of the mild, dry weather we saw in October. For the first three weeks, temperatures were largely above normal and precipitation was virtually non-existent. In fact, 19 out of the first 22 days of the month saw mercury readings above normal and a mere 0.02 inches had been recorded in the rain bucket and we had no snow.
Mother Nature finally changed course and chilled us out and brought our first snow of the month during the last week. We saw a few days with well below normal temperatures and 4.3 inches of snowfall were recorded over a two-day period.
Thornton’s average temperature for November 2023 came in at 42.2 degrees. This was well above our 17-year running average for November of 39.7 degrees. Temperatures ranged from a high of 79.8 degrees on the 5th down to a low of 11.7 degrees on the 26th.
Out at DIA where the Mile High City’s official measurements are taken, it was similarly warm. Denver had an overage temperature for the month of 43.2 degrees, again, well above their average of 39.4 degrees.
In terms of precipitation, Thornton saw a mere 0.20 inches of liquid precipitation during the month. This was less than half of the 0.47 inches running November average and tied for the third driest November of the past 17 years.
Denver recorded 0.18 inches out at the airport. Far below their long term November average of 0.64 inches.
Snow was below normal both here in Thornton and at DIA. Thornton recorded 4.3 inches, a good bit below the 5.7 inch November average of the past 17 years. Denver saw less than us with 2.9 inches, far below their long term November average of 7.3 inches.
Recent months have, overall, been warmer and drier than normal. Last month initially brought more of the same but then took a turn toward colder temps and offered up some much-needed snow. What will December hold for us?
The month of December brings with it the official start of winter and oftentimes, colder and snowier weather conditions. It, however, can also offer unseasonably warm temperatures and bone dry conditions. Given our recent mild and dry weather, we are certainly hoping for a change in the coming month.
Overall December’s monthly mean temperature of 31.2 degrees (1991 – 2020 averages) makes it our coldest month. Snow is always on everyone’s mind this time of year but December is only our 3rd snowiest month behind March and November with an average of 8.0 inches of the white stuff.
The month of October was one without a lot of drama for Thornton. For the majority of it, we saw temperatures a good bit above normal and little precipitation. It was only in the last week of the month that we saw a taste of the cold and snow to come.
The first three weeks of the month were notable for the lack of precipitation. We saw streaks of eight days and 11 days without anything falling into the rain bucket. Similarly, with only a few days as exceptions, temperatures rain well above normal.
On the 26th, the weather pattern began to change and temperatures chilled out. This was followed by our first snowfall of the season, 4.9 inches on the 29th.
Overall, Thornton saw an average temperature for October 2023 of 51.2 degrees. This was a good bit above our 17-year running average of 49.6 degrees for the month. Temperatures ranged from a high of 86.8 degrees on the 20th down to a low of 14.4 degrees on the 30th.
For Denver, as measured at Denver International Airport, the month was similarly warm. The Mile High City saw an average temperature of 52.5 degrees, 1.4 degrees above the long term October average.
Precipitation was lacking for the month in both locations. Thornton managed a relatively meager 0.62 inches in the rain bucket with the majority of that coming with the end of month snowfall. Denver fared worse with 0.47 inches being collected there.
In terms of snowfall, there was only one event for the month. Thornton received 4.9 inches. Denver bested us with 7.5 inches as the storm system had bigger effects to the east and south of us. Thornton’s 17-year running average for October snowfall is 4.4 inches while Denver’s long term average is 3.9 inches.
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.
November has historically been one of Denver’s snowiest months and major snowstorms are not entirely uncommon. However conditions can also be quite dry.
Temperatures during the month continue to cool as we get closer to winter and by the end of the month the low temperatures routinely dip to 20 degrees or below. At times it can in fact bring conditions more like what we see in January.
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.
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.
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.
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.