The tornado near DIA sent workers working on the terminal renovations scrambling. (Rob Gardner)
The tornado that struck on the grounds of Denver International Airport (DIA) on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 has been rated an EF1 with winds up to 109 mph. The twister came within a half mile of Concourses A and B and sent workers and travelers scrambling to tornado shelters.
Scroll down to see more photos of the tornado.
From the National Weather Service:
A tornado developed on Denver International Airport (DIA) grounds on the afternoon of June 18, 2013. The tornado formed around 2:19 PM just north of 70th Avenue. The tornado then moved slowly northwest between Runway 35R and 35L, and moved to within a half mile of Concourses A and B before dissipating at 2:36 PM. The tornado moved extremely close if not over the ASOS (Automated Surface Observation System) and another low level wind shear sensor at DIA. The ASOS weather observing system reported a 97 mph wind gust at 2:27 PM, while the wind shear sensor reported a wind gust to 109 mph at the same time – indicative of an EF1 tornado. There was only minor damage noted to this equipment. The storm responsible for this tornado first developed just south of the airport, and then drift slowly northward across the eastern side of DIA. At 2:05 PM, there was weak rotation beginning to develop underneath this storm as noted by the velocity data below. This rotation then strengthened quickly between 2:10 and 2:22 PM.
One of our favorite pastimes is simply watching the clouds. Colorado’s widely varying weather provides a stunning variety in almost every season. One photographer captured an amazing time lapse video of what he called “Bubbly Rocky Mountain Clouds.”
Colorado’s weather can be challenging to predict with all four seasons being seen in a single day across the state.
Weather forecasters have come under fire in recent weeks due to over or underestimating the amount of snowfall from our winter-like weather. Colorado presents very unique challenges, particularly with snow estimates, and 9News tried last night to address some of those.
In conversations with the station’s meteorologists Kathy Sabine and Marty Coniglio, reporter Chris Vanderveen tries to explain the hit or miss forecasts.
“It’s now not good enough to say ‘it’s going to snow.’ It’s not enough to say ‘it’s going to snow from this time on this date to this time on this day.’ Now, it’s the exact amount of snow in the exact location.”
It’s that expectation that doesn’t mix well in particular with forecasting snow accumulation. Coniglio says it’s realistic to give a range, but Colorado’s varying terrain and unpredictable winds make it virtually impossible to guarantee a particular accumulation in a given area.
It is certainly an interesting topic and one which many Coloradoans upset about snowfall estimates being inaccurate should watch. The story does fall short with only being 3 minutes long and failing to adequately explain the challenges with the weather in Colorado.
NASA satellite imagery shows the Colorado Front Range covered in snow following a snowstorm on Sunday, February 24, 2012.
Up until the past week satellite imagery of northeastern Colorado was relatively boring – and very brown. In the wake of two storms, one of which was relatively significant, the image from the eyes in the sky changed considerably.
Sunday’s storm brought much-needed precipitation to the drought-stricken area. Snowfall totals ranged from a high of nearly 27” near Pinecliffe west of Denver to 9.1” in the Mile High City and 6.9 inches in Thornton.
As the storm continued east on Monday it caused havoc on parts of Texas and Oklahoma where blizzard conditions brought that region to a standstill.
NASA’s Terra satellite flew over the Centennial State yesterday after skies had cleared and took pictures from 22,000 miles above. The imagery clearly shows the snowy landscape of Colorado as well as parts of Utah, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Wyoming.
NASA satellite imagery shows parts of nine states covered in snow following a snowstorm on Sunday, February 24, 2012.
From NASA:
Following on the heels of another storm, heavy snow fell on Colorado and neighboring states on February 24, 2013. On February 25, the Denver/Boulder Forecast Office of the National Weather Service reported preliminary snow totals from the area, including 27.2 inches (69.1 centimeters) west of Denver, and blizzard conditions east of the city. Like the previous storm, this one continued moving eastward.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this image on February 25, 2013. In the wake of the storms, snow extended across Colorado and Wyoming, and covered parts of Utah, New Mexico, and Nebraska. Although clouds had cleared in the west, cloud cover lingered in southeastern Colorado, western Kansas, and the Oklahoma Panhandle. The day after MODIS acquired this image, a new round of snow moved into the region.
References
National Weather Service, Denver/Boulder, Colorado. (2013, February 25) Local storm report. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. February 26, 2013.
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite captured this nighttime view at 1:55 a.m. Central Standard Time on February 23. (NASA)
From NASA:
In late February 2013, a major snowstorm made its way across the continental United States, dropping snow from Colorado to the Great Lakes region. The National Weather Service reported snow totals of 5 to 8 inches (13 to 20 centimeters) in many parts of the Central Plains and Upper Mississippi River Valley. Some parts of the Central Plains experienced snowfall rates as high as 4 inches (10 centimeters) per hour, along with thundersnow.
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite captured this nighttime view at 1:55 a.m. Central Standard Time on February 23. This imagery is from the VIIRS “day-night band,” which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared. The day-night band takes advantage of moonlight, airglow, and starlight to brighten the landscape and uses filtering techniques to observe signals such as city lights and snow cover. On the night of this image, the Moon was nearly full.
City lights glow like clusters of stars against a backdrop of grey and black in this image. The snow appears medium gray, and stretches from northern Texas to the Dakotas,and from the Rocky Mountain states eastward past Chicago. When VIIRS acquired this image, snow cover across multiple states had persisted since theprevious night.
References
National Weather Service, La Crosse, Wisconsin. (2013, February 23) Winter Storm February 21–22, 2013. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. February 25, 2013.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using VIIRS day-night band data from theSuomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership. Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Michon Scott.
The recent snowstorm didn’t bring all that much snow to Thornton, 6.9 inches, but it was our biggest snowfall in over a year and delivers some much needed precipitation. The light, fluffy snow was easily blown around by winds gusting in excess of 32 mph which limited visibility and made conditions outside harsh.
The video below captures the event from our east facing camera beginning at 6:00pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013 and continuing through 6:00am on Monday, February 25, 2013. Light snow is seen falling soon after 10:00pm on Saturday night and following a lull, really picks up by mid-morning Sunday.
Northeastern Colorado received a much needed wallop of snow and the accompanying precipitation.
The heaviest snowfall was in the southern and western suburbs and foothills. In Thornton the storm was less generous but nevertheless welcome.
Pinecliffe west of Golden was the prize winner with nearly 22 inches of snow. Further to the south Conifer received 15 inches. In the metro area most snowfall totals were in the 6 to 10 inch range with the higher amounts to the south.
The interactive map below shows snowfall reports from National Weather Service storm spotters. You can double-click to zoom in or use the + / – buttons. Click and hold and then drag to pan the map around. Click on any ‘dot’ to see the report for that location.
Today, February 5th, we celebrate one of our nation’s most important holidays – National Weatherperson’s Day. In what is truly a very revered occasion, we take time out to honor those men and women who bring joy to schoolchildren when they announce a snow day, are the bearers of bad news when severe weather is about to strike and are prognosticators second only to Jimmy the Greek in their ability to read a crystal ball. Read more about this auspicious occasion on Examiner.com.
The 2012 / 2013 snow season has been dismal and while December brought some hope for recovery, recent weeks have seen snowpack decline once again. For the drought and fire weary state of Colorado the data does not bode well.
For the north-central Colorado mountains, the January 22 snowpack is at its second lowest level to date since 1979. Only 1981 saw worse results this far into the season.
According to the latest Colorado SNOTEL reports, the South Platte, North Platte and Upper Colorado River basins are at 57%, 65% and 60% of normal respectively. Statewide Colorado snowpack is a dismal 62% of average.
Is there hope? Mother Nature certainly works on her own schedule so it is possible we could see a recovery. However the latest 3-month outlook from the Climate Prediction Center forecasts warmer and drier than normal temperatures.
North-central Colorado snowpack through January 22. Click the image for a larger view. (NRCS)
When a cold front pushed through Colorado late last week not only did it bring bitter cold temperatures, it also brought a great deal of wind to the state’s southeastern plains. NASA’s Aqua satellite was able to capture images of the ensuing dust storm as the cold front pushed through.
As wind speeds increased dust was thrown aloft in southeastern Colorado on Friday, January 11. The intensity of the dust storm was undoubtedly aided by the dry landscape in what is the most parched part of the state.
Satellite imagery captured the dust storm as it moved into Kansas.
NASA writes:
Although the dust was thickest in western Kansas, many of the source points for the storm were in Colorado. One dust plume arose roughly 70 kilometers (40 miles) south of Colorado Springs. In Kansas, the eastern edge of the dust storm spanned 240 kilometers (150 miles) and the dust was thick enough to completely hide the land surface below, especially east of Goodland. Salina.com reported that the blowing dust reduced visibility to a quarter of a mile (0.4 kilometers).
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of a dust storm in southeastern Colorado and western Kansas on January 11, 2013. (NASA)
The wintry weather that moved through Colorado over the past 48 hours provided some relief to the drought-stricken state. NASA satellites captured the snowy landscape of the Centennial State as the storm moved off toward the Midwest.
The system covered much of the higher elevations of the Rocky Mountain region in snowfall. For Colorado this brought snow to the high country much to the delight of ski resorts and skiers.
In Denver the storm brought very cold temperatures but not as much snow as was hoped. Officially the Mile High City recorded 1.7 inches bringing the seasonal total to 9.8 inches, well below normal.
The image from NASA’s Aqua satellite was taken on Wednesday, December 19 as the storm began to move out onto the plains. The snow covered mountains west of Denver are clearly seen while cloud covers the lower elevations.
Satellite imagery shows the pre-Christmas snowstorm that blanketed Colorado. Click the image for a larger view. (NASA)
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Northeastern Colorado received a much needed wallop of snow and the accompanying precipitation.
