After a long stretch of largely below normal temperatures, spring popped up in a big way today delivering summer-like temperatures that broke records.
As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City’s temperature topped out at 85 degrees. This easily bested the previous record high for the date of 80 degrees last set in 1982.
Here in Thornton, we topped Denver’s mark with a high of 86.9 degrees.
More heat is on tap as we are likely to set a record high tomorrow as well.
A chilly start to the day, indeed, a record-setting one.
As measured at Denver International Airport, the low temperature in the Mile High City this morning dropped to 11 degrees. That breaks the previous record low for the date of 12 degrees set in 1983.
Here in Thornton, we were a bit warmer with a low of 16.1 degrees.
Normally, March sees a considerable warmup as we start the transition to spring. If you felt like that was not the case this March, you would be correct.
Thornton’s average temperature for March 2023 came in at 37.1 degrees. This was 5.1 degrees below our running 16-year average. In fact, the month goes in the books as the second coldest March over that same period with only March 2019 being colder (35.1 degrees).
Out at Denver International Airport where the Mile High City’s official measurements are taken, it was actually colder with an overage of 35.9 degrees. That was well below the long term March average for Denver of 41.6 degrees.
Thornton’s temperatures ranged from a high of 73.9 degrees on the 15th down to a low of 15.9 degrees on the 18th. Denver saw a max of 71 degrees on the 15th and its lowest reading of 13 degrees on the 28th.
In terms of precipitation, Thornton ended up pretty much near average. 1.14 inches was recorded between rain and snow melt. That was just shy of the 1.24 inches 16-year average for March.
Denver came in drier with 0.49 inches in the bucket, well short of the long term Denver average for March of 0.86 inches.
Snow was not a big factor during the month, despite the cold. Thornton saw 7.5 inches of the white stuff, well below the running March average of 10.7 inches.
Out at the airport, Denver recorded 5.1 inches, less than half ther March average of 11.5 inches.
Click here to view Thornton’s complete March 2023 climate summary report.
April marks a transition between winter and summer for most of the country but for Denver it is especially true as we can see a stunning variety of weather.
The proverbial April showers are certainly a possibility for Denver. Snow? Tornadoes? Thunderstorms? You bet – all can happen!
For good measure throw in a chance for hail and even dust storms and April gives every type of weather condition you could like – or hate.
The biannual ritual of changing our clocks to adjust for Daylight Saving Time occurs this Saturday night providing yet another signal of the changing of seasons. The United States will ‘spring forward’ one hour at 2:00am Sunday morning as we begin Daylight Saving Time.
The ritual of changing our clocks twice a year can be met with some resistance as some people struggle to adjust their body’s internal clock. The start of Daylight Saving Time can be particularly problematic given the one hour less sleep people receive on the night of the change.
However, longer days as we head into the milder months are a very real benefit and for many worth the inconvenience of a lost hour of sleep. The time change definitely has big effects on how much daylight we enjoy during our normal waking hours.
On Saturday, prior to the change, sunset will occur at 6:02pm but on Sunday the sun won’t disappear over the horizon until 7:03pm. This affords folks more time in the evening to get started on those spring-time chores and allows us to get outside and enjoy the warming weather.
Similarly, sunrise on Saturday is at 6:17am but shifts to 7:16am on Sunday.
The March Equinox is also on the horizon. Spring officially begins at 3:24pm on Monday, March 20.
This year Daylight Savings Time will come to an end on November 6.
Some of the recent history of Daylight Savings Time (from Wikipedia):
Daylight saving time in the United States was first observed in 1918. Most areas of the United States currently observe daylight saving time, with the exceptions being the states of Arizona and Hawaii along with the territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
From 1987 to 2006, daylight saving time in the United States began on the first Sunday of April and ended on the last Sunday of October. The time was adjusted at 2:00 AM (0200) local time (as it still is done now).
Since 2007, daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November, with all time changes taking place at 2:00 AM (0200) local time.
Daylight Savings Time Schedule
| Year | DST Begins 2 a.m. (Second Sunday in March) |
DST Ends 2 a.m. (First Sunday in November) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 12 March 2023 | 5 November 2023 |
| 2024 | 10 March 2024 | 3 November 2024 |
| 2025 | 9 March 2025 | 2 November 2025 |
| 2026 | 8 March 2026 | 1 November 2026 |
| 2027 | 14 March 2027 | 7 November 2027 |
| 2028 | 12 March 2028 | 5 November 2028 |
| 2029 | 11 March 2029 | 4 November 2029 |
February signifies the start of the climb toward warmer temperatures for the year. Cold and snow though do intrude but, coupled with milder conditions, there are lots of photo opportunities as can be seen in our monthly slideshow.
The month is one of our least snowiest of the year but it isn’t unusual to see the landscape blanketed in white. Warming temperatures through the month can bring the onset of spring fever and gives residents the opportunity to enjoy some prolonged time outdoors on the mild days.
Cold or mild, snowy or dry, our scenery is almost always gorgeous – and photo worthy.
Showcasing images captured by ThorntonWeather.com readers as well as some of our own, our monthly slideshow covers the entire gamut of weather-related imagery.
Sunsets, sunrises, wildlife and of course every type of weather condition are vividly depicted in images captured from yours and our cameras.
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What is missing in the slideshow above? Your photo!
Our monthly photo slideshow is going to feature images that we have taken but more importantly images that you have captured. The photos can be of anything even remotely weather-related.
Landscapes, current conditions, wildlife, pets, kids. Whimsical, newsy, artsy. Taken at the zoo, some other area attraction, a local park, a national park or your backyard. You name it, we want to see and share it!
Images can be taken in Thornton, Denver or anywhere across the extraordinary Centennial State. We’ll even take some from out of state if we can tie it to Colorado somehow.
We’ll keep the criteria very open to interpretation with just about any image eligible to be shown in our slideshows.
What do you win for having your image in our slideshow? We are just a ‘mom and pop’ outfit and make no money from our site so we really don’t have the means to provide prizes. However you will have our undying gratitude and the satisfaction that your images are shared on the most popular website in Thornton.
To share you images with us and get them included in the slideshow just email them to us or share them with ThorntonWeather.com on any of the various social media outlets. Links are provided below.
So come on, get those camera’s rolling!
Two very cold days and a third cold weather record has been set with this latest Arctic blast.
As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City’s high temperature today topped out at only 7 degrees. This easily breaks the previous record low maximum for the date of 10 degrees set in 1874.
Here in Thornton, we were able to see the mercury climb a bit higher topping out at 13 degrees.
The record low maximum follows on the heels of record low temperatures set today and yesterday.
Our latest Arctic plunge is coming to an end and with it, a record is broken.
As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City bottomed out at -11 degrees this morning. That breaks the old record low for the date of -7 degrees set just last year in 2022.
Here in Thornton we were similar cold with a low of -10 degrees.
As another Arctic blast settles in, a weather record falls.
As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City bottomed out at -7 degrees today. That breaks the old record low for the date of -6 degrees set in 1913.
Here in Thornton we were a bit “warmer” with a low of -5 degrees.
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 although January did help and the start of February offers some relief. 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.