As part of a special “Best of” series on Examiner.com, I recently penned an article about what was one of the most significant storms in Denver history – the 1982 Christmas Eve blizzard. It is republished here as I thought everyone might like to check it out:
Looking back through history, Denver and Colorado have had some extraordinary weather stories. When looking to pick a “best” or most significant weather event, reaching far back into the history books one might choose the Georgetown blizzard of 1913 which dumped an astonishing 86 inches of snow or perhaps the Big Thompson Flood of 1976 which claimed 145 lives. More recently, there were the holiday storms of 2006 or the Windsor tornadoes from 2007. But, there is one storm that historically stands out not only because of its severity in terms of the weather but also because of the long lasting impact it caused in Denver and Colorado which is still being felt today – the Christmas Eve Blizzard of 1982. For those of you that didn’t live in Colorado then or are too young to remember, a trip through the history books shows why this storm was so significant. Those that do remember it have memories that will last a lifetime.
This week in Denver weather history - September 27- October 4
A new weekly feature for ThorntonWeather.com – This Week in Denver Weather History. The National Weather Service maintains a historical archives of weather history across the nation and makes it available to the public. ThorntonWeather.com will start publishing that information weekly.
So, let’s stroll down memory lane with This Week in Denver Weather History.
26-28 IN 1936…THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL EVER RECORDED IN SEPTEMBER
AND THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL EVER RECORDED SO EARLY IN THE
SEASON DUMPED A TOTAL OF 16.5 INCHES OF SNOW ON DOWNTOWN
DENVER AND 21.3 INCHES AT DENVER MUNICIPAL AIRPORT. THE
15.0 INCHES OF SNOW MEASURED FROM 6:00 PM ON THE 27TH TO
6:00 PM ON THE 28TH IS THE GREATEST 24 HOUR SNOWFALL EVER
RECORDED IN SEPTEMBER. THIS WAS THE FIRST SNOW OF THE
SEASON. THE SNOW WAS INTERMITTENT THROUGH THE 26TH…BUT
CONTINUOUS FROM EARLY AFTERNOON ON THE 27TH TO AROUND
MIDNIGHT ON THE 28TH…EXCEPT FOR A PERIOD OF RAIN DURING
THE AFTERNOON OF THE 28TH WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO A LOSS OF
DEPTH ON THE GROUND. THE GREATEST SNOW DEPTH ON THE GROUND
DOWNTOWN WAS 13 INCHES WITH 8 INCHES AT DENVER MUNICIPAL
AIRPORT. THERE WERE NO HIGH WINDS WITH THE STORM AND
TRAFFIC WAS INTERRUPTED FOR ONLY A SHORT PERIOD. THE
STORM PRODUCED PROPERTY DAMAGE ESTIMATED AT 7 MILLION
DOLLARS. WITH TREES AND SHRUBS IN FULL FOLIAGE…THE LEAVES
CAUGHT AND HELD THE HEAVY WATER-LADEN SNOW…UNTIL THE
BRANCHES SNAPPED FROM THE WEIGHT. MORE THAN 3000 WORKMEN
WERE CALLED TO REMOVE THE DEBRIS AND SNOW FROM THE CITY. THE
CITY FIREMEN WHO WERE OFF DUTY…AS WELL AS ALL THE RESERVES…
WERE ASKED TO REPORT TO THEIR STATIONS. ALL SCHOOLS IN THE
CITY REMAINED OPEN…BUT ATTENDANCE WAS ONLY 50 PERCENT OF
NORMAL. GRADE SCHOOL STUDENTS WERE SENT HOME AT NOON ON THE
28TH. THE EARLY STORM CAUGHT STOCKMEN WITH MANY CATTLE STILL
IN HIGHER RANGES. WARM WEATHER FOLLOWED THE SNOW…WHICH HAD
ALL MELTED BY THE END OF THE MONTH…EXCEPT FOR A FEW INCHES
IN SHELTERED PLACES.
A Preview of Thornton's October Weather - Fall is Here
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. The month actually has our second highest amount of sunshine with 72 percent with September having the most with 74 percent. Interestingly enough, the month following, November, is one of the lowest sunshine months with only 64 percent. Typically October brings our first real taste of winter with the first freeze on average coming on the 7th of the month and the first snow on the 15th of the month.
If you have been thinking that the weather this month has been a bit odd you are right! It was pointed out to me by a reader recently just how much things have been out of kilter. If you look at the table below you will see what we mean.
Date
Normal High
Official High *
Departure
From Normal
Difference From
Previous Day
08/31
82
91
+9
+2
09/01
82
85
+3
-6
09/02
82
63
-19
-22
09/03
81
75
-6
12
09/04
81
74
-7
-1
09/05
81
54
-27
-20
09/06
80
68
-12
14
09/07
80
79
-1
11
09/08
80
52
-18
-27
09/09
79
86
+7
34
09/10
79
80
+1
-6
09/11
79
63
-16
-17
09/12
79
61
-18
-2
09/13
78
74
-4
13
09/14
78
62
-16
-12
09/15
78
73
-5
11
09/16
77
80
+3
7
09/17
77
81
+4
1
09/18
77
79
+2
-2
09/19
76
76
0
-3
09/20
76
79
+3
3
09/21
76
77
+1
-2
09/22
75
87
+12
10
As you can see, we have had eight days thus far in September with temperatures 10 degrees or more above or below normal. Seven of those eight were below normal, six of those were 15 or more degrees cooler than usual. We had one day, the 5th, when we the mercury only climbed to 54 degrees – a whopping 27 degrees below what we would normally expect.
That in and of itself is noteworthy but also notice the temperature swings from day to day. 12 days we have had temperature swings of 10 degrees or more. Four of those days had swings of 20 degrees or more! On the 8th we dropped 27 degrees from the previous day and were 18 degrees below normal. We then followed that up on the 9th by climbing 34 degrees above what we had on the 8th and were 7 degrees above normal.
Now that is some weird weather and if you feel like things have been going up and down – you are right!
Special thanks to David Canfield of Thornton for accumulating the data and bringing this to our attention!
Today at 9:44am marks the Autumn Equinox – the first day of fall. The days are definitely getting shorter and we are seeing less and less daylight. The spring and autumn equinox mark the two days of the year when the center of the Sun will spend a nearly equal amount of time above and below the horizon at every location on Earth and night and day will be of nearly the same length. In short, there is 12 hours between sunrise and sunset. Here along the Front Range we are pleased to see summer-like weather today and for most of the week.
A dry and stable weather pattern will settle in over much of the state and with it usher in well above normal temperatures. The normal high temperature for this time of year is 75 degrees and on Monday we will be a good bit above that as we reach 85. There will be a slight chance for thunderstorms late today but those will be few and far between.
As the week progresses we will continue to see above normal temperatures with 80 on Tuesday, 82 on Wednesday, 85 on Thursday and 84 on Friday. Enjoy it while you can – the snow could be flying any day now!
ThorntonWeather.com's new weather webcams provide a great way to view current conditions.
We are pleased to announce the latest addition to our growing stable of features: Weather webcams! ThorntonWeather.com now features two live cameras that provide a great look into the current weather conditions in Thornton. The west camera provides a good view of the western sky to see what is approaching and happening right now. The east camera looks toward the plains and will show good “on the ground” conditions, particularly come winter when it starts snowing.
The pictures from each camera are updated and uploaded to the website every five minutes. We also feature a time-lapse movie of each camera showing the previous 24 hours worth of images that is kind of fun to watch. 🙂
This is an exciting new feature and we are sure it will quickly become one of our most popular! You can click here to view the webcam images right now! They are also accessible from our menus by going to Live Conditons and then selecting Weather Webcams.
What do you think of our webcams? Are there other features, changes, or enhancements you would like to see ThorntonWeather.com incororate? Click the “Comment” link below and let us know!
Thornton is getting a bit of a wet start to the weekend Friday as we have had nearly 1″ of rain fall in the last 12 hours. Those showers will continue off and on throughout the day with a chance for a thunderstorm or two this afternoon.
Friday night things will start to clear out and patchy fog may be possible as we head into Saturday morning due to all the moisture in the air. The sun will come out though and we should be under clear skies as we reach a high of 76 degrees Saturday.
Sunday, the day of the Denver Broncos home opener against the San Diego Chargers, we will have clear skies again but just a touch cooler. Look for a high around 71 degrees. For those of you heading to the game, at kickoff look for a temperature around 68. The temperature should hold right around there throughout.
Summer seems to be winding down quickly along the Front Range. Tuesday we only reached a high temperature of 64 degrees which handily beat the previous record high minimum of 67 degrees for September 2nd. Low temperatures weren’t record setting but there has been a definite chill in the air as we dropped to 45 Monday night and 48 Tuesday night.
Nighttime temps will continue to be cool for the next few nights getting down to the mid 40’s. Thursday we will reach a high of 78, three degrees below normal. Friday is when fall really seems to hit as we’ll be mostly cloudy and only reach 55 degrees. That too would be a record high minimum for the date and would be the fifth time in recent weeks we have set that record.
The good news is that the weekend forecast is looking pretty good, even if a bit cool.
As temperatures start to drop, September reminds us that summer is at an end and fall is now here. Sunshine is predominant though as the month actually has the highest percentage of sun out of any month. Sunny days and clear, cool nights are the standard weather pattern for the month.
Storm Chasers on the Discovery Channel - the new season starts in October.
I was recently on the Discovery Channel’s website wondering when the next season of Storm Chasers was going to air. In looking around I found one of the show’s chasers, the operator of TornadoVideos.net, had compiled his own top 10 tornado videos. These are absolutely incredible!
For those that have never seen Storm Chasers, be sure to keep an eye out for it on Discovery when the next season starts in October. The upcoming season will feature lots of video from the record setting tornado season that just finished as well as the team’s new and improved Tornado Intercept Vehicle – a highly modified truck that they drive straight into tornadoes!
Weather, natural disasters & climate news and information.
As part of a special “Best of” series on Examiner.com, I recently penned an article about what was one of the most significant storms in Denver history – the 1982 Christmas Eve blizzard. It is republished here as I thought everyone might like to check it out:
Today at 9:44am marks the Autumn Equinox – the first day of fall. The days are definitely getting shorter and we are seeing less and less daylight. The spring and autumn equinox mark the two days of the year when the center of the Sun will spend a nearly equal amount of time above and below the horizon at every location on Earth and night and day will be of nearly the same length. In short, there is 12 hours between sunrise and sunset. Here along the Front Range we are pleased to see summer-like weather today and for most of the week. 
Thornton is getting a bit of a wet start to the weekend Friday as we have had nearly 1″ of rain fall in the last 12 hours. Those showers will continue off and on throughout the day with a chance for a thunderstorm or two this afternoon. 
Sunday, the day of the 
