Denver and Thornton wrapped on the first month of 2008 dry. Official measurements at Stapleton and at ThorntonWeather.com recorded only 0.08 inch of precipitation making it the 7th driest January since recordkeeping began in 1872. This was 0.43 inch below the 0.51 normal, so a pretty big drop. Only two days had measurable precipitation in the form of snow at Stapleton while in Thornton we recorded four.
Officially only 3.1 inches of snowfall was recorded near the former Stapleton International Airport and in Thornton we recorded a bit less at 2.8 inches. This was 4.6 inches below normal for Denver. Thornton’s seasonal snowfall stood at 26.4 inches at the end of the month (the official Denver measurement was 29.5 inches) which is below the official normal of 33.3 inches for this period. There were no precipitation records set or tied during the month.
In regards to temperature, the normal average for the month is 29.2 degrees which we finished slightly below at 27.9 (28.2 in Thornton). Illustrating the wide range of temperatures we experience in Colorado, we had a high temperature of 66 degrees on the 27th and a low of -1.7 on the 22nd (Denver recorded 63 and -3 on those days). All but one day of the month, the 4th, recorded low temperatures below freezing and five days had high temperatures that never got above freezing. While the month was below normal, it was still warmer than what it was just one year ago in 2007 when the average was 22.8 degrees!
Some other interesting statistics… We did have sunshine 79% of the possible time so it was pretty sunny at least. Wind is of course a fact of life on the plains and we did have 12 days with wind gusts registering over 25mph. On the 25th of the month we registered the highest gust of the month at 38mph.
For a day by day log, click here to view our climate log for January 2008.
Much to everyone’s surprise, what was forecast to be not much more than a dusting of snow turned into quite a bit more. In Thornton from about 6:00pm to 7:00pm we saw 1.5″ fall very quickly with near blizzard conditions for that brief period. Much of the Denver metro area saw more snow than that, primarily west of I-25 and south of I-70. Not far from us Broomfield reported 3.4″ and Federal Heights 3″.
February comes and serves as a bit of a month of transition between winter and spring. Average temperatures start to climb and things are generally pretty quiet. However the month can have its extremes as well. 
February 15th -17th Denver will play host to the 10th Annual National Storm Chaser Convention. The event will be held at the Raddison Hotel at I-225 and Parker Road (3200 South Parker Road). Most notably, the keynote speakers will be Dr. Josh Wurman and Sean Casey who appeared in the recently aired Discovery Channel special, Storm Chasers. This is a great opportunity for weather enthusiasts to share storm stories, learn more about severe weather and storm chasing, see new weather gadgetry and hear from some of the experts in weather related fields. 
Klaus Wolter, a meteorologist affiliated with the University of Colorado and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration continues to promise a dry winter. In an article today in the Rocky Mountain News he says, “I think we should count our blessings. We got lucky” in regards to the amount of moisture the state has seen thus far.
Round 2 of the snowstorms has come and gone and left Thornton with around 5″ of the white stuff. As a result, we have now moved into the #10 spot of the snowiest Decembers on record which works out well as it helps to make up for the dry season we have had prior to this. It will be cold today with some nasty windchills but we should start to see some melting tomorrow and into next week.