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.
Wildlife is still quite active along the Front Range and flowers will hold on to their petals for at least the first part of the month. Then of course there is the weather which you never know what to expect. Thunderstorms, heavy rain, and even snow are a possibility.
Slideshow updated September 30, 2024
To learn more about how to send your photo to us for inclusion in the slideshow, see below the slideshow.
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.
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.
It may be the end of September, but Mother Nature is intent on keeping the summer heat coming.
As measured at Denver International Airport, Denver hit a high temperature today of 92 degrees. This ties the record high for September 29 last set in 1892.
The Mile High City also tied the record for the warmest low temperature for the date. The mercury only descended to 61 degrees, tying the record mark last set in 1981.
Here in Thornton, we matched DIA with a high of 92 degrees. We were, however, a good bit cooler with a low of 55 degrees. At Stapleton, where historical Denver weather records were taken from 1950 to 1995, the high was 90 degrees and the low 56 degrees.
As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City hit an official high temperature of 93 degrees today. That easily breaks the old record high for September 26 of 90 degrees set way back in 1892.
Here in Thornton, we were a bit cooler with a high of 91 degrees recorded. At Stapleton, where historical Denver weather records were taken from 1950 to 1995, the high was 90 degrees.
We entered the month on a three-month streak of warmer, drier than normal conditions. The hope was that August would bring some relief but it did not.
The first week of the month saw mercury readings all above the 90 degree mark. We did, however, record some minor precipitation during that period. Three days of below normal mercury readings gave us some hope but that was short-lived.
The final three weeks of the month saw temperatures routinely above average with only a few exceptions. We did see a few days with decent precipitation but those were uncommon as compared to most other days which remained dry.
Thornton’s average temperature for August 2024 came in at 73.5 degrees. This was nearly two degrees above our 18-year running average for the month of 71.8 degrees. Our warmest reading of 99 degrees came on two days, the 2nd and the 17th. The second to last day of the month, the 30th, saw our coolest reading of the month at 52 degrees.
By comparison, Denver continued to show its warm bias. As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City’s average temperature for the month came in at 75.6 degrees. That is well above their long term average of 72.9 degrees and puts the year into the books as the 5th warmest August on record for Denver. During August 2024, the city recorded a maximum of 102 degrees on the 4th and a low of 50 degrees on the 30th.
The National Weather Service noted that summer 2024 (June, July, August) will go into the history books as the second warmest summer on record (since 1872). It, of course, bears repeating that since the service moved Denver’s official station to DIA in 1984, records are severely skewed and not particularly comparable to those taken at the previous official stations.
In terms of precipitation, the month did end up drier than normal but, thankfully, not by a lot. Thornton recorded 1.07 inches in our rain bucket. This was below the 18-year average of 1.24 inches for the month.
Out at the airport, it was a bit drier with 0.92 inches being recorded for Denver. That is well below their August average of 1.58 inches.
Following an August that was unseasonably warm, we find ourselves heading into September hoping for relief. The month can bring plenty of rain and even our first snow of the season but more often than not, it is one of the most pleasant along the Colorado Front Range.
As temperatures start to drop, September usually 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.
The month can bring extremes however. We will of course forever remember 2013’s devastating floods brought on by record-setting rain. Longtime residents might remember September 1971 which brought over 17 inches of snowfall.
Record or not? Why Denver’s climate records should have an asterisk next to them. (ThorntonWeather.com)
In 1995 with the opening of Denver International Airport, the National Weather Service moved the Mile High City’s official weather station to the new facility. This location, 12 miles from the old Stapleton site, oftentimes sees far different weather than what the majority of people in the Denver area see and it is reflected in our weather records.
We have long said that any claims of a weather record having been set since 1995 should include an asterisk, noting that the comparison is to the old locations and thus not really valid. Those 12 miles make a world of difference.
In the latest example of how our climate records are being altered, Denver supposedly set five all-time record high temperatures this summer. The reality? Not one of those days would have been record-setting had the station not been moved.
Retired National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Larison has long railed against the move of the weather station. In a recent letter to the editor in the Denver Post, he called out the media hype and the National Weather Service for the invalid comparisons. It is shared here with his permission.
Denver’s recent heat wave wasn’t really record-breaking and here’s why
Denver Post Opinion, August 21, 2024
Re: “100-degree sizzlers here to stay as summers get hotter,” Aug. 11 news story
Any discussion of Denver weather records must include the fact that the official recording site was moved to Denver International Airport (DIA) when it opened in 1995. This location has a different microclimate than the previous site of Stapleton Airport, situated 12 miles to the southwest of DIA. Before Stapleton, weather records were taken in downtown Denver dating back to 1872.
On Sunday, Aug. 4, the daily record high of 102 set at DIA would not have been a record at Denver Central Park (Stapleton) where the daily high was 96. In fact, none of the five daily record highs set at DIA this summer would have been records at the previous Denver sites. DIA has reached 100 degrees on six days in 2024, while the highest temperature recorded at Central Park has been 99.
With all the media hype of human-made climate change and record heat, we need to be careful not to compare apples and oranges with weather stats going out to the world representing Denver. Average annual precipitation also tends to run a bit lower at DIA, and snowfall is quite often less at the airport due to its proximity farther away from the mountains.
— Dave Larison, Longmont
— Editor’s note: Larison is a retired National Weather Service meteorologist
RELATED: Two airports, two different climates. Read the series:
A beautiful double rainbow over Thornton. (Patrick Martin)
As the calendar turns to August, the summertime heat begins to fade and that makes it easier to get out and enjoy all of the outdoor activities Colorado has to offer. From a walk in a park to afternoon thunderstorms to an abundance of wildlife, photo opportunities abound as is seen in our slideshow.
Our monsoon season typically arrives about now and that means better chances for moisture. However with limited instability, the intensity of storms are more sedate. That doesn’t mean however that the weather is any less photographic.
Slideshow updated August 20, 2024
By the end of the month some of our seasonal feathered friends will be looking to leave the state giving our last chance to see them till spring. Larger mammals are gearing up for the rut (mating season) and that can make for some intense scenes.
Showcasing images captured by ThorntonWeather.com readers as well as some of our own, our monthly slideshow covers the entire gamut of weather and nature related imagery. Sunsets, sunrises, wildlife and of course every type of weather condition are vividly depicted.
To learn more about how to send your photo to us for inclusion in the slideshow, see below the slideshow.
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.
Another high temperature record is in the books for the Mile High City. As measured at Denver International Airport, Denver hit a high temperature of 98 degrees. This ties the record high for August 17 last set in 2020.
Here in Thornton, we were actually warmer with a high of 99 degrees. At Stapleton, where historical Denver weather records were taken from 1950 to 1995, the high was only 93 degrees.
Tired of the heat of summer? Well, don’t power off that air conditioner just yet.
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center’s autumn outlook for September, October and November, if accurate, would have us continue the above normal, drier than normal conditions of recent months.
The forecast gives above normal chances for most of the contiguous United States to see above average temperatures. For Colorado, the Four Corners region has the greatest chance at a likeliness of 60 to 70 percent. Most of the state, including the Front Range, is at a 50 to 60% chance.
In terms of precipitation, a good chunk of the nation has good chances to see below normal levels. The vast majority of Colorado is being given a 40 to 50% probability of below normal levels.
NOAA CPC Fall 2024 Precipitation Outlook (NOAA)Seasonal
Weather, natural disasters & climate news and information.
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.
