With wintry weather just hours away, Denver’s recent warm spell let out one last gasp with a record high temperature.
At 3:03pm the high temperature at Denver International Airport, where the Mile High City’s official measurements are taken, reached 77 degrees. This broke the record high for the date set in 2012 and previous years.
Here in Thornton we were just a touch cooler topping out at 76.1 degrees at 1:51pm.
While the month of March has continued the unseasonably warm weather that began in February, this is the first record high set this month. The weather picture changes considerably, at least in the short term, with a blast of cold and snow set to arrive tonight.
The United States returns to Daylight Saving Time at 2:00am Sunday, March 12, 2017.
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 Savings 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 6:03pm but on Sunday the sun won’t disappear over the horizon until 7:04pm. 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.
The March Equinox is also on the horizon. Spring officially begins at 4:29am on Monday, March 20.
This year Daylight Savings Time will come to an end on November 5.
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. In 2011, daylight saving time began on March 13 and will end on November 6.
The month of February was extraordinarily dry and warm for Thornton. Will March bring any relief, particularly on the precipitation front? History would say yes but long range forecasts do not look good.
March usually offers healthy snowfall giving us an opportunity to add to those numbers. While there is good snow potential in March, the month also typically brings much warmer temperatures.
March is historically Denver’s snowiest month and brings about 20% of our annual snowfall. Heavy, wet spring snow storms can oftentimes bring the entire month’s snowfall total in one monstrous snow.
We also start the transition to spring and severe weather season and the month typically brings our first thunderstorms of the year. Temperatures climb throughout the month and by the end our average daytime highs are near 60 degrees.
Five days after the last one and for the fourth time this month, Denver set a daily high temperature record today.
Per the National Weather Service, the high temperature at Denver International Airport topped out at 73 degrees today. This tops the previous record high temperature for today’s day of 71 degrees last set in 1995.
Here in Thornton, we were actually a bit warmer with a high of 74 degrees.
This follows on three previous daily record high temperatures this month:
February 10: 80 degrees (old 71 degrees in 1951)
February 15: 67 degrees (old 66 degrees in 1986)
February 16: 75 degrees (old 70 degrees in 1970)
The 80 degree reading on February 10 was also the warmest mercury reading on history in Denver. The old warmest February reading of 77 degrees was recorded on February 4, 1890 and February 28, 2006.
We look to be done with the record-setting temperatures for the foreseeable future however. Following another mild day tomorrow, we will turn colder for the balance of the week as a trough digs in pulling colder air in from the north. Check out our extended forecast for details.
For the second day in a row and the third time during February 2016, the Mile High City set a daily high temperature record.
At 2:59pm Denver International Airport topped out at 75 degrees. This easily bested the previous record high temperature for February 16 of 70 degrees set in 1970. Here in Thornton we matched Denver’s high with 74.7 degrees coming at 2:35pm.
Yesterday Denver’s high temperature reading of 67 degrees broke the high temperature for that date (previously 66 degrees in 1986). On February 10th, Denver reached 80 degrees making it not only the warmest reading for that date but also the warmest February temperature ever recorded.
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The Mile High City set our second daily record high temperature thus far this month today. Even warmer temperatures are expected tomorrow that will as well set a record.
Today the temperature in Denver, as officially measured at DIA, topped out at 67 degrees at 3:16pm. This bests the old record high temperature for February 15 of 66 degrees set in 1986.
Here in Thornton we were just a bit cooler with a high of 65.2 degrees.
Tomorrow promises to be yet another record-setter. The high temperature record for February 16 is 70 degrees set in 1970. Highs are expected to push into the low to mid-70s.
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We knew it was going to be warm and windy today and boy was it! Downslope winds kept things warm in the early morning hours and it went up a good ways from there.
At 1:38pm the temperature at Denver International Airport where the Mile High City’s official measurements are taken reached 80 degrees.
This easily bested the record high temperature for this date (71 degrees in 1951). More notably that also is the warmest temperature reading ever in February in Denver. The old warmest February reading of 77 degrees was recorded on February 4, 1890 and February 28, 2006.
Here in Thornton, we were a touch warmer than Denver with a high of 80.5 degrees at 1:22pm.
As for the wind, it kicked into high gear at around 2:00am. Our top gust of 48.3 mph occurred at 8:15am.
Only a select few have the privilege of viewing our planet from space so those of us more grounded live vicariously through the images they send back. Astronaut Shane Kimbrough gave us a look at a lit up Front Range from Colorado Springs to Cheyenne in an image he tweeted out.
All the major population centers are clearly visible. The nighttime lights of Colorado Springs, Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Cheyenne and even Fort Morgan out on the plains are all visible. The Denver / Boulder office of the National Weather Service tweeted out a copy of the image labeled with the cities to provide some context.
Amazing view of the Urban Corridor from Astronaut Shane Kimbrough as the International Space Station passed overhead! City names overlayed. pic.twitter.com/Fdb2Qh5uqm
The month of December brought colder and wetter than normal conditions to Thornton and in January we continued that trend with more of the same and our first month of the season with above average snowfall.
January started out warmer than normal but on the third that changed with a system that sent temperatures plummeting for five days. From the 3rd to the 7th the mercury failed to even climb above freezing and we saw three overnight lows dip to zero or below. The period also brought 7.4 inches over a three day period from the 3rd to the 5th.
Once that system moved out, we returned to warmer and dry conditions for four days then saw light snow on the 11th and 12th followed by colder temperatures through the 16th. The 16th also brought our last measurable snow for the month.
The last half of the month was relatively uneventful and the final three days saw highs climb over the 60 degree mark.
Thornton saw an average temperature in January of 29.5 degrees. This is a good ways below the long term Denver average for the month of 30.7 degrees. Out at DIA where Denver’s official measurements are kept, it was slightly warmer with an average of 30.0 degrees.
Temperatures in our part of town ranged from a high of 66 degrees on January 31 down to a low of 9.4 degrees below zero on the morning of the 6th. Denver saw its warmest reading of 63 degrees on the 30th and its coldest of 7 below zero on the morning of the 6th.
In terms of precipitation, the Mile High City averages 0.41 inches in January. Both Thornton and Denver came in wetter than that with 0.77 inches and 0.54 inches of liquid precipitation at those locations respectively.
Thornton welcomed a respectable 10.0 inches of snowfall during the month. Out at the airport, their total lagged ours with a reading of 6.3 inches. On average Denver receives 7.0 inches during the month.
Thornton, Colorado’s January 2017 temperature summary.Thornton, Colorado’s January 2017 precipitation summary.
From the National Weather Service:
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2017...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2017
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 76 01/27/1888
LOW -29 01/09/1875
HIGHEST 63 01/30 76 -13 65 01/30
LOWEST -7 01/06 -29 22 5 01/10
AVG. MAXIMUM 42.3 44.0 -1.7 43.5
AVG. MINIMUM 17.7 17.4 0.3 20.1
MEAN 30.0 30.7 -0.7 31.8
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 8 5.5 2.5 3
DAYS MIN <= 32 30 29.4 0.6 30
DAYS MIN <= 0 2 1.7 0.3 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 2.35 1883
MINIMUM 0.01 1933
1934
1952
TOTALS 0.54 0.41 0.13 0.50
DAILY AVG. 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.02
DAYS >= .01 3 4.1 -1.1 5
DAYS >= .10 3 0.9 2.1 3
DAYS >= .50 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.0 0.0 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.34 01/04 TO 01/05
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
TOTALS 6.3 7.0
JANUARY RECORD SNOWFALL
24.3 1992
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 1075 1063 12 1021
SINCE 7/1 3117 3531 -414 3208
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
.........................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.0
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 3/223
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 37/280 DATE 01/10
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 53/270 DATE 01/09
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.60
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 5
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 20
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 6
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 59
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 0 RAIN 0
LIGHT RAIN 0 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 1 SNOW 2
LIGHT SNOW 9 SLEET 0
FOG 11 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 2
HAZE 7
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
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 is extraordinarily well in terms of snowpack with all basins in Colorado having well above normal levels. At lower elevations however, the snow season has been pretty poor due to a slow start. February is only our sixth snowiest month so we may not see much snowfall for the balance of the month.
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.
With wintry weather just hours away, Denver’s recent warm spell let out one last gasp with a record high temperature.
We knew it was going to be warm and windy today and boy was it! Downslope winds kept things warm in the early morning hours and it went up a good ways from there.
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.