The month of May was a relatively benign, uneventful month in terms of the weather in Thornton. Average temperatures were right on par with normal while precipitation was generous.
We started out the month with warming temperatures and by the third we were seeing highs in the 80s. This only lasted a few days before cooler than normal temperatures settled in for a 10 day period.
It was during that period that we recorded precipitation for six straight days. This included a good shot of snow on the 11th and 12th.
Temperatures bounced back on the 18th and 19th with highs above 80 degrees but then settled down again to predominantly cooler than normal conditions for the next week. The period from the 20th to the 25th also saw a return to wet conditions.
Warmer and dry conditions returned for a few days and then we closed out the month with cooler temperatures and some more rain.
Thornton finished the month with an average temperature of 56.9 degrees. This was just a hair lower than Denver’s May average of 57.1 degrees. The Mile High City’s average temperature came in warmer at 57.5 degrees.
The hottest temperature recorded occurred on the 29th with a reading of 88.7 degrees. The coldest temperature of 28.5 degrees was on the 14th. Denver’s warmest reading was 85 degrees on the 4th and its coldest of 30 degrees was on the 12th.
In terms of precipitation, Thornton saw a healthy 4.26 inches of liquid precipitation. This was well above the May average of 2.12 inches. Similarly, Denver saw above normal precipitation with a reading of 3.51 inches.
Snow fell on two days and totaled 4.3 inches in Thornton. Out at DIA, only 1.1 inches was recorded. Average snowfall for May in Denver is 1.1 inches.
Click here to view Thornton’s May 2014 climate report.
http://www.thorntonweather.com/climatedataout52014.html
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOULDER, CO
642 AM MDT SUN JUN 1 2014
...................................
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF MAY 2014...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2014
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 95 05/26/1942
LOW 19 05/02/2013
05/03/1907
HIGHEST 87 05/28 95 -8 88 05/17
05/29
LOWEST 30 05/12 19 11 19 05/02
AVG. MAXIMUM 70.6 71.5 -0.9 71.7
AVG. MINIMUM 44.5 42.7 1.8 44.1
MEAN 57.5 57.1 0.4 57.9
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.8 -0.8 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 4 1.9 2.1 4
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 8.57 1876
MINIMUM 0.06 1974
TOTALS 3.51 2.12 1.39 0.82
DAILY AVG. 0.11 0.07 0.04 0.03
DAYS >= .01 13 9.4 3.6 7
DAYS >= .10 6 4.8 1.2 3
DAYS >= .50 3 1.2 1.8 0
DAYS >= 1.00 1 0.2 0.8 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.39 05/20 TO 05/21 0.33 05/07 TO 05/08
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
TOTALS 1.1 1.1 3.4
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 244 265 -21 253
SINCE 7/1 5974 5996 -22 6055
COOLING TOTAL 21 21 0 42
SINCE 1/1 21 22 -1 42
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
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WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 10.6
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 1/181
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 37/330 DATE 05/21
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 42/330 DATE 05/21
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.70
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 3
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 18
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 10
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 55
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 2 RAIN 6
LIGHT RAIN 17 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 1 HAIL 1
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 2
LIGHT SNOW 2 SLEET 1
FOG 11 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 3
HAZE 3
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.