Tag Archives: December Weather

National Weather

Northeastern U.S. paralyzed as nor’easter brings blizzard conditions

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Before and after pictures of the northeastern U.S. show the impact of the hurricane-looking storm. (NOAA)
Before and after pictures of the northeastern U.S. show the impact of the hurricane-looking storm. (NOAA)

From the southern United States to the mid-Atlantic and New England a major winter storm has had a wide impact in recent days.  Some areas of the south recorded their first Christmas snow in decades and as the storm moved further northeast it turned into a major blizzard.

Snow fell as far south as Jacksonville, Florida over the holiday and areas further north recorded moderate snowfall.  Huntsville, Alabama saw 6 inches of snow; Raleigh, North Carolina saw 8.5 inches and Gatlinburg, Tennessee recorded 8.0 inches.

Those totals are minimal however to what is being deposited on a large area from New York City to Boston.  Central Park has reported 13 inches and Brooklyn 17.5 inches.  In New Jersey Atlantic City reported 19.0 inches while Foxboro, Massachusetts has seen 11.5 inches.

Travel across the northeastern U.S. came to a standstill as travel by road, rail and air was impacted.  Thousands of flights into and out of the area were canceled as airports in New York and New Jersey shuttered.  Airlines at Denver International Airport were impacted by the storm and its ripple effect.

The nor’easter was imaged this afternoon by NOAA satellites that provided a birds-eye view of the area before and after the storm. 

A furor erupted when the National Football League announced it would postpone the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings and move it to Tuesday.  The league cited concerns for fan safety however many were quick to point out that it is highly unusual for the NFL to postpone a game based on snow of any amount. 

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell told FOX, “It’s an absolute joke. We’re becoming a nation of wussies.”

Slideshow: Blizzard slams U.S. East Coast burying major cities in snow (Examiner.com)Certainly it is hard to see Denver taking similar measures in the face of a snowstorm.  🙂

We have provided complete coverage of the storm on Examiner.com – Please follow the links below for more details:

Thornton Weather

Denver’s white Christmas history – Not as common as one might think

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Don't bet on a white Christmas in Thornton - the historical odds aren't very good.
Don't bet on a white Christmas in Thornton - the historical odds aren't very good.

As Christmas gets closer everyone always wonders if we are going to get the proverbial white Christmas. Unfortunately, if you look at Denver and Thornton weather history, the chances arent all that good but it also depends on what you define as a white Christmas.

December just isnt that snowy of a month, ranking as only the fourth snowiest (behind March, November and April) so historically we have a bit of a disadvantage.  There have however been some very white Christmases in our history and it is fun to look back.

For a complete look at Denver’s Christmas weather statistics, click here.

For the latest Thornton weather forecast for Christmas, check out our forecast page.  Be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook to stay up to date with all the latest with Thornton’s weather.

National Weather, Natural Disasters

Oregon town struck by rare EF-2 tornado

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An EF-2 tornado struck the town of Aumsville, Oregon on Tuesday damaging 50 structures. Click the image for a slideshow of the damage from Examiner.com.
An EF-2 tornado struck the town of Aumsville, Oregon on Tuesday damaging 50 structures. Click the image for a slideshow of the damage from Examiner.com.

Tornadoes are not usually asssociated with Oregon or December and certainly not the two of them together.  Tuesday however that rarest of event did occur when an EF-2 tornado packing 110+ mph winds struck the town of Aumsville.

The first report of the tornado was at 11:59am PST when emergency personnel reported spotting the twister.  Power was knocked out to thousands and several homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed.  Two minor injuries were reported. 

The National Weather Service completed their preliminary investigation of the twister and rated the tornado as an EF-2 with winds between 110 and 120 mph.  At its maximum the twister was 150 yards wide and carved an intermittent path 5 miles long. 

For more details on the tornado including video and a photo slideshow of the damage, please visit the Natural Disasters Examiner.

Severe Weather

Heavy snow collapses roof of Metrodome in Minnesota – Video

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Snow starts to pour into the Metrodome as the roof collapses. Watch the amazing video below. (FOX Sports)
Snow starts to pour into the Metrodome as the roof collapses. Watch the amazing video below. (FOX Sports)

The upper Midwest has been pounded my a major winter storm in the past 36 hours that has brought bone chilling cold and heavy snow to the region.  One casualty of the snow was the roof of the home of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings as the roof collapsed early this morning under the weight of 17 inches of snow. 

Some areas in the region have seen more than 20 inches of snow and blizzard conditions have persisted as strong winds make things treacherous for travel.  Winter weather warnings and advisories of one sort or another stretch across more than a dozen states from Wisconsin and Michigan down to Alabama and Georgia.

The Minnesota Vikings were originally scheduled to take on the New York Giants today in Minneapolis.  The game was first pushed back to Monday after Minneapolis – St. Paul International Airport was closed yesterday stranding the Giants in Kansas City. 

This morning the inflated roof of the Metrodome collapsed for the third time in its history.  The fabric of the dome shredded and snow came pouring onto the field.  Amazing new video released by FOX Sports (see below) shows the sights and sound of the collapse as it happened. 

As for the game between the Giants and Vikings, it will be played tomorrow night at 5:20pm MST at Ford Field in Detroit.

The Denver Broncos don’t have this problem – of course we don’t have a roof on our stadium and for that matter we don’t have any snow either.

Thornton Weather

Sunday brings brilliant sunrise and clouds to Thornton

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A brilliant sunrise over south Thornton. View more images in the slideshow below. (ThorntonWeather.com)
A brilliant sunrise over south Thornton. View more images in the slideshow below. (ThorntonWeather.com)

A very chilly morning yielded a beautiful sunrise over south Thornton this morning.  ThorntonWeather.com was out for a walk and captured images of the brilliant red sky near the Spratt Lake facility. 

With mostly clear skies temperatures Sunday morning dipped clear down to 14.7 degrees – the coldest day we have seen this season.  Thankfully we will be warming up to above normal temperatures today as the forecast calls for a high of 54 degrees.

The images this morning not only include the spectacular sunrise but also lenticular and wave clouds.  

Lenticular clouds are one of the least common types and typically only occur at high altitudes near mountains with strong winds – both of which Colorado has in abundance.  These virtually stationary lens-shaped formations have been mistaken for UFO’s due to their rare appearance and unique saucer shapes. 

Also known by their scientific name of altocumulus standing lenticularis, these clouds are not entirely unusual in Colorado on the Front Range during the winter.  Strong jet winds force moist air to be pushed up by the rugged terrain of the adjacent Rocky Mountains.  This creates a wave-like pattern of air flow that condenses at high altitudes (usually around 20,000 feet). 

Below is a slideshow of some of the images we took this morning.

Thornton Weather

Thornton WinterFest forecast – Dry, cool and windy

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The detailed forecast for Thornton's WinterFest.
The detailed forecast for Thornton's WinterFest.

A full day of events highlights Thornton’s annual WinterFest on Saturday and the weather should cooperate for the most part.  It will be a bit cool and windy but there is nothing weather-wise to keep everyone from coming out to this great event.

The outdoor activities start at 9:00 with a community walk around the multipurpose fields (108th & Colorado Blvd).  Temperatures will be right around the freezing mark at the start with northwest winds at 5 mph creating a wind chill of 28 degrees.  It will be chilly but certainly tolerable. 

WinterFest gets started in earnest at 10:00 with a full slate of events.  By then the mercury will have climbed to 35 degrees with light winds of 7 mph.  Skies overhead will be partly cloudy today but there should at least be intermittent sun to help warm things up. 

As the day progresses the thermometer will rise but the winds will also be picking up.  The high today will hit 41 degrees by about 1:00pm and hold steady there through 4:00pm when the sun starts to go down.  Winds will gradually increase through the morning peaking by 2:00pm at 15 to 20 mph, gusting to 25 mph.  After that they should start to die down and by 7:00pm they will be mostly calm.

Fireworks will close out today’s events at 8:30pm and the weather will be chilly but otherwise it should be a great display.  Temperatures by then will be down to 30 degrees but the winds will be calm. 

The City of Thornton has plenty of activities for the whole family today.  From the community walk to Santa’s village, ice skating, food and a concert from the Thornton Community Band.  Be sure to come out and join your Thornton neighbors!

You can get more details including a complete schedule of events on the city’s website.

Thornton Weather

Heading to Thornton’s WinterFest this evening? Expect cool temperatures, blustery conditions

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Cool and slightly breezy for Santa's arrival in Thornton tonight. (ThorntonWeather.com)
Cool and slightly breezy for Santa's arrival in Thornton tonight. (ThorntonWeather.com)

Thornton’s annual WinterFest kicks off this evening at 6:30pm with the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus.  The weather will certainly not be a factor and Santa should be able to arrive without any problem and enjoy their time in our city.

Look for temperatures at the recreation center fields to be around 43 degrees when Santa arrives.  Temps will drop to around 39 degrees by the time tonight’s festivities end at 9:00pm. 

Winds are a bit gusty right now from 10 to 20 mph as a cold front moves through and unfortunately those won’t ease much.  Some higher gusts to 30 mph are possible so it will be a bit blustery. 

Snow is one thing that Santa won’t really find in Thornton this year.  A few flakes may fall this evening but no real accumulation is expected. 

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a complete look at Saturday’s weather for tomorrow’s events!

Thornton Weather

Lenticular clouds appear over Denver

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These stacked lenticular clouds hovered over Denver on the evening of December 8th. View more photos in the slideshow by clicking on the image. Photo: Alycia Gilliland
These stacked lenticular clouds hovered over Denver on the evening of December 8th. View more photos in the slideshow by clicking on the image. Photo: Alycia Gilliland

Colorado is home to many weather phenomena which is certainly part of its appeal.  Our topography and geographic location allow us to experience a true four seasons and every type of weather. 

Yesterday if you turned your eyes skyward you were treated to an amazing display of lenticular clouds, an unusual formation but one for which Colorado is a prime viewing spot.

Storm chaser and meteorology student Alycia Gilliland has captured some stunning photos in recent months of the sky and yesterday’s display provided another opportunity.  As the sun began its decent late yesterday afternoon, Gilliland turned her camera skyward to capture beautiful images of “stacked” lenticulars. 

Click on the image to the right to view a slideshow of Gilliland’s photos.  You can learn more about lenticular clouds in our story on the Denver Weather Examiner.

Thornton Weather

Record high temperature set for December 3rd

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Not since Grover Cleveland was president has Denver had as warm of a December 3rd as today.
Not since Grover Cleveland was president has Denver had as warm of a December 3rd as today.Not since Grover Cleveland was president has Denver had as warm of a December 3rd as today.

If you looked at a thermometer late this morning or early this afternoon you might have found yourself wondering if the calendar that says it is December is correct.  Not since 1885 when Grover Cleveland was inaugurated as the 22nd president of the United States and  the Washington Monument was completed has Denver had as warm of temperatures on December 3rd as today. 

At 11:41am this morning the temperature at the official Denver weather station at Denver International Airport reached 69 degrees.  Thornton topped that slightly as we recorded 70.2 degrees at 12:13pm. 

As is often the case, the warmer temperatures have been brought on my strong winds.  Gusts this afternoon to 45mph are possible, particularly along the usual wind-prone areas in the foothills like   Highway 93 between Boulder and Golden.

The warmth will be short-lived however as those winds bring in a cold front later this evening.  Overnight and into tomorrow some areas of the Front Range may see a wintry mix of snow and freezing drizzle.  Highs on Saturday will only reach the mid to upper 30s.  For the complete local Thornton forecast click here.

Related (Examiner.com): Do Denver weather and climate records have an asterisk attached?

ThorntonWeather.com note: Some media outlets, including KMGH Channel 7, are incorrectly reporting that Denver hit a high temperature of 70 degrees today and broke the record.  This is incorrect. 

National Weather Service observations are initially reported in Celsius, rounded to the nearest whole degree – in today’s case, 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit).  However the true temperature is recorded to the nearest tenth of a degree.  Today’s actual high temperature was 20.6 degrees Celsius or 69 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Yet another reason to rely on ThorntonWeather.com for your weather news and information!  😉

Climatology, Thornton Weather

December 2009 goes into the books as seventh coldest on record

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For the second time in the past three months, Denver has experienced monthly average temperatures in the ‘top 10 coldest’ category. In October, the Mile High City saw its second coldest October on record since record keeping began in 1882. Now Denver has just wrapped up its seventh coldest December in history.

Denver’s average December 2009 temperature was 24.1 degrees – a chilly 6.2 degrees below the normal average of 30.3 degrees. That puts the month into the books as the seventh coldest December on record (image right).  Thornton was just a touch colder having recorded an average temperature of 23.8 degrees.

Temperatures during the month ranged from a high temperature of 59 degrees on the 1st down to a low of -17 on the 9th. Overall, the majority of days during the month saw below normal temperatures.

In terms of snowfall, the month did finish above average but not in record setting territory. The National Weather Service recorded 11.1 inches of snowfall at the official monitoring station at Denver International Airport. This was 2.4 inches above the average of 8.7 inches for December.  In Thornton, we received a bit more snow than DIA.  15.3 inches was recorded at ThorntonWeather.com of which the single biggest even was the pre-Christmas storm which dumped 7.5 inches.

 The snow we did receive however was rather dry and as such we finished the month below normal for precipitation. DIA recorded 0.45 inch of precipitation which is 0.18 inch below normal.  Here again, because of the additional snowfall, Thornton fared a bit better with 0.5 inch of precipitation. 

CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOULDER, CO                                 
510 PM MST SAT JAN 2 2010

................................... 

...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 2009...

CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1971 TO 2000
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2009

WEATHER         OBSERVED          NORMAL  DEPART  LAST YEAR'S         
                 VALUE   DATE(S)  VALUE   FROM    VALUE  DATE(S)      
                                          NORMAL                      
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
 HIGH              79   12/05/1939                                    
 LOW              -25   12/22/1990                                    
                        12/24/1876                                    
HIGHEST            59   12/21        79     -20       69  12/02       
                        12/01                                         
LOWEST            -17   12/09       -25       8      -19  12/15       
AVG. MAXIMUM     36.4              44.1    -7.7     41.0              
AVG. MINIMUM     11.9              16.4    -4.5     12.3              
MEAN             24.1              30.3    -6.2     26.6              
DAYS MAX >= 90      0               0.0     0.0        0              
DAYS MAX <= 32     15               5.3     9.7       10              
DAYS MIN <= 32     31              29.2     1.8       30              
DAYS MIN <= 0       6               2.8     3.2        6              

PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
 MAXIMUM         5.21   1913                                          
 MINIMUM         0.00   1881                                          
TOTALS           0.45              0.63   -0.18     0.24              
DAILY AVG.       0.01              0.02   -0.01     0.01              
DAYS >= .01         7               5.3     1.7        6              
DAYS >= .10         2                MM      MM        0              
DAYS >= .50         0                MM      MM        0              
DAYS >= 1.00        0                MM      MM        0              
GREATEST
 24 HR. TOTAL    0.20   12/22 TO 12/23        0.10  12/13 TO 12/14       

SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
 TOTAL           57.4   1913  SNOWIEST DENVER MONTH SINCE 1881
TOTALS           11.1                8.7              7.1             

DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL    1260              1078     182     1179              
 SINCE 7/1       2739              2486     253     2367              
COOLING TOTAL       0                 0       0        0              
 SINCE 1/1        533               696    -163      825              

FREEZE DATES
RECORD
 EARLIEST     09/08/1962                                              
 LATEST       06/08/2007                                              
EARLIEST                        10/07                                 
LATEST                          05/05                                 
.................................................................

WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED              8.8
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION   3/217
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION    43/220    DATE  12/13
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION    49/220    DATE  12/13

SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT)   MM *SUNSHINE DATA N/A EFFECTIVE 10/1

NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR            4
NUMBER OF DAYS PC             21
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY          6

AVERAGE RH (PERCENT)     61

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                0     SNOW                       2
LIGHT SNOW               10     SLEET                      0
FOG                      11     FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE      1
HAZE                      7                                           
                                                                    
-  INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.                                      
R  INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.                                
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.                                       
T  INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.