March 29 - April 4 - This week in Denver weather history.
This week in Denver weather history is notable for the variety of conditions that can be experienced this time of year. From hurricane force winds and heavy snow to more typical spring severe weather like tornadoes, all can be experienced this time of year.
IN 1948…HIGH WINDS RAKED BOULDER. A WIND GUST TO 75 MPH WAS RECORDED AT VALMONT. SUSTAINED WINDS IN EXCESS OF 35 MPH WERE ESTIMATED IN BOULDER. MINOR DAMAGE WAS REPORTED.
IN 1961…HEAVY SNOWFALL TOTALED 9.5 INCHES AT STAPLETON AIRPORT OVER THE 3 DAY PERIOD. MOST OF THE SNOW…5.3 INCHES…FELL ON THE 28TH. WINDS WERE GENERALLY LIGHT AND GUSTED TO ONLY 22 MPH FROM THE NORTH.
28-29 IN 1891…RAIN CHANGED TO SNOW AND TOTALED 9.7 INCHES IN THE CITY. NORTHEAST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 12 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 28 MPH ON THE 28TH.
IN 1910…A STRONG COLD FRONT BROUGHT MUCH WIND…RAIN…AND AND SNOW TO THE CITY. RAIN ON THE 28TH CHANGED TO SNOW EARLY ON THE 29TH. SNOWFALL TOTALED ONLY 2.8 INCHES…BUT NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 50 MPH ON THE 29TH. PRECIPITATION FROM THE STORM TOTALED 0.96 INCH.
IN 1994…MOIST UPSLOPE WINDS COMBINED WITH AN UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM TO DUMP 5 TO 7 INCHES OF SNOW ALONG THE EASTERN FOOTHILLS AND ACROSS METRO DENVER. SNOWFALL TOTALED 6.3 INCHES AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTED TO 39 MPH. THIRTEEN INCHES OF NEW SNOW WERE MEASURED AT THE ELDORA SKI AREA WEST OF BOULDER.
28-30
IN 1949…A MAJOR WINTER STORM DUMPED 11.3 INCHES OF SNOW OVER DOWNTOWN DENVER. SNOWFALL TOTALED 10.4 INCHES AT STAPLETON AIRPORT. NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 17 MPH.
March 22 - March 28 - This week in Denver weather history.
This week in Denver weather history are a number of interesting events. As March comes to a close we are not yet done with winter so snow is certainly still possible but we also start seeing more Spring-like weather. Reminders of this include the coldest temperature ever recorded in March – 11 degrees below zero 123 years ago. Conversely, 38 years ago the highest temperature ever recorded in March of 84 degrees was recorded.
20-22
In 1944…heavy snow fell over metro Denver for a total of 36 hours. The storm dumped 18.5 inches of snowfall over downtown Denver and 12.2 inches at Stapleton Airport. Fortunately…there were no strong winds with the storm. North winds to only 19 mph were recorded on the 21st.
21-22
In 1955…wind gusts to 98 mph were recorded at rocky flats south of Boulder. Some damage and a few minor injuries were reported in Boulder. Northwest winds were sustained to 28 mph with gusts to 39 mph at Stapleton Airport on the 22nd.
In 1966…a vigorous cold front produced only 1.7 inches of snowfall at Stapleton International Airport…but northeast winds gusted to 49 mph on the 21st. Temperatures cooled from a maximum of 66 degrees on the 21st to a minimum of 14 degrees on the 22nd. Strong winds occurred on both days.
In 1992…an arctic cold front produced upslope snow across metro Denver mainly west of I-25. Castle Rock reported 6 inches of snow with 3 inches at Evergreen. At Stapleton International Airport…only 1.5 inches of snowfall were measured and northeast winds gusted to 18 mph on the 21st.
March 15 to March 21 - This week in Denver weather history
This week is Denver and Thornton weather history is notable for many reasons. 2003 stands out as an extremely eventful year this week in weather history. From March 17th to the 19th, six years ago, Denver was hit by one of its largest snowstorms in history. We actually recently wrote about this storm on Examiner.com – click here to see it. Also, we see our first mention of a tornado for the year, also in 2003, on March 17th. The twister hit near Strasburg but was short-lived and caused no damage. These events serve as a reminder that winter is not over and severe weather can strike at any time.
9-19
IN 1906…AN EXTENDED COLD AND BLUSTERY PERIOD OCCURRED WITH LIGHT SNOW TOTALING 14.4 INCHES OVER 11 CONSECUTIVE DAYS. THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF SNOW ON A SINGLE DAY WAS 4.0 INCHES ON THE 15TH. ONLY A TRACE OF SNOW FELL ON THE 12TH AND 17TH. HIGH TEMPERATURES WERE BELOW FREEZING FOR THE ENTIRE PERIOD. THE COLDEST WERE 14 DEGREES ON THE 16TH AND 18 DEGREES ON THE 17TH. BOTH READINGS WERE RECORD LOW MAXIMUMS FOR THE DATES. LOW TEMPERATURES WERE MOSTLY IN THE SINGLE DIGITS. THE COLDEST WERE 2 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON THE 16TH AND 5 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON THE 19TH. NORTHEAST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 22 MPH ON THE 9TH. NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 36 MPH ON THE 10TH…32 MPH ON THE 13TH… AND 22 MPH ON THE 15TH.
12-16
IN 1880…A PROTRACTED COLD SPELL RESULTED IN 8 TEMPERATURE RECORDS BEING SET. RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES FOR THE DATE WERE SET WHEN THE TEMPERATURE DIPPED TO 10 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON THE 13TH AND 14TH…8 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON THE 12TH AND 15TH…AND 4 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON THE 16TH. DAILY RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES WERE SET WITH 11 DEGREES ON THE 12TH…12 DEGREES ON THE 13TH… AND 19 DEGREES ON THE 15TH.
13-15
IN 1906…SNOWFALL TOTALED 8.0 INCHES OVER DOWNTOWN DENVER.
14-16
IN 1908…A WARM SPELL RESULTED IN DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURES ON 3 CONSECUTIVE DAYS: 54 DEGREES ON THE 14TH…52 DEGREES ON THE 15TH…AND 56 DEGREES ON THE 16TH… ALSO THE ALL-TIME RECORD HIGH MINIMUM FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH. HIGH TEMPERATURES RANGED FROM 65 DEGREES ON THE 14TH TO 72 DEGREES ON THE 16TH.
IN 1983…A HEAVY WET SNOWSTORM BURIED METRO DENVER WITH THE FOOTHILLS RECEIVING THE MOST. CONIFER RECORDED 34 INCHES OF SNOW WITH 4 FEET MEASURED AT COAL CREEK CANYON IN THE FOOTHILLS NORTHWEST OF DENVER. THE STORM LEFT 6 TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW ACROSS METRO DENVER. BOULDER RECEIVED 12 TO 18 INCHES. FLIGHT OPERATIONS AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WERE LIMITED TO ONE RUNWAY FOR A TIME. SOME ROADS AND SCHOOLS WERE CLOSED…AND POWER OUTAGES OCCURRED WHEN WET SNOW DOWNED LINES. SNOWFALL ON THE 15TH AND 16TH TOTALED 7.2 INCHES AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE NORTH WINDS GUSTED TO 30 MPH. MAXIMUM SNOW DEPTH ON THE GROUND WAS ONLY 6 INCHES DUE TO MELTING.
March 8 to March 14 - This week in Denver weather history
Our look back at Denver weather history for the week reminds us that although the calendar says it is March, it is still very much winter. Numerous mentions of snow, blizzards and related winter conditions are quite prevelant and we are reminded that March after all is our snowiest month.
6-8
IN 1932…SNOWFALL TOTALED 6.3 INCHES IN DOWNTOWN DENVER. MOST OF THE SNOW…5.2 INCHES… FELL ON THE 8TH. NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTED TO 20 MPH ON THE 6TH.
7-8
IN 1878…SNOW FROM THE EVENING OF THE 7TH UNTIL NOON OF THE 8TH TOTALED ONLY 5 INCHES IN DOWNTOWN DENVER. APPARENT HEAVIER SNOW OVER THE PLAINS ALONG WITH STRONG WINDS DRIFTED THE SNOW INTO HIGH DRIFTS…WHICH DELAYED TRAINS FOR SEVERAL DAYS AND CAUSED A GREAT LOSS OF LIVESTOCK. MELTING OF THE SNOW CAUSED A RISE IN CHERRY CREEK…WHICH RESULTED IN MUCH DAMAGE. PRECIPITATION FROM THE STORM TOTALED ONLY 0.50 INCH IN DENVER.
IN 2000…HIGH WINDS DEVELOPED IN AND NEAR THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS…AS WELL AS PARTS OF THE NORTHEAST COLORADO PLAINS AS ANOTHER PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM MOVED ACROSS THE AREA. SEVERAL TREES AND POWER LINES WERE DOWNED NEAR BLACKHAWK…BOULDER… AND IN COAL CREEK CANYON. ABOUT 30 HOMES IN THE PINEBROOK HILLS SUBDIVISION IN BOULDER WERE EVACUATED WHEN DOWNED POWER LINES SPARKED A GRASSFIRE. THE WINDS EVENTUALLY SHIFTED THE FIRE ONTO ITSELF…THUS ALLOWING FIREFIGHTERS TO CONTAIN THE TWO ACRE BLAZE. SEVERAL ROOFS WERE BLOWN OFF BARNS…SHEDS… AND GARAGES. TWO SEMI-TRAILERS WERE BLOWN OVER…ONE ALONG C-470 BETWEEN GOLDEN AND MORRISON AND ANOTHER NORTH OF DENVER ON I-25. WIND GUSTS REACHED 101 MPH ON ROCKY FLATS…100 MPH AT THE NEARBY NATIONAL WIND TECHNOLOGY CENTER…90 MPH AT BLACKHAWK AND ATOP BLUE MOUNTAIN…92 MPH IN SOUTH BOULDER… 73 MPH IN COAL CREEK CANYON…72 MPH IN GOLDEN… AND 70 MPH AT LOUISVILLE. NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 45 MPH ON THE 7TH AND TO 49 MPH ON THE 8TH AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
8
IN 1878…WINDS STARTED TO INCREASE AT 4:00 AM AND BLEW STEADILY AT SUSTAINED SPEEDS OF 36 TO 40 MPH WITH A MAXIMUM SUSTAINED SPEED OF 60 MPH AROUND 11:00 AM. SNOWFALL OF 5.0 INCHES OCCURRED IN THE CITY…BUT MUCH MORE SNOW FELL ON THE PLAINS…WHICH BLOCKADED TRAINS BOUND FOR THE CITY FOR SEVERAL DAYS.
IN 1898…NORTHWEST WINDS SUSTAINED TO 53 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH WARMED THE TEMPERATURE TO A HIGH OF 67 DEGREES.
IN 1908…LIGHT SNOWFALL OF 0.8 INCH PRODUCED ONLY 0.01 INCH OF PRECIPITATION. THIS ALONG WITH THE 0.10 INCH OF PRECIPITATION ON THE 21ST RESULTED IN THE DRIEST MARCH ON RECORD WITH A TOTAL OF 0.11 INCH OF PRECIPITATION.
IN 1986…TEMPERATURES CLIMBED FROM A RECORD HIGH MINIMUM OF 45 DEGREES TO A RECORD MAXIMUM OF 72 DEGREES FOR THE DAY.
IN 2005…A VIGOROUS COLD FRONT MOVED A WALL OF BLOWING DUST ACROSS METRO DENVER DURING THE MID-MORNING. AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT…NORTH WINDS SUSTAINED TO 48 MPH WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 55 MPH…ALONG WITH VERY LIGHT RAIN WHICH CHANGED TO SNOW…BRIEFLY REDUCED THE SURFACE VISIBILITY TO 1 MILE. A THUNDERSTORM FORMED OVER ARVADA. WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE COLD FRONT…THE TEMPERATURE PLUNGED 11 DEGREES IN JUST 16 MINUTES AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE PRECIPITATION WAS ONLY 0.01 INCH ALONG WITH 0.1 INCH OF SNOW.
Denver officially set a new record high temperature for March 2nd.
Updated, 5:30pm: Denver’s official high temperature today reached 74 degrees at 3:08pm, beating the old record of 72 degrees by two.
Original post, 2:39pm: Denver has officially broken the high temperature record for today, March 2nd. At 1:52pm the thermometer at Denver International Airport reached 73 degrees, besting the old record of 72 degrees set way back in 1901. Here in Thornton we were a touch warmer reaching a high of 74.1 degrees.
This afternoon there is a chance the temperature could go a degree or two higher thus further increasing the record.
Is this really a record? Since moving Denver’s official weather recording station to DIA, many weather enthusiasts believe our weather and climate records are being unduly altered. Examiner.com just launched an investigative feature into this problem today – check out part 1 of our series on Examiner.com: Do Denver weather and climate records have an asterisk attached?
March 1 to March 7 - This week in Denver weather history
Looking at this week in Denver weather history, it is easy to see why March is known as Denver’s snowiest month. There are numerous instances of major winter storms dumping snow on the city that was measured not in inches – but feet!
From the National Weather Service:
28-1
IN 1875…6 INCHES OF SNOW FELL FROM 3:15 PM ON THE 28TH TO 1:00 AM ON THE 1ST. PRECIPITATION FOR THE TWO DAYS WAS 0.50 INCH.
29-1
IN 1896…SNOWFALL TOTALED 5.5 INCHES IN THE CITY. NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTED TO 24 MPH.
IN 1948…SNOWFALL TOTALED 5.9 INCHES IN DOWNTOWN DENVER. NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 15 MPH.
1
IN 1904…WEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 42 MPH WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 58 MPH. THE CHINOOK WINDS WARMED THE TEMPERATURE TO A HIGH OF 67 DEGREES.
IN 1906…SNOWFALL WAS HEAVY AND TOTALED 7.5 INCHES OVER DOWNTOWN DENVER. NORTHEAST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 37 MPH.
IN 1940…SNOWFALL WAS HEAVY AND TOTALED 7.7 INCHES IN DOWNTOWN DENVER.
IN 1943…6.0 INCHES OF SNOW FELL OVER DOWNTOWN DENVER. NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 19 MPH.
Denver and Thornton's March 2009 climatological preview
March in Denver typically means frequent and rapid weather changes. The days grow longer and we start enjoying more sunshine and sometimes summer-like weather. However, on occasion arctic air masses can still force their way south into Colorado dropping temperatures quickly and markedly.
These changes are due to Marches “in between” status – elements during the month have much in common with winter and spring. In addition to arctic fronts, Pacific storms frequently move across Colorado from the west and warm moist air streams up from the Gulf of Mexico northeastward into the state. When these cold fronts collide with the warmer air masses the result can be some crazy weather.
February 22 to February 28 - This week in Denver weather history.
Our look back at this week in Denver weather history contains much of what you would expect to see this time of year – high winds, snow storms, and cold but also a rare February thunderstorm.
21-22
IN 1909…A MAJOR STORM DUMPED 12.9 INCHES OF HEAVY SNOWFALL OVER THE CITY. NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 37 MPH ON THE 22ND. TEMPERATURES DURING THE STORM HOVERED IN THE 20’S.
22
IN 1893…NORTHWEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 36 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH.
IN 1900…NORTHWEST WINDS SUSTAINED TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH WARMED THE TEMPERATURE TO A HIGH OF 61 DEGREES.
IN 1910…A COLD FRONT CAUSED A REMARKABLY SHARP DROP IN TEMPERATURE FROM 43 DEGREES AT 3:00 AM TO ONLY 3 DEGREES AT 8:30 AM. THESE WERE THE HIGH AND LOW TEMPERATURES FOR THE DAY. EARLY WEST WINDS SWITCHED TO NORTHEAST BEHIND THE FRONT.
IN 1927…WEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 42 MPH WITH A MEASURED MAXIMUM VELOCITY TO 60 MPH.
IN 1954…STRONG AND GUSTY WEST WINDS PERSISTED THROUGHOUT THE DAY. THE HIGHEST WIND GUST RECORDED AT STAPLETON AIRPORT WAS 58 MPH.
IN 1960…SNOWFALL TOTALED 5.9 INCHES…PRODUCING NEAR-BLIZZARD CONDITIONS IN SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW AT STAPLETON AIRPORT WHERE NORTHEAST WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH REDUCED VISIBILITY TO 1/2 MILE.
IN 1986…HIGH WINDS OCCURRED IN THE FOOTHILLS. WIND GUSTS OF 65 TO 70 MPH WERE REPORTED AT GOLDEN GATE CANYON…AND A PEAK GUST OF 83 MPH WAS RECORDED AT ECHO LAKE. NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO ONLY 29 MPH AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
IN 1988…A WIND GUST TO 83 MPH WAS RECORDED IN BOULDER WITH 80 MPH CLOCKED AT ROLLINSVILLE. NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 45 MPH AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
IN 1996…WIND GUSTS TO 63 MPH WERE REPORTED IN WESTERN ELBERT COUNTY. SOUTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 45 MPH AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
IN 1999…STRONG POST-FRONTAL…BORA WINDS DEVELOPED OVER THE FOOTHILLS AND SPREAD OVER THE NORTHEAST PLAINS. PEAK WIND GUSTS INCLUDED: 87 MPH AT GOLDEN GATE CANYON; 84 MPH AT WONDERVU; 80 MPH AT THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH MESA LAB; 75 MPH AT THE ROCKY FLATS ENVIRONMENTAL TEST FACILITY; 74 MPH AT JEFFERSON COUNTY AIRPORT NEAR BROOMFIELD; 72 MPH AT THE GAMOW TOWER ON THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO CAMPUS IN BOULDER; AND 60 MPH AT BENNETT. WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 44 MPH AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
IN 2000…THUNDER WAS HEARD ACROSS MUCH OF METRO DENVER. THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHWEST METRO DENVER PRODUCED 1/4 TO 1/2 INCH DIAMETER HAIL AT PINEHURST COUNTRY CLUB. A THUNDERSTORM AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PRODUCED WIND GUSTS TO 34 MPH. THIS WAS ONLY THE 6TH TIME SINCE 1891 THAT THUNDER HAD BEEN REPORTED IN FEBRUARY.
22-23
IN 1985…A SNOWSTORM STRUCK THE EASTERN FOOTHILLS WITH 8 TO 15 INCHES OF NEW SNOW. THREE TO 7 INCHES OF NEW SNOW FELL ACROSS METRO DENVER AND PARTS OF I-70 WERE CLOSED AT TIMES. SNOWFALL TOTALED ONLY 3.3 INCHES AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE NORTHEAST WIND GUSTS TO 29 MPH WERE RECORDED.
IN 1992…A SNOW STORM DUMPED HEAVY SNOW IN THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS. CONIFER RECEIVED 12 INCHES OF NEW SNOW WITH 7.5 INCHES AT ASPEN SPRINGS. SNOW ONLY DUSTED THE PLAINS AND METRO DENVER…BUT WINDS WERE STRONG WITH A GUST TO 43 MPH FROM THE NORTH AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE SNOWFALL TOTALED ONLY 0.3 INCH. THIS WAS THE ONLY MEASURABLE SNOWFALL OF THE MONTH…EQUALING THE RECORD FOR THE LEAST SNOWIEST FEBRUARY FIRST SET IN 1970. RARE THUNDER FOR FEBRUARY ACCOMPANIED THE SNOW DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF THE 23RD.
IN 1999…STRONG CHINOOK WINDS DEVELOPED ON A VERY LOCALIZED SCALE OVERNIGHT IN AND NEAR THE FOOTHILLS OF NORTHERN JEFFERSON AND SOUTHERN BOULDER COUNTIES. PEAK WIND REPORTS INCLUDED: 82 MPH AT THE ROCKY FLATS ENVIRONMENTAL TEST FACILITY…80 MPH AT THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH MESA LAB IN BOULDER…77 MPH NEAR NEDERLAND…AND 75 MPH ATOP THE GAMOW TOWER ON THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO CAMPUS IN BOULDER.
February 15 to February 21 - This week in Denver weather history.
Wind, wind and more wind. Sounding like a broken record, we see that mentioned many times in our look back at this week in Denver weather history. There is of course other common weather conditions for this time of year including blizzards and arctic cold.
14-15
IN 1960…HEAVY SNOWFALL TOTALED 6.1 INCHES AT STAPLETON AIRPORT.
IN 1965…5.4 INCHES OF SNOW FELL AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT BEHIND A COLD FRONT. NORTH-NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTED TO 32 MPH. WINDS WERE STRONG AND GUSTY ALL DAY AND CAUSED CONSIDERABLE BLOWING SNOW…CONTRIBUTING TO HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS MAINLY TO THE EAST OF DENVER.
IN 1984…A SNOW AND WIND STORM HOWLED ACROSS EASTERN COLORADO CLOSING I-70 EAST OF DENVER. THIS WAS THE SECOND BLIZZARD IN LESS THAN 4 DAYS. ONLY 0.5 INCH OF NEW SNOW FELL AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT…BUT NORTH WINDS GUSTED TO 51 MPH.
15
IN 1881…THE TEMPERATURE PLUNGED TO A LOW OF 20 DEGREES BELOW ZERO IN THE CITY. IN OUTER AREAS OF THE CITY…THE TEMPERATURE DIPPED TO 26.5 DEGREES BELOW ZERO.
IN 1910…WEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 42 MPH.
IN 1986…HIGH WINDS BATTERED THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS. A WIND GUST TO 95 MPH WAS RECORDED IN BOULDER…BUT WINDS OF 60 TO 80 MPH WERE COMMON IN AND NEAR THE FOOTHILLS. IN AURORA…AN AUTOMOBILE DEALERSHIP LOST A LARGE PLATE GLASS WINDOW. SOUTHWEST WIND GUSTS TO 44 MPH WERE RECORDED AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. THE STRONG WINDS WARMED TEMPERATURES. A RECORD MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 66 DEGREES AND A RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 37 DEGREES WERE RECORDED AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
February 8 to February 14 - This week in Denver weather history.
Our look back at this week in Denver weather history contains many of the severe weather conditions we would expect to see – high speed winds, arctic cold, big time snowstorms, etc. Most notable is the coldest February temperature ever recorded – 25 degrees below zero.
31-8
IN 1963…WARM WEATHER THAT BEGAN WITH THE STRONG CHINOOK WINDS ON THE 31ST AND 1ST CONTINUED THROUGH THE 8TH. MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE PERIOD RANGED FROM 52 DEGREES ON THE 2ND TO 76 DEGREES ON THE 5TH…WHICH WAS A NEW RECORD HIGH FOR THAT DATE.
31-12
IN 1899…A PROTRACTED COLD SPELL LASTED ALMOST TWO WEEKS. LOW TEMPERATURES PLUNGED BELOW ZERO ON ALL DAYS BUT FEBRUARY 9TH WITH A READING OF 6 DEGREES. THE COLDEST LOW TEMPERATURE OF 22 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON FEBRUARY 6TH WAS A RECORD LOW FOR THE DATE. LOW TEMPERATURES OF 20 DEGREES BELOW ZERO OCCURRED ON BOTH FEBRUARY 11TH AND 12TH… BUT ONLY THE 11TH REMAINS AS THE RECORD MINIMUM FOR THE DATE. HIGH TEMPERATURE OF ONLY 5 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON FEBRUARY 11TH WAS A RECORD LOW MAXIMUM FOR THE DATE. HIGH TEMPERATURES CLIMBED TO ONLY ZERO DEGREES ON BOTH FEBRUARY 2ND AND 3RD…BUT WERE NOT RECORDS. INTERMITTENT LIGHT SNOW OR FLURRIES FELL DURING THE PERIOD. THE MOST SNOWFALL…2.0 INCHES…OCCURRED ON FEBRUARY 2ND.
1-9
IN 1883…A PROTRACTED COLD PERIOD OCCURRED WHEN LOW TEMPERATURES DIPPED BELOW ZERO FOR 9 CONSECUTIVE DAYS. LOW TEMPERATURES RANGED FROM 22 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON THE 4TH TO 2 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON THE 1ST AND 6TH. HIGH TEMPERATURES RANGED FROM 10 BELOW ZERO ON THE 3RD TO 23 ON THE 9TH. SEVERAL TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE SET THAT STILL STAND TODAY. RECORD LOWS OF 18 BELOW AND 22 BELOW ZERO OCCURRED ON THE 3RD AND 4TH. RECORD LOW MAXIMUM READINGS OF 2 BELOW AND 10 BELOW ZERO OCCURRED ON THE 2ND AND 3RD. THE HIGH OF ONLY 10 BELOW ZERO ON THE 3RD IS THE COLDEST MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED IN DENVER.
5-11
IN 1978…THE 5TH MARKED THE START OF A RECORD 7 CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF DENSE FOG AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. THE HEAVY FOG REDUCED THE VISIBILITY TO 1/4 MILE OR LESS FOR A PERIOD OF TIME ON EACH OF THESE DAYS. LIGHT SNOW AND/OR FREEZING DRIZZLE OCCURRED ON MOST DAYS. FOG REDUCING VISIBILITY TO LESS THAN 7 MILES WAS RECORDED AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON 11 CONSECUTIVE DAYS THROUGH THE 15TH. DURING THE PERIOD 5-14…THE COLD THICK FOG DEPOSITED HEAVY RIME ICE UP TO 5 INCHES THICK ON POWER LINES AND POLES OVER A WIDE AREA OF EASTERN COLORADO…CAUSING A MAJOR ELECTRICAL POWER OUTAGE DISASTER.
