Tag Archives: Denver weather

Weather History

February 1 to February 7 – This week in Denver weather history

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February 1 to February 7 - This week in Denver weather history
February 1 to February 7 - This week in Denver weather history

A look back at this week in Denver weather history shows the wide variety of weather conditions that we can receive.  Everything from warm spring-like days to high speed damaging winds to protracted bone chilling Arctic cold spells is evident. 

26-1 

IN 1888…A PROTRACTED WARM SPELL LASTED A WEEK.  MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES RANGED FROM 62 DEGREES ON THE 29TH TO AN ALL TIME RECORD HIGH FOR THE MONTH OF 76 DEGREES ON THE 27TH.  DAILY RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES OF 76…69… AND 71 OCCURRED ON THE 27TH…28TH… AND 30TH RESPECTIVELY. RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURES OF 47 AND 34 OCCURRED ON THE 26TH AND 27TH.

30-7 

IN 1985…A COLD FRONT ON THE 29TH PRODUCED A PROTRACTED COLD SPELL AS ARCTIC AIR REMAINED ENTRENCHED ACROSS METRO DENVER. WHILE THE ONLY DAILY TEMPERATURE RECORD SET WAS A LOW MAXIMUM READING OF 2 DEGREES ON FEBRUARY 3RD…MINIMUM TEMPERATURES PLUNGED WELL BELOW ZERO ON 9 CONSECUTIVE DAYS. THE COLDEST READINGS WERE 15 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON JANUARY 31ST AND 14 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON FEBRUARY 5TH.

31-1 

IN 1963…HIGH WINDS STRUCK METRO DENVER.  THE STRONG CHINOOK WINDS REACHED 101 MPH IN LITTLETON…80 MPH IN DENVER…AND 90 MPH AT ROCKY FLATS.  AMONG THE HARDEST HIT AREAS WERE BOULDER WHERE BUILDINGS UNDER CONSTRUCTION WERE BLOWN DOWN…PORCHES AND ROOFS BLOWN OFF BUILDINGS… AND POWER LINES DAMAGED.  DAMAGE TOTALED 100 THOUSAND DOLLARS IN BOULDER ALONE.  IN OTHER AREAS…UTILITY LINES WERE DAMAGED AND MANY SIGNS…ANTENNAS… AND ROAD MARKERS WERE BLOWN DOWN.  AT STAPLETON AIRPORT…WEST WINDS GUSTED TO 44 MPH ON THE 31ST AND 66 MPH ON THE 1ST.  THE CHINOOK WINDS WARMED MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES TO 65 DEGREES ON THE 31ST AND TO 70 DEGREES ON THE 1ST.

Continue reading February 1 to February 7 – This week in Denver weather history →

Weather History

January 25 to January 31 – This week in Denver weather history

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January 25 to January 31 - This week in Denver weather history.
January 25 to January 31 - This week in Denver weather history.

A very eventful week in Denver weather history.  Among the notable items – the longest period of snow on record, the highest wind gust ever in the metro area (147mph) and numerous blizzards that caused a variety of problems.

22-26

IN 1948…THE LONGEST PERIOD OF SNOWFALL ON RECORD (92 HOURS AND 3 MINUTES) OCCURRED IN DOWNTOWN DENVER WHERE A TOTAL OF 13.6 INCHES OF SNOW FELL.  AT STAPLETON AIRPORT…19.0 INCHES OF SNOW FELL…MAKING IT THE HEAVIEST SNOW IN JANUARY AND THE 5TH HEAVIEST SNOW OF RECORD AT THAT TIME.  NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO A VELOCITY OF 23 MPH ON THE 25TH…BUT GENERALLY THE WINDS WERE LIGHT THROUGHOUT THE STORM.  THE SNOW DISRUPTED TRAFFIC…BUT STREET CLEARING WAS BEGUN SOON AFTER IT BECAME APPARENT THAT THE SNOW WOULD BE HEAVY.  OVER THE 5 DAYS…TEMPERATURES RANGED FROM A HIGH OF 48 DEGREES ON THE 22ND TO A LOW OF 1 DEGREE ON THE 26TH.  MOST READINGS WERE IN THE TEENS AND 20`S DURING THE STORM.

24-25

IN 1916…A TRACE OF LIGHT RAIN…RARE IN DENVER FOR JANUARY…  OCCURRED ON BOTH DAYS.
 
IN 1946…HIGH WINDS OCCURRED IN BOULDER AND ALONG THE FOOTHILLS TO THE NORTH.  A WIND GUST TO 72 MPH WAS RECORDED AT VALMONT.
 
IN 1947…STRONG WINDS WERE MEASURED IN BOULDER.  HOURLY WIND GUSTS AVERAGED 72 MPH AT VALMONT EAST OF BOULDER.
 
IN 1950…HEAVY SNOWFALL TOTALED 7.1 INCHES AT STAPLETON AIRPORT AND 6.8 INCHES IN DOWNTOWN DENVER.

Continue reading January 25 to January 31 – This week in Denver weather history →

Thornton Weather

January 18 to January 24 – This week in Denver weather history

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January 18 to January 24 - This week in Denver weather history.
January 18 to January 24 - This week in Denver weather history.

Our look back in Denver weather history for this week is dominated by the seemingly ever present high winds.  There are numerous incidents of those causing damage and injury.  Also notable though was a snowstorm in 1948 that dumped snow for more than 92 hours straight, a protracted cold spell in 1962 that lasted nearly a week and claimed lives and more recently the snowstorms in January 2007 that dumped snow on the region.

14-21

IN 1930…A PROTRACTED COLD SPELL OCCURRED WHEN LOW TEMPERATURES PLUNGED BELOW ZERO ON 8 CONSECUTIVE DAYS.  THE COLDEST LOW TEMPERATURES OF 20 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON THE 17TH AND 19 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON THE 16TH WERE RECORD MINIMUMS FOR THE DATES.  HIGH TEMPERATURES DURING THE PERIOD RANGED FROM 18 ON THE 18TH TO ZERO ON THE 20TH.  TWO DEGREES ON THE 15TH WAS A RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR THE DATE.

15-23

IN 1962…A PROTRACTED COLD SPELL KEPT METRO DENVER IN THE DEEP FREEZE FOR MORE THAN A WEEK.  FROM THE 15TH THRU THE 23RD…LOW TEMPERATURES WERE ZERO OR BELOW FOR 9 CONSECUTIVE DAYS…BUT A DAILY RECORD LOW WAS SET ONLY ON THE 22ND WHEN THE TEMPERATURE DIPPED TO 14 DEGREES BELOW ZERO.  A RECORD LOW MAXIMUM FOR THE DATE WAS ALSO SET ON THE 22ND WHEN THE TEMPERATURE CLIMBED TO ONLY 11 DEGREES.  THE COLDEST HIGH TEMPERATURE WAS 3 DEGREES ABOVE ZERO ON THE 21ST…WHICH DID NOT BREAK THE RECORD.  THE PROTRACTED COLD WAS BROKEN FOR ONLY A FEW HOURS ON THE AFTERNOON OF THE 20TH WHEN CHINOOK WINDS WARMED THE TEMPERATURE TO A HIGH OF 38 DEGREES BEFORE ANOTHER SURGE OF COLD ARCTIC AIR PLUNGED TEMPERATURES BACK INTO THE DEEP FREEZE THAT EVENING.  THE SEVERE COLD CAUSED MUCH DAMAGE TO WATER SYSTEMS.  A WOMAN WAS FROZEN TO DEATH AT MORRISON.  THERE WERE OTHER DEATHS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE WEATHER…INCLUDING TRAFFIC DEATHS AND HEART ATTACKS FROM OVEREXERTION.

16-18

IN 1943…LIGHT SNOWFALL TOTALED 3.2 INCHES OVER THE 3 DAYS. THIS WAS THE ONLY MEASURABLE SNOW OF THE MONTH.  NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 20 MPH ON THE 16TH.

17-18

IN 1974…RARE OVERNIGHT JANUARY RAINFALL TOTALED 0.12 INCH ON THE 17TH AND 0.26 INCH ON THE 18TH WHEN IT WAS BRIEFLY MIXED WITH SNOW.

Continue reading January 18 to January 24 – This week in Denver weather history →

Weather History

January 4 to January 10 – This week in Denver weather history

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January 4th to the 10th - This week in Denver weather history.
January 4th to the 10th - This week in Denver weather history.

High winds and arctic cold, the two primary weather conditions we expect to see this time of year, dominate our look back at this week in Denver weather history.

31-6 

IN 1973…THE 31ST MARKED THE START OF A PROTRACTED COLD SPELL THAT EXTENDED INTO JANUARY OF 1974 WHEN TEMPERATURES DIPPED BELOW ZERO ON 7 CONSECUTIVE DAYS.  RECORD DAILY MINIMUM READINGS OCCURRED ON THE 3RD AND 5TH WHEN THE TEMPERATURE PLUNGED TO 17 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON BOTH DAYS. A RECORD LOW DAILY MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF ONLY 4 DEGREES OCCURRED ON THE 5TH.

31-7 

IN 1941…A PROTRACTED COLD SPELL THROUGH JANUARY 7…1942… PRODUCED BELOW ZERO LOW TEMPERATURES ON 7 OF THE 8 DAYS. A LOW TEMPERATURE OF 2 DEGREES ON THE 3RD PREVENTED A STRING OF 8 DAYS BELOW ZERO.  THE COLDEST DAYS DURING THE PERIOD WERE THE 1ST WITH A HIGH OF 2 DEGREES AND A LOW OF 9 DEGREES BELOW ZERO…THE 4TH WITH A HIGH OF 2 DEGREES AND A LOW OF 11 DEGREES BELOW ZERO…AND THE 5TH WITH A HIGH OF 26 DEGREES AND A LOW OF 12 DEGREES BELOW ZERO.

1-5  

IN 1940…THE FIRST DAYS OF THE MONTH WERE CHARACTERIZED BY A MIXTURE OF DRIZZLE…LIGHT SNOW…AND FOG.  FOG OCCURRED ON EACH DAY.  ON THE 4TH AND 5TH CONSIDERABLE GLAZING RESULTED FROM FREEZING DRIZZLE.  ALL OBJECTS WERE COATED WITH A GLAZE ON THE WINDWARD SIDE.  THIS RESULTED IN VERY SLIPPERY STREETS…WHICH CAUSED SEVERAL MINOR TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS.  THE GLAZE WAS NOT HEAVY ENOUGH TO DAMAGE WIRES AND CABLES.

Continue reading January 4 to January 10 – This week in Denver weather history →

Climatology, Thornton Weather

Dreaming of a white Christmas? The chances are slim

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What are the odds of a white Denver Christmas? Not very good.
What are the odds of a white Denver Christmas? Not 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.

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

Weather History

December 14 – 20 – This week in Denver weather history

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December 14 - 20 - This week in Denver weather history.
December 14 - 20 - This week in Denver weather history.

Our look back in Denver weather history for this week is punctuated by hurricane force winds – numerous times.  Some of these storms reached 120 mph, overturned semis, ripped roofs off and more.  Also notable is the blizzard we suffered through two years ago this week.

From the National Weather Service:

…THIS WEEK IN METRO DENVER WEATHER HISTORY…

2-17 

In 1939…more than 2 weeks of unseasonably warm weather made the month the 3rd warmest on record.  Seven daily temperature records were set…including the all time record high temperature for the month of 79 degrees on the 5th.  Daytime highs were balmy with 14 days in the 60’s and 70’s.  Low temperatures dipped to freezing or below on only 5 days.  The period was dry with only a trace of snow on the 12th.

3-15 

In 1972…a protracted cold spell held an icy grip on metro Denver when maximum temperatures never reached above freezing for 10 consecutive days from the 3rd through the 12th and minimum temperatures dipped below zero on eleven consecutive days from the 5th through the 15th. Daily low temperature records were set with 15 degrees below zero on the 5th…17 degrees below zero on the 6th… And 18 degrees below zero on the 10th.  Daily record low maximum readings were set with 3 degrees on the 6th and 6 degrees on the 9th.  The very cold temperatures were caused by 3 to 5 inches of snow cover and a Canadian air mass.

Continue reading December 14 – 20 – This week in Denver weather history →

Weather History

December 7 – 13 – This week in Denver weather history

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December 7 - 13 - This week in Denver weather history.
December 7 - 13 - This week in Denver weather history.

Big wind, big snow, a heat wave and Arctic cold all highlight our look back at this week in Denver weather history.

From the National Weather Service:

2-17

IN 1939…MORE THAN 2 WEEKS OF UNSEASONABLY WARM WEATHER MADE THE MONTH THE 3RD WARMEST ON RECORD.  SEVEN DAILY TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE SET…INCLUDING THE ALL TIME RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH OF 79 DEGREES ON THE 5TH.  DAYTIME HIGHS WERE BALMY WITH 14 DAYS IN THE 60`S AND 70`S.  LOW TEMPERATURES DIPPED TO FREEZING OR BELOW ON ONLY 5 DAYS.  THE PERIOD WAS DRY WITH ONLY A TRACE OF SNOW ON THE 12TH.

3-15

IN 1972…A PROTRACTED COLD SPELL HELD AN ICY GRIP ON METRO DENVER WHEN MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES NEVER REACHED ABOVE FREEZING FOR 10 CONSECUTIVE DAYS FROM THE 3RD THROUGH THE 12TH AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES DIPPED BELOW ZERO ON ELEVEN CONSECUTIVE DAYS FROM THE 5TH THROUGH THE 15TH. DAILY LOW TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE SET WITH 15 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON THE 5TH…17 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON THE 6TH… AND 18 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON THE 10TH.  DAILY RECORD LOW MAXIMUM READINGS WERE SET WITH 3 DEGREES ON THE 6TH AND 6 DEGREES ON THE 9TH.  THE VERY COLD TEMPERATURES WERE CAUSED BY 3 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW COVER AND A CANADIAN AIR MASS.

5-7

IN 1978…A MAJOR STORM DUMPED HEAVY SNOW ACROSS METRO DENVER. AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT…SNOWFALL TOTALED 8.5 INCHES…NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTED TO 46 MPH…AND TEMPERATURES PLUNGED FROM A HIGH OF 49 DEGREES ON THE 5TH TO A LOW OF ONLY 6 DEGREES ON THE 6TH.  MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 6 DEGREES ON THE 7TH WAS A NEW DAILY RECORD LOW MAXIMUM READING.  MOST OF THE SNOW…6.7 INCHES…FELL ON THE 5TH.

Continue reading December 7 – 13 – This week in Denver weather history →

Weather History

November 16th – 22nd – This week in Denver weather history

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This week in Denver weather history - November 16th to the 22nd.
This week in Denver weather history - November 16th to the 22nd.

Looking back into the Denver weather history books for this week, November 16th to the 22nd, we see a lot of the normal things we would expect to – lots of wind and snow.

 PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
645 PM MST SAT NOV 15 2008
 
..THIS WEEK IN METRO DENVER WEATHER HISTORY…

14-18 IN 1964…THE FIRST MEASURABLE SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON
        TOTALED 6.0 INCHES AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
        WHERE NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTED TO 32 MPH ON THE 14TH.
        MOST OF THE SNOW…4.2 INCHES…FELL ON THE 14TH.  THIS
        WAS THE ONLY MEASURABLE SNOW OF THE MONTH.
15-16 IN 1894…WINDS BEHIND AN APPARENT STRONG COLD FRONT WERE
        SUSTAINED TO 60 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 75 MPH ON THE 15TH.
        SNOWFALL TOTALED 2.6 INCHES IN THE CITY.  TEMPERATURES
        PLUNGED FROM A HIGH OF 72 DEGREES ON THE 15TH TO A LOW
        OF ONLY 5 DEGREES ON THE 16TH.  THE HIGH TEMPERATURE
        ON THE 16TH WAS 24 DEGREES…WHICH OCCURRED SHORTLY
        AFTER MIDNIGHT.
      IN 1996…AROUND A FOOT OF NEW SNOW FELL IN THE FOOTHILLS
        WEST OF DENVER WITH 3 TO 6 INCHES AT LOWER ELEVATIONS
        ACROSS METRO DENVER.  SOME OF THE SNOWFALL TOTALS
        INCLUDED:  15 INCHES AT GEORGETOWN…12 INCHES AT IDAHO
        SPRINGS…10 INCHES AT CHIEF HOSA…AND 9 INCHES IN COAL
        CREEK CANYON.  SNOWFALL TOTALED 2.9 INCHES AT THE SITE
        OF THE FORMER STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.  NORTHEAST
        WINDS GUSTED TO 23 MPH AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON
        THE 16TH.
Continue reading November 16th – 22nd – This week in Denver weather history →

Climatology, Thornton Weather

Snow on Halloween more fact than fiction

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Snow on Halloween? Popular belief is that we seem to have a lot of snow when the trick or treaters are out on the street.
Snow on Halloween? Popular belief is that we seem to have a lot of snow when the trick or treaters are out on the street.

Conventional wisdom in the Denver area is that it always seems to rain or snow on Halloween.   I know as a kid it seemed like Mother Nature always put a damper on our trick or treating. 

But, is there any truth to this urban legend?  Or is this just one of those times where our memory doesn’t serve us quite right? 

This year it certainly looks like we have nothing to worry about but  the National Weather Service has been kind enough to compile weather statistics just for Halloween.  As it turns out, the thought of snow and rain on Octboer 31st isn’t just in our minds! 

Click here to read all about Halloween and Denver’s historical chances of snow.

Climatology, Colorado Weather, Thornton Weather

November 2008 weather preview posted

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A Preview of Denver's November Weather - Will it be a Fall Month or a Winter Month?
A Preview of Denver's November Weather - Will it be a Fall Month or a Winter Month?

A preview of Denver’s November weather – Will it be a fall month or a winter month?  Typically November is a quiet weather month with plenty of nice, fall days but it can also turn wet with plenty of snow and moisture.  Just like Forest Gump’s proverbial box of chocolates, you never quite know what you are going to get.

Looking into the weather history books, we see that November is actually Denver’s second snowiest month, second only to March (April is third).  Historically we average 10.7 inches of snow during the month.

Click here to read our complete November preview and see what to expect for the month.