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
