Our August weather was a bit of a mixed bag by the two biggest standards. On one hand, it was cooler than normal which was nice. On the other, we saw less than half the amount of precipitation we normally see during August.
August typically is when the monsoon kicks in and we see healthy doses of precipitation. This year however, the monsoonal flow was regularly disrupted by troughs digging in from the north and west.
- August 2016 top shots: Monthly photo slideshow
We certainly started the month hot with three days of temperatures near or above 95 degrees. Things then cooled down for a few days as the first trough moved through. Warmer temperatures then returned with readings not too far off of normal for the next two weeks. The final 10 days or so of the month then saw cooler conditions with the majority of days recording readings below normal.
Thornton’s overall average temperature for the month came in at 69.5 degrees. That was three degrees cooler than Denver’s long term average of 72.5 degrees. Out at the airport where Denver’s official measurements are taken, the airport split the difference with an average of 71.2 degrees.
Temperature ranged from a high of 97.2 degrees on the third of the month down to a cool 46.7 degrees on the 25th. Denver saw a maximum of 97 degrees on the 9th and a low of 47 degrees on the 25th. Thornton saw 14 days with highs at or above 90 degrees while Denver recorded 15.
Officially, one temperature record was made. On the morning of the 27th the mercury at DIA dropped to 48 degrees typing the record low for the date.
In terms of precipitation, Denver averages 1.69 inches during the month of August. Thornton saw only 0.76 inches in our rain bucket. The airport fared even worse with only 0.22 inches making the month the eight driest August on record in Denver.
Click here to view Thornton’s August 2016 climate report.
From the National Weather Service:
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
848 AM MDT THU SEP 1 2016
...................................
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST 2016...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2016
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 105 08/08/1878
LOW 40 08/26/1910
08/25/1910
08/24/1910
HIGHEST 97 08/09 98 08/15
LOWEST 47 08/25 43 08/23
08/20
AVG. MAXIMUM 86.3 87.2 -0.9 89.8
AVG. MINIMUM 56.2 57.9 -1.7 58.3
MEAN 71.2 72.5 -1.3 74.0
DAYS MAX >= 90 15 11.5 3.5 19
DAYS MAX <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 5.85 1979
MINIMUM 0.02 1924
TOTALS 0.22 1.69 -1.47 1.18
DAILY AVG. 0.01 0.05 -0.04 0.04
DAYS >= .01 4 8.6 -4.6 9
DAYS >= .10 1 4.3 -3.3 4
DAYS >= .50 0 1.2 -1.2 1
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.3 -0.3 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.12 08/24 TO 08/24 08/11 TO 08/11
08/10 TO 08/11
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 15 10 5 13
SINCE 7/1 15 16 -1 18
COOLING TOTAL 218 244 -26 304
SINCE 1/1 762 688 74 713
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
..................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.9
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 2/173
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 43/010 DATE 08/19
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 55/020 DATE 08/19
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.60
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 4
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 22
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 5
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 47
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 11 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 0 RAIN 1
LIGHT RAIN 10 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0
LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 0
FOG 5 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 3
HAZE 4
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.