We entered the month on a three-month streak of warmer, drier than normal conditions. The hope was that August would bring some relief but it did not.

The first week of the month saw mercury readings all above the 90 degree mark. We did, however, record some minor precipitation during that period. Three days of below normal mercury readings gave us some hope but that was short-lived.

• August 2024 in pictures – view the monthly photo slideshow

The final three weeks of the month saw temperatures routinely above average with only a few exceptions. We did see a few days with decent precipitation but those were uncommon as compared to most other days which remained dry.

Thornton’s average temperature for August 2024 came in at 73.5 degrees. This was nearly two degrees above our 18-year running average for the month of 71.8 degrees.  Our warmest reading of 99 degrees came on two days, the 2^nd and the 17^th. The second to last day of the month, the 30^th, saw our coolest reading of the month at 52 degrees.

By comparison, Denver continued to show its warm bias. As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City’s average temperature for the month came in at 75.6 degrees. That is well above their long term average of 72.9 degrees and puts the year into the books as the 5^th warmest August on record for Denver. During August 2024, the city recorded a maximum of 102 degrees on the 4^th and a low of 50 degrees on the 30^th.

The National Weather Service noted that summer 2024 (June, July, August) will go into the history books as the second warmest summer on record (since 1872). It, of course, bears repeating that since the service moved Denver’s official station to DIA in 1984, records are severely skewed and not particularly comparable to those taken at the previous official stations.

In terms of precipitation, the month did end up drier than normal but, thankfully, not by a lot. Thornton recorded 1.07 inches in our rain bucket. This was below the 18-year average of 1.24 inches for the month.

Out at the airport, it was a bit drier with 0.92 inches being recorded for Denver. That is well below their August average of 1.58 inches.

Click here to view Thornton’s complete August 2024 climate summary report.