The Colorado Front Range saw a relatively calm month in October 2012 but also a change in the hot and dry pattern we had been stuck in. Temperatures were below normal for the first time in months and above average precipitation was recorded.
October 2012 started out with an average day on the first but the 2nd and 3rd of the month brought temperatures above 80 degrees.
That warm weather didn’t last long however as a cold front moved in on the 4th and brought much cooler temperatures. Denver officially recorded its first snow of the season on the 5th (0.4 inch at DIA) however Thornton missed out and did not record any with that system.
Temperatures remained cooler than normal for most of the first half of the month. On the 13th we received a light dose of rain (0.13 inch in Thornton) while Denver recorded a more generous 0.55 inch.
A calm period followed through the third week of the month. Temperatures were generally mild though and above normal.
Big changes arrived on the 24th as a large upper level trough and cold front moved in. Thornton recorded a combined total of 5.7 inches of snow on the 25th and 26th. Denver recorded 5.1 inches at the airport during the period.
The closing days of the month brought a return to warmer than normal temperatures and dry conditions.
Overall Thornton recorded an average temperature during October 2012 of 47.6 degrees. Denver’s temperature averaged 49.0 degrees which was 1.9 degrees below normal.
Temperatures in Thornton ranged from a high of 85.0 degrees on the 3rd down to a low of 22.8 degrees on the 27th. Officially Denver recorded a monthly high of 83.0 degrees and a low of 24 degrees on those same dates.
The only temperature record set occurred on the 20th when the morning temperature at DIA dropped to 50 degrees. This tied the record low minimum for the date that was also set in 1939 and 1947.
In terms of precipitation, the little bit of rain at the start and middle of the month followed by the snow helped to drive up precipitation totals. Here in Thornton we recorded 0.99 inch of precipitation during the month while DIA measured 1.22. Denver’s total was 0.20 inch above normal. Denver’s snowfall total for the month of 5.5 inches was 1.5 inches above normal.
Click here to view the ThorntonWeather.com climatology report for October 2012.
Denver’s Official October 2012 Climate Summary
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST 2012...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2012
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 98 08/27 87 11 99 08/25
08/03
08/06
08/09
LOWEST 47 08/17 40 7 55 08/20
AVG. MAXIMUM 91.0 87.2 3.8 92.7
AVG. MINIMUM 58.9 57.9 1.0 61.3
MEAN 75.0 72.5 2.5 77.0
DAYS MAX >= 90 20 11.5 8.5 22
DAYS MAX = .01 1 8.6 -7.6 3
DAYS >= .10 1 4.3 -3.3 1
DAYS >= .50 0 1.2 -1.2 0
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.3 -0.3 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.11 08/11 TO 08/11 08/03 TO 08/03
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 0.0 NO SNOW EVER RECORDED IN AUGUST
TOTALS 0.0 NO SNOW EVER RECORDED IN AUGUST
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 0 10 -10 0
SINCE 7/1 0 16 -16 0
COOLING TOTAL 319 244 75 382
SINCE 1/1 1122 688 434 863
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 3/217
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 38/330 DATE 08/30
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 45/330 DATE 08/30
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.50
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 8
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 22
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 1
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 34
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 4 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 0 RAIN 0
LIGHT RAIN 9 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0
LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 0
FOG 0 FOG W/VIS