There is little doubt that when folks’ memories go back October 2019’s weather, they will remember the snow and even more so, the cold. Numerous cold temperature records were broken and the month ended up as one of the coldest Octobers on record.
Things started off cool for the first few days and a bit of precipitation. We then warmed up and dried out, seeing our warmest temperatures of the month on the 7th, 8th and 9th. From there, it was mostly downhill.
The evening of the 9th saw a powerful storm system and cold front move across northeastern Colorado. Temperatures plummeted and we saw our first snowfall of the season. Denver officially saw a 70 degree temperature change from the 9th to the 10th, tying the period for the second largest two-day temperature swing in Denver history.
High pressure returned on the 12th and we warmed up and dried out again. Cool but non-dramatic conditions arrived for the 18th through the 23rd. We then saw our second snowfall on the 24th of the month.
A brief rebound saw us warm up and enjoy a day of warmer than normal temperatures on the 26th. Once again, Mother Nature dropped the hammer with cold and snow returning on the 27th. The final five days of the month saw us receive two shots of snow and temperatures more akin to what we would expect to see in January.
Overall, Thornton’s average temperature for the month was 42.8 degrees. This was far below the long term Denver average for October of 50.9 degrees and was Thornton’s second coldest October since ThorntonWeather.com came online in the fall of 2006.
Out at Denver International Airport where the Mile High City’s official measurements are taken, it was slightly warmer with an average of 43.7 degrees. That made the month the fourth coldest October in Denver weather history.
Denver saw six cold weather daily temperature records fall. Among them were a record low of 13 degrees on the 10th, a record low on the 11th, record low maximums on the 28th and the 29th, and then two more record low temperatures on the 30th and 31st.
In terms of precipitation, Denver averages 1.02 inches of liquid during the month of October. Thornton bested that handily with 1.54 inches in our rain bucket. At DIA, it was drier with only 0.91 inches officially.
Snow was abundant in Thornton and Denver. Thornton received 17.6 inches of the white stuff while Denver came in at 12.5 inches. The Denver measurement made the month the 12th snowiest in Denver weather history.
Click here to view Thornton’s October 2019 climate report.
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
230 PM MDT FRI NOV 1 2019
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...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2019...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2019
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 90 10/01/1892
LOW -2 10/29/1917
HIGHEST 83 10/09 83 0 86 10/03
LOWEST 3 10/30 22 -19 18 10/15
AVG. MAXIMUM 58.5 65.3 -6.8 61.5
AVG. MINIMUM 28.9 36.6 -7.7 36.8
MEAN 43.7 50.9 -7.2 49.2
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 5 0.4 4.6 1
DAYS MIN <= 32 18 8.5 9.5 7
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 4.17 1969
MINIMUM T 1934
TOTALS 0.91 1.02 -0.11 0.99
DAILY AVG. 0.03 0.03 0.00 0.03
DAYS >= .01 9 5.3 3.7 9
DAYS >= .10 4 2.4 1.6 3
DAYS >= .50 0 0.5 -0.5 0
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.1 -0.1 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.22 10/29 TO 10/29
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 12.5 4.0
RECORD OCTOBER 31.2 1969
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 653 440 213 487
SINCE 7/1 675 581 94 565
COOLING TOTAL 1 5 -4 4
SINCE 1/1 916 769 147 1026
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/09 10/07
LATEST 05/05
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WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 10.0
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 1/209
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 46/040 DATE 10/09
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 57/030 DATE 10/09
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.40
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 13
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 13
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 5
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 51
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.