Mild and dry were the keywords for Thornton for October 2024. The month came in as the warmest and the second driest October of the past 18 years.
While the month lacked any sort of drama in the way of storms, it was most notable for the temperatures. We saw our last 90-degree day of the year on October 2nd and the first 16 days of the month saw 10 days with 80 degree or warmer readings. We didn’t see our first freezing temperature of the season until the 25th of the month, more than two weeks later than normal.
The latter half of the month did cool some but mercury readings remained above normal on most days. Overall, 27 of the 31 days of the month saw above average high temperatures.
Precipitation for the month was meager to say the least. It wasn’t until the 30th that we saw any and even then, it was a paltry 0.03 inches. No snow was recorded.
Thornton’s average temperature for the month came in at 56.1 degrees. That was far above the 50.0 degree 18-year running average for October in Thornton. It also goes into the books as our warmest October over that period, besting the 55.8 degree average of October 2016.
Temperatures ranged from a high of 90.3 degrees on the 2nd of the month down to a low of 29.2 degrees on the morning of the 31st.
The Mile High City, as officially measured at Denver International Airport, was even warmer. Their October average temperature came in at 59.1 degrees. That was far above Denver’s long term October average of 51.1 degrees. The month goes into the Denver weather record books as the second warmest on record with October 1950 holding on as the warmest (59.9 degrees).
Temperatures at the airport ranged from a high of 89 degrees on the 2nd to a low of 24 degrees on the 31st.
As noted above, precipitation was almost non-existent with only 0.03 inches recorded. This was far below the 0.92 inch running average Thornton has seen in October over the past 18 years. October 2024 goes into the books as the second driest October during that time, second only to October 2021 (0.02”).
Out at the airport, Denver saw 0.09 inches of precipitation, all coming on the 18th of the month. This was far short of the 0.99 inches the Mile High City averages in October. That makes October 2024 the 11th driest October ever recorded in Denver.
Over the past 18 years, Thornton has averaged 3.8 inches of snow in October. This year, none was recorded. That is not, however, all that unusual as seven other Octobers over the past 18 years saw no snow as well.
Similarly, out at DIA, Denver saw no snowfall for the month. This ties with 20 other Octobers since 1882 in Denver with no snow. On average, Denver records 4.1 inches during the month.
Click here to view Thornton’s complete October 2024 climate summary report.
