As fall begins the weather changes and as much as we may not like it, snow is not too far off. Our look back at this week in Denver weather history shows a number of early season snow events, including one that dumped an astonishing 16.5 inches.
From the National Weather Service:
20-22
In 1902…a thunderstorm on the 20th…in advance of an apparent cold front…produced rain…hail…and northwest winds to 40 mph with gusts to 48 mph. Widespread rain developed behind the cold front and totaled 3.21 inches from the evening of the 20th through the early afternoon of the 22nd. The 2.70 inches of precipitation recorded from 800 pm on the 20th to 800 pm on the 21st is the greatest 24 hour precipitation ever recorded in the month of September. The temperature dipped from a high of 80 degrees on the 20th to a high of only 51 degrees on the 21st.
21-22
In 1870…strong winds occurred in the foothills and in Boulder and Denver.
In 1895…rain changed to snow overnight and totaled 11.4 inches in downtown Denver. This was the first snowfall of the season and the second heaviest first snowfall of the season on record. North winds were sustained to 27 mph with gusts to 30 mph on the 21st.
22
In 1913…a thunderstorm produced northwest winds sustained to 40 mph with gusts to 44 mph.
In 1946…a trace of snow fell in downtown Denver. This marked the start of the longest snow season on record… 263 days through June 11…1947…when a trace of snow also fell.
23
In 1873…north to northwest winds blowing almost a gale spread clouds of dust and sand into the city during the afternoon and evening. From the roof of the weather observer’s building…houses a few hundred yards away were not visible and not even the sky could be seen through the clouds of sand. The wind reached sustained speeds of 35 mph…but only 28 mph was registered for any one hour.
In 1977…wind gusts from 50 to 80 mph were reported along the foothills. A northwest wind gust to 53 mph was recorded at Stapleton International Airport.
23-24
In 2000…the first snowstorm of the season brought heavy snow to areas in and near the foothills. While the heaviest snow fell north of metro Denver…6 inches were measured in Boulder…4 inches at both Castle Rock and Morrison…but only 0.2 inch at the site of the former Stapleton International Airport where most of the precipitation fell as rain. At Denver International Airport where drizzle and rain fell on the 23rd… Snowfall during the early morning of the 24th was estimated at 2.1 inches due to melting. The foothills west of Denver received more snow with 10 inches measured at Conifer…9 inches 11 miles southwest of Morrison… 8 inches atop Crow Hill…7 inches at Chief Hosa…and 5 inches at Ralston Reservoir.
24
In 1901…northwest winds were sustained to 50 mph with gusts as high as 57 mph in the city.
In 1932…thunderstorm rainfall of only 0.11 inch was the only measurable precipitation for the month that year in the city.
In 1986…a very strong wind storm roared across metro Denver. Boulder was hit hardest. Winds peaked to 131 mph at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. This is thought to be the highest wind gust ever recorded in Boulder during September. A wind gust to 118 mph was clocked on Davidson Mesa and to 92 mph near Niwot. Gusts of 70 to 80 mph were common over all of Boulder where an estimated 70 to 90 large trees were uprooted. About a dozen of them hit cars. Two walls of a building under construction were toppled and solar panels were blown off a house. Traffic lights and power lines were downed. Damage to power equipment alone was estimated at 100 thousand dollars. Wind gusts to 87 mph at Jefferson County Airport damaged two planes. A woman was seriously injured in Boulder. She suffered a fractured skull when struck by a falling tree limb. Trees were also downed in Louisville and Lafayette. West wind gusts to 45 mph were recorded at Stapleton International Airport.
25
In 1873…a fire was sighted in the woods near Platte Canyon… Probably caused by high winds blowing sparks among the timber.
In 1896…an apparent cold front produced northeast sustained winds to 40 mph with gusts to 48 mph.
In 1910…a thunderstorm produced sustained north winds to 51 mph. This was the highest recorded wind speed in the city in September at the time.
In 1936…a vigorous cold front produced a deadly dust storm in the city. North winds sustained to 36 mph with gusts to 38 mph produced much blowing dense dust…greatly restricting the visibility. The temperature plunged from a high of 84 degrees to a low of 38 degrees by midnight. The weather observer described the event with the following. “at 6:00 pm the temperature was 82 degrees and the wind velocity was only 4 mph; but with the wind shifting to the north and the barometer rising quite rapidly…the temperature fell sharply. By 6:30 pm…the wind velocity increased rapidly and by 7:00 pm had reached a maximum sustained velocity of 36 mph…bringing with it clouds of dust which had been picked up by gale force winds in southern Wyoming and northern Colorado…covering the city. The visibility was generally reduced to about 1/4 mile; however…the whirling of the dust down the streets and alleys…the visibility was at times somewhat less. Airplanes were grounded…traffic was halted at times…and homes filled with dust. The strong winds damaged electric power and telephone lines…leaving homes in darkness for a few hours in the city and for 18 hours in suburban towns and putting 2500 telephones out of service because of broken lines. An electric lineman was killed while repairing damage by the high winds. The dust storm was followed by rain that began falling at 10:55 pm…which turned to snow during the early morning hours of the 26th. A major snow storm followed on the 27th through the 29th.”
In 1999…high winds developed in the foothills of Boulder County. Winds gusted to 90 mph at Wondervu.
25-26
In 1908…apparent post-frontal rain changed to snow overnight and totaled 6.5 inches in downtown Denver. This was the first snow of the season. Precipitation totaled 0.76 inch. North winds were sustained to 39 mph on the 25th.
25-27
In 1996…an early season snowstorm brought heavy snow to the Front Range eastern foothills. Snowfall totals included: 8 to 12 inches around Conifer…7 inches on Floyd Hill…and 6 inches at both Bailey and Chief Hosa. Snowfall totaled only 4.7 inches at the site of the former Stapleton International Airport. This was the first measurable snow of the season. After the passage of a strong cold front…north winds gusted to 38 mph at Denver International Airport on the 25th.
26
In 1907…a late afternoon thunderstorm produced hail…0.23 inch of precipitation…and north winds sustained to 24 mph.
In 1927…snowfall of 1.7 inches…mixed at times with sleet… Was the first measurable snowfall of the season.
In 2012…a man was seriously injured when he was struck by lightning outside the Hebrew Educational Alliance as he and his family were getting in their car. The victim stopped breathing but was saved when his wife performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him immediately following the lightning strike. He suffered burns to 15 percent of his body which included his legs…chest… Abdomen and neck. Lightning also caused 48 outages in Denver which affected 6582 Xcel Energy customers.
26-28
In 1936…the heaviest snowfall ever recorded in September and the heaviest snowfall ever recorded so early in the season dumped a total of 16.5 inches of snow on downtown Denver and 21.3 inches at Denver municipal airport. The 15.0 inches of snow measured from 6:00 pm on the 27th to 6:00 pm on the 28th is the greatest 24 hour snowfall ever recorded in September. This was the first snow of the season. The snow was intermittent through the 26th…but continuous from early afternoon on the 27th to around midnight on the 28th…except for a period of rain during the afternoon of the 28th which contributed to a loss of depth on the ground. The greatest snow depth on the ground downtown was 13 inches with 8 inches at Denver municipal airport. There were no high winds with the storm and traffic was interrupted for only a short period. The storm produced property damage estimated at 7 million dollars. With trees and shrubs in full foliage…the leaves caught and held the heavy water-laden snow…until the branches snapped from the weight. More than 3000 workmen were called to remove the debris and snow from the city. The city firemen who were off duty…as well as all the reserves… Were asked to report to their stations. All schools in the city remained open…but attendance was only 50 percent of normal. Grade school students were sent home at noon on the 28th. The early storm caught stockmen with many cattle still in higher ranges. Warm weather followed the snow…which had all melted by the end of the month…except for a few inches in sheltered places.
27
In 1877…smoke from heavy forest fires in the mountains spread over the city on upper wind currents.
In 1935…the first snow of the season was 2.8 inches in downtown Denver. The low temperature dipped to 31 degrees for the first freeze of the season.
27-28
In 1984…heavy snow fell over the plains and foothills. Snowfall amounts ranged from 2 to 5 inches on the plains with up to a foot at higher elevations in the foothills. The main problem caused by the storm was thousands of power outages caused by snow-laden tree limbs snapping and falling onto power lines. Over 15 thousand homes lost power in metro Denver. Some cars were damaged by falling trees and limbs. The snow also caused some flight delays at Stapleton International Airport where 5.1 inches of snow fell and northeast winds gusted to 29 mph. Maximum snow depth on the ground was 3 inches due to melting. The high temperature of only 34 degrees on the 28th was a record low maximum for the date and equaled the all-time record for the month at that time.
28
In 1877…heavy dense smoke from mountain forest fires spread over the city. The smoke was so dense that it obscured the sun at times.
In 1921…post-frontal northeast winds were sustained to 44 mph.
In 1953…a pacific cold front produced a west wind gust to 59 mph at Stapleton Airport where the visibility was briefly reduced to 3/4 miles in blowing dust. Strong winds were also widespread over Boulder during the afternoon.
In 1960…strong…gusty winds tore the roof from 6 units of a motel on West Colfax Avenue in Denver. The roofing sailed over the building and crashed down on a truck…wrecking it. The strong winds were the result of an apparent microburst.
In 1999…snow fell in the foothills west of metro Denver and over the plains. Snowfall totals included 7 inches at Conifer. At the site of the former Stapleton International Airport…3.1 inches of snow were measured. This was the first snow of the season. The heavy wet snow snapped branches from fully leafed trees…downing power lines and causing scattered outages.
In 2004…severe thunderstorms produced hail to 3/4 inch in diameter in Littleton and in Douglas County 14 miles northwest of Castle Rock.
In 2012…a weak tornado (ef-0) tornado touched down near Strasburg. No damage was reported.
28-29
In 1959…one of the heaviest September snow storms of record began as rain and changed to heavy wet snow. The storm caused heavy damage to trees and shrubbery…which were still in full leaf. The storm dumped 10.6 inches of snow at Stapleton Airport…the third heaviest September snow amount to date. Falling trees and limbs disrupted traffic…broke power and communication lines…and damaged buildings and cars. One man was killed in Denver by a falling tree limb…and four others died of heart attacks while shoveling snow or trying to move heavy tree limbs. Direct costs of the storm for cleaning up debris…repairing utility lines…and damage to buildings and other property across all of eastern Colorado were estimated to be over a half million dollars. The value of trees destroyed or damaged was estimated to exceed five million dollars. North-northeast winds gusted to 32 mph at Stapleton Airport on the 28th.
In 1985…an unusually cold air mass for this time of year settled over the area. Metro Denver received 8 to 12 inches of powdery snow. The 8.7 inches of snow that fell at Stapleton International Airport was the first measurable snow of the season and the city’s heaviest September snowfall since 1971. The snow caused flight delays of over 2 hours at Stapleton International Airport. I-70 was closed for a time west of Denver. Snow-laden tree limbs snapped over all of metro Denver…causing widespread power outages. Ten thousand people were without electricity for a time in Boulder. The morning of the 29th saw mid-winter temperatures along the Front Range. The temperature dipped to 17 degrees…the lowest temperature ever recorded in September in Denver. The high temperature of only 29 degrees on the 29th was a new record low maximum for the date and lowest ever recorded during the month of September. The low temperature of 21 degrees on the evening of the 28th set a new record low for the date. The cold weather persisted through the 1st with record minimum temperatures of 25 degrees set on the 30th and 27 degrees set on October 1st.