Summer-like weather starts out the weekend with temperatures well above normal. The period will end though with cooler temperatures and a good dose or rain.

For Friday, sunny skies will be the rule throughout the day. Conditions will be calm and dry as we head for a high around the 80 degree mark. Tonight, skies will be mostly clear with overnight lows in the upper 40s.

Saturday will be the warmest day of the three-day period. Look for highs in the mid-80s with mostly sunny skies above. Saturday night, clouds will be increasing ahead of a cold front. Lows will be around 50 degrees.

The cold front will cool things down Sunday. Highs will be in the mid to upper 60s. A few sprinkles will be possible early then, after noon, rain will become widespread. Showers may become quite strong at times and will bear close watching.

Have a great weekend!

A pretty darned nice spring day ahead for us. We’ll enjoy blue skies above, calm conditions and mild temperatures.

Sunny skies start us off and will be with us through the morning. There might be a few clouds in the late afternoon but nothing too intrusive. Overall conditions will be calm and dry. High temperatures will climb close to the 70 degree mark, about 5 degrees above normal.

Tonight, skies will be mostly clear with lows in the low to mid-40s.

A gorgeous sunset over the Rocky Mountains on April 6, 2021. (David Canfield)

April can be a tricky month weather-wise with everything from mild temperatures to snow to severe weather being possible.  The good thing about that is that it provides plenty of chances for great photos!

April marks a transition between winter and summer for most of the country but for Denver it is especially true as we can see a stunning variety of weather.

The proverbial April showers are certainly a possibility for Denver. Snow? Tornadoes? Thunderstorms? You bet – all can happen!

Throw in our usual wildlife plus the wide variety of birds that return to the Centennial State for the spring and summer and there is a lot going on.

• Slideshow updated April 28, 2021. 
• To learn more about how to send your photo to us for inclusion in the slideshow, see below the slideshow.

Showcasing images captured by ThorntonWeather.com readers as well as some of our own, our monthly slideshow covers the entire gamut of weather-related imagery.

Sunsets, sunrises, wildlife and of course every type of weather condition are vividly depicted in images captured from yours and our cameras.

What is missing in the slideshow above?  Your photo!

Our monthly photo slideshow is going to feature images that we have taken but more importantly images that you have captured.  The photos can be of anything even remotely weather-related.

Landscapes, current conditions, wildlife, pets, kids.  Whimsical, newsy, artsy.  Taken at the zoo, some other area attraction, a local park, a national park or your backyard.  You name it, we want to see and share it!

Images can be taken in Thornton, Denver or anywhere across the extraordinary Centennial State.  We’ll even take some from out of state if we can tie it to Colorado somehow.

We’ll keep the criteria very open to interpretation with just about any image eligible to be shown in our slideshows.

What do you win for having your image in our slideshow?  We are just a ‘mom and pop’ outfit and make no money from our site so we really don’t have the means to provide prizes.  However you will have our undying gratitude and the satisfaction that your images are shared on the most popular website in Thornton.

To share you images with us and get them included in the slideshow just email them to us or share them with ThorntonWeather.com on any of the various social media outlets.  Links are provided below.

So come on, get those camera’s rolling!

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Snow continues to be a big part of the weather we can expect this time of year as we peer back in the Denver weather history books.  However, we also see more and more occurrences of spring severe weather including hail, damaging winds, dangerous lightning and even a tornado.

23-25

In 1935…heavy wet snow fell across metro Denver.  The storm started as rain on the 23rd and changed to snow early on the morning of the 24th.  There was continuous precipitation for a period of 48 hours.  Snowfall totaled 19.0 inches over the city and 20.0 inches at Denver municipal airport.  However… Due to warm temperatures in the 30’s…much of the snow melted as it fell and did not seriously disrupt traffic. The greatest snow accumulation on the ground downtown was 12 inches…but it quickly melted.  The highest sustained wind speed recorded during the storm was 28 mph from the north on the 23rd.  The storm contained 3.16 inches of moisture.

24-25

In 1890…rain changed to snow and totaled 7.0 inches in downtown Denver.

In 1931…heavy snowfall totaled 9.3 inches over downtown Denver.  Winds were light during the storm.

In 1996…the second wind storm in less than a week developed east of the continental divide and spread over metro Denver.  High winds gusted from 60 to 90 mph.  Several power lines and poles were downed.  Some of the stronger wind gusts included:  91 mph atop Squaw Mountain west of Denver…90 mph atop Table Mesa near Boulder…85 mph in Golden Gate Canyon…and 82 mph at Wondervu.  Northwest winds gusted to 41 mph at Denver International Airport on the 25th.

24-26

In 1924…post-frontal rain changed to snow…which became heavy and totaled 10.2 inches over downtown Denver.  The greatest amount of snow on the ground was 6.0 inches on the 25th due to melting.  North winds were sustained to 38 mph with gusts to 42 mph on the 24th.

25

In 1902…northeast winds were sustained to 42 mph with gusts to 48 mph.

In 1908…north winds were sustained to 40 mph behind an apparent cold front.  Snowfall was 0.5 inch.

In 1928…rain changed to snow…which became heavy and totaled 7.4 inches in downtown Denver.  Due to melting…the maximum snow depth on the ground was 4.0 inches at 6:00 pm.  This was the last snow of the season.  Southeast winds were sustained to 19 mph with gusts to 20 mph.

In 1976…a south wind gust to 54 mph was recorded at Stapleton International Airport.  The high winds toppled a 70-foot high cottonwood tree onto the rear of house and a neighboring residence in central Denver.

In 1989…lightning caused heavy damage to a radio transmitter in Parker…knocking a Denver area radio station off the air for 3 hours.

In 1994…weather spotters reported dime-size hail at the intersection of U.S. Highway 287 and C470 in Jefferson County.  Marble-size hail covered the ground near Golden to a depth of 1 inch.  Pea-size hail was reported covering the ground to a depth of 3 inches in Arvada.

In 2016…a severe thunderstorm produced hail up to one inch in diameter near Castle Rock.

25-26

In 1985…a spring storm brought much rain and snow to metro Denver.  The foothills were buried with 15 inches of snow at conifer and 12 inches at Evergreen.  At lower elevations… An inch or more of rain fell in Denver and Boulder.  The heavy precipitation caused brief power outages in the Denver area.  Precipitation totaled 1.06 inches at Stapleton International Airport…including only 0.7 inch of snowfall.

25-27

In 1877…snow ended around 7:00 am on the morning of the 27th… After falling continuously for 48 hours and totaling an estimated 13 inches in the city.  The storm…likely accompanied by strong winds…caused trains to be delayed for 2 to 3 days.  One or two roofs of small buildings were crushed by the weight of the snow…and many tree branches were broken in the city.  There were a number of reports of livestock losses.  One stockman lost 17 horses and several cattle from the snow and cold.  Precipitation totaled 1.30 inches from the storm.

26

In 1965…while only 0.40 inch of rain fell at Stapleton International Airport…some communities in the foothills west of Denver reported over 30 inches of snow from the storm.

In 1972…a spring snow storm accompanied by thunder dumped 15.8 inches of heavy wet snow on metro Denver.  Strong northwest winds gusting to 35 mph produced blowing snow. The storm was quite intense and greatly hampered travel. High winds caused drifts 10 to 15 feet deep in some areas… Blocking roads and stranding hundreds of motorists.  An estimated 500 to 600 people were stranded in the Castle Rock area.  Rescue service was provided by heavy army equipment from Fort Carson.  Power lines were downed…power poles were toppled…and a number of steel towers carrying high voltage power lines were downed.  Some areas northeast of Denver were without power for a week.  A large number of cattle and sheep were killed by the storm.  The greatest snow depth on the ground at Stapleton International Airport was 12 inches.  Warm temperatures following the storm quickly melted the snow.

In 1995…the third major snow storm of the month dumped heavy snow in and near the Front Range foothills.  Six to 12 inches of heavy wet snow fell in the western metro suburbs with the heaviest amounts above 6 thousand feet.  Both Boulder and Golden measured 10 inches of snow.  Only 2.4 inches of snowfall were measured at the site of the former Stapleton International Airport.  North winds gusted 28 mph at Denver International Airport.

In 1998…the last in a series of April storms blanketed the foothills with heavy snow.  Snowfall amounts included:  17 inches near Blackhawk…15 inches at Idaho Springs…14 inches at Georgetown…11 inches near Conifer and Morrison. Only a trace of snow fell at the site of the former Stapleton International Airport.  North winds gusted to 28 mph at Denver International Airport.

26-27

In 1906…rain changed to heavy snow overnight and totaled 7.0 inches over downtown Denver.  North winds were sustained to 16 mph on both days.  Precipitation totaled 2.16 inches.

In 1932…the temperature remained below freezing for more than 30 consecutive hours.  For about 4 of those hours the temperature hovered around 24 to 25 degrees.  At this time some early cherry trees were in bloom and apple and lilac blossoms were beginning to open.  The leaves of many plants were partly unfurled and vegetation in general was correspondingly advanced due to the warm weather from the 11th to the 22nd.  However…there was little apparent injury to foliage and blossoms…but some of the early cherry and apple blossoms were injured.  Rain changed to snow on the 26th and continued intermittently through the 27th.  Snowfall totaled only 2.0 inches and northeast winds gusted to 22 mph on the 26th.

In 1964…strong winds caused damage to buildings…trees…and power lines.  Sustained winds of 37 mph with gusts of 50 to 60 mph were recorded in metro Denver.  West-northwest winds gusted to 44 mph at Stapleton International Airport on the 26th.

» Click here to read the rest of April 25 to May 1: This week in Denver weather history

The rain yesterday was slower to develop in our area than expected but it did finally arrive and has delivered a very nice soaking. Some showers will continue this morning but then the sun will stage a return.

Cloudy skies and showers start us off and will continue till about 9:00am. We will then begin to see the cloud cover slowly break up and rain taper off. A few sprinkles may continue into the afternoon but should be entirely done by 3:00pm.

By late afternoon, partly to mostly sunny skies will be above. High temperatures today will top out in the mid-50s.

Tonight, skies will be clear with overnight lows in the upper 30s.

Looking ahead, we will be warming up and drying out. Next chance for precipitation comes on Sunday. See the extended forecast here.

The proverbial April showers look to make an appearance today. Temperatures will be much cooler than the last couple and good, dousing rain will be arriving.

The day starts out with partly sunny to mostly cloudy skies. Any blue will be gone by about noon though as cloud cover fills in. High temperatures today will top out in the mid-50s in the early afternoon then begin cooling.

• Keep an eye on those showers with our interactive radar here.

We may see a sprinkle of rain this morning but overall it will initially be quiet. After noon, we then will see rain coverage increase and become widespread. There is a bit of instability so we might hear some thunder although any real excitement is expected to be to our east. Rain will continue through the afternoon, evening and overnight hours. This looks to be a nice, wet system with the potential for an inch of rain by midnight.

Tonight, it will remain cloudy and rain will continue. Overnight lows will drop to the mid-30s. At this time, we expect overnight precipitation to fall as rain with snow staying to our west in the foothills.

Today’s weather looks quite like yesterday with high temperatures well above normal and a good dose of sun. The only notable change will be some breezy winds.

Sunny skies start us off then a few clouds will be around the rest of the day. We will be dry today and breezy winds will kick in from noon through the evening. High temperatures will be topping out right near the 80-degree mark.

A cold front will be pushing through tonight leading to increasing cloud cover. Overnight lows will be in the low 40s.

We are finally set to shake off the recent chilly, damp conditions and offer up some real, spring-like conditions. Friday will be a bit of a transition day with cool temps and some showers but Saturday and Sunday look to turn things around in earnest.

For today, partly sunny skies will be above. Conditions will be calm initially then, the afternoon brings a chance for showers. If we get enough heating, perhaps some thunder will be in the mix. Highs will top out in the mid to upper 50s. Any shower activity will end before sunset then cloud cover will clear overnight. Lows tonight will drop to around freezing.

Saturday will be a very nice day. Mostly sunny skies will be above with highs in the mid-60s. Conditions will be calm and dry. Saturday night we will see a bit of cloud cover with overnight lows around 40 degrees.

Sunday will be the warmest day of the three-day period. Highs will climb to the mid-70s under mostly sunny skies. Conditions will be dry and there will be some breezy winds in the afternoon.

Have a great weekend!

We are just not quite ready to get entirely out of the cool, damp funk of recent days. It will be warmer today but there will be some cloud cover and a bit of a chance for a rain shower this afternoon.

Fog will be the story early on with some areas along the Platte seeing the heaviest coverage. Once that clears, we will have partly sunny to mostly cloudy skies for the rest of the day. Highs will top out right near the 50 degree mark. The afternoon brings just a slight chance for a shower.

Tonight, skies will be partly cloudy with overnight lows around the freezing mark.

Kind of what I call a “blah day” ahead for Thornton. We will have a pretty solid layer of clouds above, temps will be chilly and we will see some light snow with minimal accumulation.

Cloudy skies start us off and will be with us throughout the day. There might be a brief break or two along the way. High temperatures will top out around the 40 degree mark.

A few flakes / flurries of snow will be seen this morning. This afternoon, snow will become a bit more widespread however it won’t be amounting to much. Thornton will likely end up with less than a half of an inch of accumulation before midnight.

Tonight, flurries / light snow will be possible throughout. Skies will see some clearing. Overnight lows will be in the mid-20s.