August 2016 weather recap: Thornton enjoys cooler than normal temps but little precip

Our August weather was a bit of a mixed bag by the two biggest standards.  On one hand, it was cooler than normal which was nice.  On the other, we saw less than half the amount of precipitation we normally see during August.

August typically is when the monsoon kicks in and we see healthy doses of precipitation.  This year however, the monsoonal flow was regularly disrupted by troughs digging in from the north and west.

  • August 2016 top shots: Monthly photo slideshow

We certainly started the month hot with three days of temperatures near or above 95 degrees.  Things then cooled down for a few days as the first trough moved through.  Warmer temperatures then returned with readings not too far off of normal for the next two weeks.  The final 10 days or so of the month then saw cooler conditions with the majority of days recording readings below normal.

Thornton’s overall average temperature for the month came in at 69.5 degrees.  That was three degrees cooler than Denver’s long term average of 72.5 degrees.  Out at the airport where Denver’s official measurements are taken, the airport split the difference with an average of 71.2 degrees.

Temperature ranged from a high of 97.2 degrees on the third of the month down to a cool 46.7 degrees on the 25th.  Denver saw a maximum of 97 degrees on the 9th and a low of 47 degrees on the 25th.  Thornton saw 14 days with highs at or above 90 degrees while Denver recorded 15.

Officially, one temperature record was made.  On the morning of the 27th the mercury at DIA dropped to 48 degrees typing the record low for the date.

In terms of precipitation, Denver averages 1.69 inches during the month of August.  Thornton saw only 0.76 inches in our rain bucket.  The airport fared even worse with only 0.22 inches making the month the eight driest August on record in Denver.

Click here to view Thornton’s August 2016 climate report.

Thornton, Colorado's August 2016 temperature summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)
Thornton, Colorado’s August 2016 temperature summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)
Thornton, Colorado's August 2016 precipitation summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)
Thornton, Colorado’s August 2016 precipitation summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)

From the National Weather Service:

CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
848 AM MDT THU SEP 1 2016

................................... 

...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST 2016... 

CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2016

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            97   08/09                         98  08/15
LOWEST             47   08/25                         43  08/23
                        08/20
AVG. MAXIMUM     86.3              87.2    -0.9     89.8
AVG. MINIMUM     56.2              57.9    -1.7     58.3
MEAN             71.2              72.5    -1.3     74.0
DAYS MAX >= 90     15              11.5     3.5       19
DAYS MAX <= 32      0               0.0     0.0        0
DAYS MIN <= 32      0               0.0     0.0        0
DAYS MIN <= 0       0               0.0     0.0        0

PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
 MAXIMUM         5.85   1979
 MINIMUM         0.02   1924
TOTALS           0.22              1.69   -1.47     1.18
DAILY AVG.       0.01              0.05   -0.04     0.04
DAYS >= .01         4               8.6    -4.6        9
DAYS >= .10         1               4.3    -3.3        4
DAYS >= .50         0               1.2    -1.2        1
DAYS >= 1.00        0               0.3    -0.3        0
GREATEST
 24 HR. TOTAL    0.12   08/24 TO 08/24           08/11 TO 08/11
                                                          08/10 TO 08/11

DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL      15                10       5       13
 SINCE 7/1         15                16      -1       18
COOLING TOTAL     218               244     -26      304
 SINCE 1/1        762               688      74      713

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   2/173
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION    43/010    DATE  08/19
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION    55/020    DATE  08/19

SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT)   MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER           0.60
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR            4
NUMBER OF DAYS PC             22
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY          5

AVERAGE RH (PERCENT)     47

WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM             11     MIXED PRECIP               0
HEAVY RAIN                0     RAIN                       1
LIGHT RAIN               10     FREEZING RAIN              0
LT FREEZING RAIN          0     HAIL                       0
HEAVY SNOW                0     SNOW                       0
LIGHT SNOW                0     SLEET                      0
FOG                       5     FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE      3
HAZE                      4

-  INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R  INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T  INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.

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