When the month of November 2011 began we seemed to be headed toward a very wintry month. Despite that cold start however, the weather soon turned much more moderate.
The first three days of the month yielded 4.5 inches of snow as officially measured at Denver International Airport. That total however was far less than what was seen in the rest of the metro area. For comparison, here in Thornton we recorded 7.9 inches.
Over those same three days the month saw a chilly average temperature of 27.8 degrees which was 16.5 degrees below normal. The low pressure trough and cold front that generated the cold and snow however would soon be gone and nothing but a memory.
From November 4th through the end of the month the weather turned mild and dry. No measurable precipitation was recorded for the balance and by the end of the month the average temperature had climbed to above normal.
The month ended with an average temperature of 39.5 degrees which was 1.2 degrees above normal. Thornton was a touch cooler with an average of 38.8 degrees.
Highs ranged from 69 degrees on the 24th to a low of 10 degrees on the 2nd and the 3rd at DIA. Here in Thornton we were milder with a high of 72.0 degrees and a low of 14.1 degrees.
The early month snowstorms yielded 0.47 inches of precipitation at the airport versus the November average of 0.61 inches. The 4.5 inches of snowfall was well below the normal of 8.7 inches for November.
Click here to view the Thornton climatological summary for November 2011. Below is the official Denver summary from the National Weather Service.
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOULDER, CO
645 AM MST THU DEC 1 2011
...................................
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER 2011...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2011
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 80 11/08/2006
LOW -18 11/29/1877
HIGHEST 69 11/24 80 -11 77 11/06
LOWEST 10 11/02 -18 28 4 11/25
11/03
AVG. MAXIMUM 54.1 52.1 2.0 52.6
AVG. MINIMUM 24.8 24.5 0.3 24.0
MEAN 39.5 38.3 1.2 38.3
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX = .01 2 4.7 -2.7 5
DAYS >= .10 2 1.6 0.4 2
DAYS >= .50 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.0 0.0 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.47 11/01 TO 11/02 11/16 TO 11/16
11/08 TO 11/09
11/09 TO 11/09
STORM TOTAL MM MM
(MM/DD(HH)) MM 11/16(00) TO 11/16(00)
11/09(00) TO 11/09(00)9
11/09(00) TO 11/09(00)9
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL MM MM
TOTALS 4.5 MM
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 757 801 -44 793
SINCE 7/1 1252 1377 -125 1128
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 964 769 195 870
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 3/229
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 43/260 DATE 11/12
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 52/260 DATE 11/12
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.50
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 7
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 23
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 0
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 45
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 0 RAIN 0
LIGHT RAIN 3 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 2 SNOW 2
LIGHT SNOW 2 SLEET 0
FOG 3 FOG W/VIS