High pressure was the dominant weather feature for the month of October and that led to a pattern that blocked off moisture and kept temperatures well above normal. Record-setting highs were made while precipitation was a rare event.
The historical average monthly temperature for the month of October in Denver is 50.9 degrees. That number was easily eclipsed. Here in Thornton we saw an average temperature of 55.8 degrees. Out at DIA where Denver’s official numbers are kept, it was much warmer with an average of 57.8 degrees.
Both averages for October 2016 were far above normal. Officially the month was so warm it became the fourth warmest October on record in Denver. The number one spot was quite secure though with an average of 59.9 degrees back in 1950.
Temperatures in Thornton ranged from a high of 84.8 degrees on the 16th down to a low of 27.1 degrees on the morning of the 20th. Out at the airport, the warmest reading was 86 degrees and the lowest 25 degrees, both on the same days that Thornton saw its warmest and coldest readings.
Denver recorded four record daily high temperatures during the month. The first record high came on the 15th of the month to be followed by records on the 27th and 28th then a tie for the record high on the 31st.
In terms of precipitation, the same high pressure that kept things warm, kept things dry as well. Thornton recorded a mere 0.43 inches in its rain bucket, all during the first half of the month. The airport was a bit drier with 0.26 inches recorded.
On average Denver receives 1.02 inches of precipitation in October so both locations were far below normal. While it was certainly dry, it was not so much so that it was a record-setter as the month failed to make it into the top 20 driest Octobers.
No snow was recorded during the month so we are still awaiting that first event of the season. This however is not entirely unusual as historically, 27% of Denver’s October fail to see any of the white stuff.
Click here to view Thornton’s October 2016 climate report.
From the National Weather Service:
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
244 AM MDT TUE NOV 1 2016
...................................
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 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 89 10/16/1991
10/10/1910
LOW -2 10/29/1917
HIGHEST 86 10/16 83 3 87 10/11
LOWEST 25 10/20 22 3 28 10/28
AVG. MAXIMUM 74.5 65.3 9.2 70.1
AVG. MINIMUM 41.2 36.6 4.6 42.8
MEAN 57.8 50.9 6.9 56.5
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 0 0.4 -0.4 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 3 8.5 -5.5 1
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 4.17 1969
MINIMUM T 1934
TOTALS 0.26 1.02 -0.76 1.76
DAILY AVG. 0.01 0.03 -0.02 0.06
DAYS >= .01 3 5.3 -2.3 6
DAYS >= .10 1 2.4 -1.4 3
DAYS >= .50 0 0.5 -0.5 2
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.1 -0.1 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.22 10/05 TO 10/06 10/20 TO 10/21
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL MM MM
TOTALS 0.0 4.0
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 231 440 -209 274
SINCE 7/1 310 581 -271 301
COOLING TOTAL 17 5 12 16
SINCE 1/1 878 769 109 877
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
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WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 10.0
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 4/197
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 33/260 DATE 10/04
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 42/270 DATE 10/03
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.50
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 10
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 17
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 4
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 40
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 0 RAIN 1
LIGHT RAIN 3 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0
LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 0
FOG 4 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 3
HAZE 0
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.