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Denver Climatological Preview - July 2010 |
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A Preview of Thornton's July Weather - A Stormy Month
In fact, the worst hail storm on record in Denver history hit western sections of the city on July 11th, 1990. Baseball and softball sized hail from this ferocious storm caused millions of dollars worth of property damage. July is the most stormy month of the year in fact with thunderstorms occurring on average 11 days per month - or once every three days. These slow moving storms are one of the reasons July is Denver's second rainiest month with an average of 2.16 inches of rain (second only to May). However, these storms are also often very localized and cause widely varying precipitation amounts across the metro area. It is not unusual for one area of down to be deluged while others remain entirely dry. With these severe storms, flash flooding remains a possibility. Being our hottest month, July daytime temps average 88 degrees and is when we typically see the most consecutive days above 90 degrees. 15 times streaks of 10 or more consecutive days above 90 degrees have been recorded entirely in July or at least partially starting in June or ending in August. The longest 90 degree streak on record occurred just two years ago in 2008. 24 days straight from July 13th to August 5th saw the 90 degree mark hit or broken. Despite that, the month ended as only the 3rd warmest July on record. It was also the 3rd driest. The second longest 90 degree streak was 18 days long and actually occurred twice - once in 1901 from July 6th through July 23rd and again in 1874 from July 1st to July 18th. Just 10 years ago in 2000, 17 consecutive 90 degree days occurred from June 29th through July 15th. Many of us will hearken back to July 2005 which was a record heat setting month. Six record high temperatures were set, all in the 100's. In fact on July 20th the mercury soared to 105 degrees tying the all time Denver high temperature set on August 8th 1878 and breaking the 102 record for July 20th. Other records were 102 degrees on the 16th, 101 on the 19th, 105 on the 20th, 104 on the 21st, 102 on the 22nd, 102 on the 23rd, and 101 degrees on the 30th. July 2005 became the 2nd hottest July and also the 2nd hottest Denver month ever. In all there were 25 days registering 90 degrees or higher which ties the 3rd most ever with 1963. Looking back at July 2009 – Cooler and wetter than normal Much to the delight of many, July last year proved to be quite different from what we normally expect. With an average temperature of 70.2 degrees, the month’s average was 3.2 degrees below normal. While this wasn’t record-setting, it was considerably cooler than normal. Temperatures ranged from a relatively mild high of 93 degrees on the 24th to a low of 49 on the 31st. The mercury only climbed above 90 degrees seven times – far different from the year prior when there were 26 days over 90 degrees. The only temperature record set for the month was on the 28th when the high temperature onlyu reached 64 degrees. This was two degrees cooler than the previous record low maximum set in 1925 and years prior to that. In terms of precipitation, the month was wetter than normal as 3.56 inches of precipitation was recorded – 1.4 inches above normal. While notable, this was not sufficient to make the ‘top 10 wettest July’ list. 15 days total had precipitation recorded as compared to the normal of nine. At one point, there were seven consecutive days with rain recorded. Nineteen days featured thunderstorms, eight more than the normal of 11. Click here to view Thornton's climate record for July 2009 Outlook for July 2010 The 30-day outlook from the National Weather Service indicates that both temperatures and precipitation may be above normal for this month. Please use the normals below for guidelines. For More Information Temperature Normals and Extremes for July Monthly Temperature, Rainfall and Snowfall Extremes for July
* Historical weather statistics gathered from the National Weather Service's Denver / Boulder forecast office data archives. |
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Change is of course the one constant in Denver's weather but come July, things actually get pretty consistent. The standard formula for a day in July is a sunning morning, clouds developing in the late morning and early afternoon. Come mid-afternoon, thunderstorms are rolling off of the foothills and into the metro area and the eastern plains. These storms do occasionally reach severe status containing hail, gusty winds and heavy downpours of rain. 
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