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Denver Climatological Preview - September 2008 |
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Preview of Thornton's September Weather - Summer Ends and Fall Arrives
Normal highs on the first of the month are 82 degrees with a low of 53. By the end of the month we see those high temperatures drop to an average of 73 and the lows get to a chilly 42. Overall the month averages 62.4 degrees. In some years summer hangs on as late as the end of September - right to the last day of the month. September 30, 1980 saw a record high temperature of 90 degrees. 97 degrees is the hottest temperature ever recorded for the month - that happening on four occasions, the most recently on September 1st and 5th in 1995. Interestingly enough, all but four days of the month have recorded record highs in the 90s! The ones that haven't - the 21st, 22nd, 24th and 28th - have record temperatures pretty close of either 88 or 89 degrees. The chance for thunderstorms still exists in September but they are infrequent and severe ones are pretty rare. All that sounds great for lovers of warm weather but winter too can make appearances in September - in fact, it can appear early on. The earliest measurable snow happened on September 3, 1961 when 4 inches of the white stuff fell at the old Stapleton International Airport and the mercury dropped to 33 degrees. The snowiest September on record occurred in 1971 which 17.2 inches of snow was recorded. Freezing has occurred in Denver as early as September 8, 1962 with a low of 31 degrees. Winter really hit home in 1985 when on September 29th, 9 inches of snow fell and Denver had a low of 17 degrees and a high of 29. Having said that though, in the 126 years since 1882, 81 Septembers have passed without a trace of snow. In conclusion, September can bring just about anything but the odds due favor a beautiful month. Looking back at September 2007 - Warm and dry Last year September gave us above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation but neither category finished in the "top 10". The average temperature for the month was 65.1 which was 2.7 degrees above normal but below the #10 warmest September in 1977 (66.6 degrees). Denver saw highs up to 91 degrees on the 3rd of the month and 90 degrees on the 2nd down to low temperatures of 40 degrees on the 25th and 27th. Here in Thornton we saw similar numbers with a high of 92 on the 2nd and 91.2 on the 3rd with the coldest night being on the 11th with 40.4 degrees recorded. For the 2007 summer season that brought the total of 90 degree days to 54 - 7 shy of the record of 61 set in 2000 but tying the month of 5th place. Denver recorded a very minimal 0.54 inch of precipitation in September 2007. This was 0.6 inch below the normal of 1.14. Thornton was a touch drier with 0.42 inch recorded for the month. We average 2.1 inches of snow in September but in 2007 we did not have any at all. Since a trace of snow was recorded in September 2001, no snowfall has been recorded in September. Through September 2007, we had recorded 10.17 inches of precipitation versus the normal of 13.21 inches. Seven thunderstorms were observed at Denver International Airport which is 3 above normal. No severe storms or hail were reported at DIA. Four days reported dense fog and a peak wind gust of 48mph was recorded on the 29th. Outlook for September 2008 NOAA's Climate Prediction Center's 30 day outlook for Denver shows normal levels of precipitation and normal temperatures so use historical measurements as a guide of what to expect. It should be noted that the southwestern portion of Colorado is expected to have above normal temperatures for the month. Temperature Normals and Extremes for September Monthly Temperature, Rainfall and Snowfall Extremes for September
* Historical weather statistics gathered from the National Weather Service's Denver / Boulder forecast office data archives. |
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As temperatures start to drop, September reminds us that summer is at an end and fall is now here. Sunshine is predominant though as the month actually has the highest percentage of sun out of any month. Sunny days and clear, cool nights are the standard weather pattern for the month. 