...Christmas Day 2012...
A storm system brought a white, very cold Christmas to the Mile High City. Light snow began falling after dark on Christmas Eve and didn't end until before sunrise on Christmas Day. Denver officially recorded 2.6 inches of snow with a snow depth of 2.0 inches. Snow was recorded across much of the metro area with most receiving between 2 and 4 inches. Thornton was at the low end of that range as we recorded 1.9 inches. Six of the previous seven Christmases had at least 1 inch of snow on the ground, something that last happened from 1987 to 1993. In terms of temperatures, Denver recorded a high of only 16 degrees on Christmas Day making it the third coldest on record. Thornton was only slightly warmer with a high of 17 degrees.
...Christmas Day 2011...
While no snow actually fell on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day in 2011, there was snow on the ground courtesy of a snowstorm in the days leading up to the holiday. The Mile High City received 7.3" of snow from a storm that arrived on the evening of December 21 and ended on the 22nd. Thornton fared better than Denver's totals as we recorded 9.1" over the two days. The foothills saw a bounty of snow with totals from 18 to 36 inches. On Christmas Day DIA reported 3 inches of snow left on the ground with a high of 35 degrees and a low of 19 degrees (Thornton saw a 42 degree high and a low of 14 degrees). The National Weather Service notes that there has been at least 1 inch of snow on the ground on Christmas Day in five out of the last six years. The last time that happened was from 1988 to 1993.
...Christmas Day 2010...
Christmas 2010 was a mild and dry one as the mercury climbed to 45 degrees on Christmas Eve and 52 degrees on Christmas Day. Thornton saw similar temperatures of 46 degrees and 51 degrees. No measureable snow had been recorded during the month up to that point and that continued until the 30th.
...Christmas Day 2009...
Christmas 2009 was a white Christmas by most standards. Snow began falling on the 22nd and lasted through the 26th totaling 7.8 inches over that time frame. Most of that, 4.9 inches, fell on the 23rd while only a trace was recorded on Christmas Day. The snow reached a maximum depth of 5 inches on Christmas Eve but by Christmas Day this dropped to 3 inches. This marked the fourth Christmas Day in a row with measurable snow on the ground. Temperatures on Christmas Day were quite chilly as a high temperature of only 24 degrees was seen and the mercury hit a low of -1. Overall December 2009 was a cold and snowy month. A total of 11.1 inches was recorded, 2.4 inches above normal, and the average monthly temperature was 24.1 degrees, 6.2 degrees below normal. Thornton's totals around the holiday were similar to the official Denver International Airport measurements but we did end the month with more overall - 15.3 inches. For a look at some great pictures taken around Eastlake on Christmas Eve 2009 click here.
...Christmas Day 2008...
A rather mild day was the highlight of Christmas Day 2008. Denver officially reached a high temperature of 48 degrees that day – five degrees above normal. Thornton fared even better with a high temperature of 53 degrees. While no snow fell on the day, it was a white Christmas in that there was still one inch of snow on the ground from previous snows. Denver officially recorded 10.3 inches of snow which was 1.7 inches above normal. Thornton had a bit more with 12 inches of snow for the month.
...Christmas Day 2007...
Between Christmas Day and December 27th, Denver was struck with two major winter snow storms that combined to push December 2007 into the 6th snowiest Denver December on record. On Christmas Day itself, Denver recorded 7.8 inches setting a record for Christmas Day snow since Denver began keeping records in 1882. The previous record was 6.2 inches set in 1894. Thornton didn't receive near as much however recording only 3.6 inches on the day last year. Officially Denver received 20.9 inches of snow in December 2007 as it set the 6th place record. Thornton recorded 17.9 inches for the month. The most December snowfall ever was 57.4 inches set in 1913 which is also the snowiest month ever recorded in the city.
...Christmas Day 2006...
Christmas Day 2006 was definitely a white Christmas. In the days leading up to the holiday, we saw a major snowstorm on December 21st that dumped over 22 inches of snow in Thornton. This was coupled with cold days and extremely cold nights. On Christmas Day itself, just over 1/2 of an inch of snow fell. While the kids loved it, adults were less enthused and this began weeks of poor conditions for the Denver area. Eight more inches fell on the 29th and smaller accumulations fell in January all while maintaining frigid temperatures. Snow covered most yards and sidestreets for weeks! December 2006 became the third snowiest December on record and surprisingly, this was with only four days of measurable snowfall.
...Christmas Day 2005...
It was warm and dry on Christmas Day 2005. Only 4.1 inches of snowfall was recorded for the entire month and that occurred near the beginning of the month. It was completely dry from December 21st through December 31st. The temperatures ranged from 69 to 35 degrees.
...Christmas Day 2004...
Precipitation occurred on 3 days prior to Christmas (Tuesday 21 through Thursday 23) but no snow fell on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day. But because temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday did not exceed the freezing mark and the low temperature on Christmas Eve (Friday) dropped to 2 degrees above zero...a white Christmas (Saturday) was enjoyed by Denverites. This in spite of the fact that the Christmas eve high jumped up to 46 degrees and Christmas Day had a high of 56 degrees and a low of 28. So for the record...Christmas Day 2004 was a white Christmas in spite of no snow falling on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
...Christmas Day 2003...
It was dry and warm on Christmas Day 2003. A high temperature was 51 degrees and a low of 26. Absolutely no chance for any snow for Denver. There was some snow in the higher foothills and for the mountains west of Denver but by the time the atmosphere moved out over the Denver metro area...the air had dried out enough to only allow for a few mid and high level clouds.
...Christmas Day 2002...
It was again cold enough to snow but there was very little...if any...moisture available to convert into snow. In fact...during the entire month of December...only a trace of snow was recorded...on the 6th and again on the 19th. It was a very dry month to end what became the driest year in Denver weather history. The high and low temperatures on Christmas Day last year were 36 and 11 degrees respectively.
...Christmas Day 2001...
Another cool Christmas Day...however there was very little moisture in atmosphere surrounding Denver. It did snow on the 22nd...0.6 inch...but clear skies on Saint Nick day eliminated any chance of snow. There was a trace of snow left on the ground left over from the dusting that occurred on the 22nd. Temperatures for Christmas Day 2001 ranged from a high of 38 down to a low of 20 degrees.
...Christmas Day 2000...
Late on Christmas Eve...light snow began to fall across the metro area. The snow continued in the light category until late in the evening on Christmas Day. The official temperature for Christmas Day ranged from a high of 24 degrees after an early morning low of 16 degrees. Some of the snow readings registered around the area on Christmas Day 2000 were:
Cherry Creek Reservoir 1.3 inches
Denver-Stapleton 0.9 inches
Downtown Denver 1.3 inches
Evergreen 1.6 inches
Longmont 1.5 inches
Morrison 1.8 inches
Ralston reservoir 0.5 inch |
As Christmas gets closer everyone always wonders if we are going to get the proverbial white Christmas. Unfortunately, if you look at Denver and Thornton weather history, the chances aren't all that good but it also depends on what you define as a white Christmas. 
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