Don't bet on a white Christmas in Thornton - the historical odds aren't very good.
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 arent all that good but it also depends on what you define as a white Christmas.
December just isnt that snowy of a month, ranking as only the fourth snowiest (behind March, November and April) so historically we have a bit of a disadvantage. There have however been some very white Christmases in our history and it is fun to look back.
The total lunar eclipse as seen from Thornton. See more images in the slideshow below. (ThorntonWeather.com)
Late yesterday afternoon the weather didn’t look like it would cooperate and allow viewing of the rare winter solstice lunar eclipse but in the end Mother Nature was generous. Some thin, high clouds cast a bit of a ‘fog’ over the start of the event but those cleared and the view was extraordinary.
According to Geoff Chester of the US Naval Observatory, the last time a total lunar eclipse coincided with the winter solstice was on December 21, 1638. That is the only other time since the birth of Christ that the conjunction of the two events occurred. For those that live long enough, it won’t be a 372 year wait for the next one however. Chester says December 21, 2094 affords the next chance.
From start to finish the event lasted about 3 1/2 hours with totality lasting a period of 72 minutes. At its peak at 1:17am MST the moon was cast in a burnt orange color as the shadow of the Earth enveloped it.
Lunar eclipses unto themselves are not particularly rare events. Two total lunar eclipses will occur in 2011, one in June and another in December. North America sky watchers however will not be able to see the June event and only part of the December one. The next total lunar eclipse visible in North America occurs on April 15, 2014.
December 19 to December 25 - This week in Denver weather history.
Cold and snow dominate our look at the week leading up to the Christmas holiday. Certainly the infamous Christmas Eve Blizzard of 1982 is the one event that most long-time resident will remember as it was truly one for the history books. Also notable was a cold front that moved through in 1988 that dropped temperatures well below zero and was responsible for at least five deaths.
17-24
In 1924…a prolonged cold spell occurred after mild temperatures during the first half of the month. Most low temperatures dipped below zero with the coldest reading of 15 degrees below zero occurring on the 24th. The high temperature of only 5 degrees on the 18th was a record low maximum for the date.
18-24
In 1998…a vigorous cold front with north winds gusting as high as 38 mph at Denver International Airport on the 18th dropped temperatures from a high of 51 degrees to a low of just 6 degrees before midnight. The arctic air mass that settled over metro Denver produced intermittent light snow and a week-long protracted cold spell that caused low temperatures to plunge well below zero for 6 consecutive nights. The coldest temperature was 19 degrees below zero on the morning of the 22nd. High temperatures climbed only into the single digits on 4 consecutive days…from the 19th through the 22nd. At least 15 people…mostly homeless… Were treated for hypothermia at area hospitals. The bitter cold weather was responsible…either directly or indirectly… For at least 5 fatalities. Three of the victims died directly from exposure. The cold weather also caused intermittent power outages. Following the cold snap… Thawing water pipes cracked and burst in several homes and businesses…causing extensive damage. Only one temperature record was set. The high temperature of only 7 degrees on the 19th set a record low maximum for the date.
19
In 1913…post-frontal heavy snowfall totaled 8.5 inches over downtown Denver. North winds were sustained to only 16 mph.
In 1994…an intense pacific storm system and associated cold front moved across Colorado early in the day. Strong downslope winds buffeted the Front Range eastern foothills. The highest wind gust recorded was 92 mph at Rocky Flats in northern Jefferson County. Most of the wind gusts during the day ranged from 63 to 86 mph with lighter gusts of 40 to 58 mph on the northeast plains. The strong winds downed power lines and poles in south Lakewood…causing power outages to 2400 homes. Other small power outages and surges occurred across metro Denver. Northwest winds gusted to 43 mph at Stapleton International Airport.
Video of a double rainbow shot by a man living near Yosemite National Park has been named one of YouTube's top videos of the year.
Rainbows are certainly one of Mother Nature’s most beautiful weather-related phenomena. One man’s excited reaction to a double rainbow became a YouTube hit earlier this year and has now been named the sixth most popular video of 2010.
Shot from near the man’s home in one of the nation’s premier parks, Yosemite, his sheer elation to the rainbow invites reactions ranging from laughter to tears from those who have watched it.
Published on YouTube on January 8th the video has been watched more than 21 million times since and led to the “Double Rainbow Guy” making an appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show.
In a blog entry announcing “The Moments that Defined YouTube in 2010”, the service said the video became “one of the most beloved memes of 2010.”
An EF-2 tornado struck the town of Aumsville, Oregon on Tuesday damaging 50 structures. Click the image for a slideshow of the damage from Examiner.com.
Tornadoes are not usually asssociated with Oregon or December and certainly not the two of them together. Tuesday however that rarest of event did occur when an EF-2 tornado packing 110+ mph winds struck the town of Aumsville.
The first report of the tornado was at 11:59am PST when emergency personnel reported spotting the twister. Power was knocked out to thousands and several homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. Two minor injuries were reported.
The National Weather Service completed their preliminary investigation of the twister and rated the tornado as an EF-2 with winds between 110 and 120 mph. At its maximum the twister was 150 yards wide and carved an intermittent path 5 miles long.
Blue Angels live up to their name - deliver tons of toys to children. Click the image to view a slideshow. (Examiner.com)
Every child should have a toy under the Christmas tree but the sad reality is that there are those that go without. In New Orleans, the city is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina and many children have been forced to grow up all too soon and face the reality of a natural disaster. The U.S. Navy Blue Angels went into action recently to help ensure those kids are not forgotten on Christmas morning.
“Living up to the “angels” part of their name, the U.S. Navy’s flight demonstration team flew their cargo aircraft Fat Albert on a mission of mercy. Partnering with Lockheed Martin, Toys R Us and other corporate sponsors the group’s actions ensure that the children affected by Hurricane Katrina will not be forgotten this Christmas.
“Starting from their home base in Pensacola, the gargantuan C-130 Hercules made stops in Atlanta and Dallas to gather up its precious cargo. The final stop was Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans in Belle Chasse, Louisiana on December 2nd.
“Over 1,000 toys weighing in at 169,000 pounds were delivered by the sailors and Marines. “
Our U.S. military performs hundreds of good deeds like this each and every day but many go unnoticed so it is nice to see the U.S. Navy get some recognition. Be sure to read the full story on the Natural Disasters Examiner and click the image above right to view a slideshow of this angelic mission.
Snow starts to pour into the Metrodome as the roof collapses. Watch the amazing video below. (FOX Sports)
The upper Midwest has been pounded my a major winter storm in the past 36 hours that has brought bone chilling cold and heavy snow to the region. One casualty of the snow was the roof of the home of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings as the roof collapsed early this morning under the weight of 17 inches of snow.
Some areas in the region have seen more than 20 inches of snow and blizzard conditions have persisted as strong winds make things treacherous for travel. Winter weather warnings and advisories of one sort or another stretch across more than a dozen states from Wisconsin and Michigan down to Alabama and Georgia.
The Minnesota Vikings were originally scheduled to take on the New York Giants today in Minneapolis. The game was first pushed back to Monday after Minneapolis – St. Paul International Airport was closed yesterday stranding the Giants in Kansas City.
This morning the inflated roof of the Metrodome collapsed for the third time in its history. The fabric of the dome shredded and snow came pouring onto the field. Amazing new video released by FOX Sports (see below) shows the sights and sound of the collapse as it happened.
As for the game between the Giants and Vikings, it will be played tomorrow night at 5:20pm MST at Ford Field in Detroit.
The Denver Broncos don’t have this problem – of course we don’t have a roof on our stadium and for that matter we don’t have any snow either.
A brilliant sunrise over south Thornton. View more images in the slideshow below. (ThorntonWeather.com)
A very chilly morning yielded a beautiful sunrise over south Thornton this morning. ThorntonWeather.com was out for a walk and captured images of the brilliant red sky near the Spratt Lake facility.
With mostly clear skies temperatures Sunday morning dipped clear down to 14.7 degrees – the coldest day we have seen this season. Thankfully we will be warming up to above normal temperatures today as the forecast calls for a high of 54 degrees.
The images this morning not only include the spectacular sunrise but also lenticular and wave clouds.
Lenticular clouds are one of the least common types and typically only occur at high altitudes near mountains with strong winds – both of which Colorado has in abundance. These virtually stationary lens-shaped formations have been mistaken for UFO’s due to their rare appearance and unique saucer shapes.
Also known by their scientific name of altocumulus standing lenticularis, these clouds are not entirely unusual in Colorado on the Front Range during the winter. Strong jet winds force moist air to be pushed up by the rugged terrain of the adjacent Rocky Mountains. This creates a wave-like pattern of air flow that condenses at high altitudes (usually around 20,000 feet).
Below is a slideshow of some of the images we took this morning.
Track map of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season shows how lucky the U.S. was. Click image for larger version. (NOAA)
Virtually every forecaster predicted an extremely active 2010 hurricane season and they were proven right. Mercifully however the United States was spared the worst as not one storm made landfall in the U.S.
In all, there were 19 named storms in 2010 which ties 1887 and 1995 for the third most on record. Of those 19, 12 became hurricanes tying 1968 for the second highest on record. Five became major hurricanes of Category 3 or greater. On average the Atlantic sees 11 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes.
Watch: Scroll down to see video of the 2010 hurricane season as captured by NOAA satellites
Other notable statistics from the season include three periods when there were three named storms occurring at the same time. On August 30, Hurricane Earl, Hurricane Danielle and Tropical Storm Fiona were all churning. Two days later it was Tropical Storm Gaston, Tropical Storm Fiona and Hurricane Earl. Finally on September 14 we saw Hurricane Karl, Hurricane Igor and Hurricane Julia all at once.
For a 36 day period from August 21 to September 26 there was at least one tropical cyclone active in the Atlantic. A total of 11 storms were active during that period. September alone saw eight named storms tying the 2002 and 2007 hurricane seasons.
On average 25% of Atlantic hurricanes make landfall in the United States. Given how active the season was, it is that much more remarkable that the U.S. was spared.
Other places along the Atlantic were not so lucky. In all, 259 deaths were directly attributed to the hurricane season and more than $11 billion in damage was realized. Tropical Storm Matthew was the deadliest 2010 storm accounting for 126 fatalities in Nicaragua, Belize and Cuba.
While the Atlantic was active, the eastern Pacific saw the fewest number of named storms and hurricanes since the satellite era began in the mid-1960s. Only seven named storms developed of which three became hurricanes. Two of those three became major hurricanes. For comparison, the North Pacific averages 15 named storms, nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes.
NOAA Time Lapse Video of the 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season
December 12 to December 18 - This week in Denver weather history.
We all know weather can be dangerous but usually we don’t associate that with winter weather conditions. However, our look in Denver weather history for this week shows that the common winter conditions of wind and cold can not only cause injure, it can lead to death.
2-17
In 1939…more than 2 weeks of unseasonably warm weather made the month the 3rd warmest on record. Seven daily temperature records were set…including the all time record high temperature for the month of 79 degrees on the 5th. Daytime highs were balmy with 14 days in the 60’s and 70’s. Low temperatures dipped to freezing or below on only 5 days. The period was dry with only a trace of snow on the 12th.
3-15
In 1972…a protracted cold spell held an icy grip on metro Denver when maximum temperatures never reached above freezing for 10 consecutive days from the 3rd through the 12th and minimum temperatures dipped below zero on eleven consecutive days from the 5th through the 15th. Daily low temperature records were set with 15 degrees below zero on the 5th…17 degrees below zero on the 6th… And 18 degrees below zero on the 10th. Daily record low maximum readings were set with 3 degrees on the 6th and 6 degrees on the 9th. The very cold temperatures were caused by 3 to 5 inches of snow cover and a Canadian air mass.
8-12
In 1932…the second longest sub-zero period on record in Denver occurred. The temperature fell below zero shortly after 1:00 pm on the 8th and remained below zero for 92 hours until 9:00 am on the 12th. The lowest temperature recorded during this period was 13 degrees below zero on both the 9th and 11th. That temperature on the 11th was a record low for the date. High temperatures of 4 on the 8th…5 below zero on the 9th…1 below zero on the 10th… And 6 below zero on the 11th were record low maximum temperatures for those dates. Light north winds at 5 to 10 mph were accompanied by occasional light snow…which totaled only 2.2 inches.
9-13
In 1961…cold arctic air produced a protracted cold period. The temperature plunged to 16 degrees below zero on the 10th…establishing a new record for the date and the coldest reading since 25 degrees below zero on February 1… 1951. Low temperatures dipped below zero on 5 consecutive days with 9 degrees below zero on the 9th…16 below on the 10th…10 below on the 11th…and 12 below on both the 12th and 13th. High temperatures reached only 3 degrees on the 10th and 6 degrees on the 11th.
11-12
In 1903…a sharp cold front on the 11th plunged temperatures from a high of 59 degrees to a low of 15 degrees…produced northeast winds sustained to 42 mph along with gusts as high as 60 mph…and produced 1.3 inches of snow overnight. The high temperature on the 12th was only 25 degrees.
In 1968…strong winds buffeted the eastern foothills and plains and caused light…but widespread property damage. Wind gusts of 50 to 75 mph were reported. West winds gusted to 52 mph at Stapleton International Airport.
