For many the holiday season isn’t complete without a chill in the air and snow on the ground. Here in Denver we historically enjoy a better chance of experiencing the proverbial white Christmas than many places in the nation.
How the Mile High City fares in experiencing a white Christmas does depend on your definition of one. If it means having actual snowfall on Christmas Day the chances aren’t that good. However if simply having snow on the ground suffices, the chances improve considerably.
With the first full month of fall here, October usually brings one of the quietest weather months in the Denver area with plenty of mild, sunny days and clear, cool nights.
October is historically the second sunniest month and conditions are generally calm. However we also will usually see our first taste of winter during the month with the first freeze and first snowfall of the season. Temperatures as well will start to drop and by the end of the month the average nighttime lows are below freezing.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced today that the record holder for the hottest temperature ever recorded on the planet had been changed. A record dating back to 1922 in El Azizia, Libya was deemed invalid and thus the honor now falls on a temperature recorded in Death Valley, California in 1913. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com and find out why the ‘honor’ was taken away from Libya.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has given the world's highest temperature record to a reading taken in 1913 in Death Valley, California. Click the image to find out why.
Denver's August 2012 will go into the books as the 5th hottest and 4th driest August since 1872.
There would be no break from the hot and dry summer of 2012 in August as records continued to tumble and the ground remained parched. While a few cold fronts provided some relief, they were short-lived and high pressure dominated during the month.
Denver recorded an average temperature of 75.0 degrees which was 2.5 degrees above normal. This ties August 1994 as the 5th warmest August since record keeping began in 1872.
In all, 20 days recorded high temperatures at or above 90 degrees at Denver International Airport. By the end of the month 2012 moved into the record books as having the most seasonal 90 degree days of any year (66 as of 8/31). Highs ranged from 98 degrees on the 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 27th to a low of 47 degrees on the 17th.
Here in Thornton our average temperature was quite a bit cooler, although still above average in comparison to recent years. Thornton’s average for the month came in at 72.7 degrees.
Thornton recorded 17 days of 90 degree or hotter high temperatures. Our hottest temperature was 96 degrees which occurred on the 27th and 29th. The coldest temperature recorded was 48 degrees on the 17th and 19th.
Precipitation continued to elude the Mile High City as a mere 0.11 inch fell into the rain bucket during the month, and that all came in a single day. This was far below the normal of 1.68 inches for August and put 2012 into the books as the 4th driest August on record.
Thornton fared only slightly better on the precipitation front as we recorded 0.31 inch of rain. As with Denver, that total came all in a single day, the 1st of the month.
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST 2012...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2012
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 105 08/08/1878
LOW 40 08/26/1910
08/25/1910
08/24/1910
HIGHEST 98 08/27 87 11 99 08/25
08/03
08/06
08/09
LOWEST 47 08/17 40 7 55 08/20
AVG. MAXIMUM 91.0 87.2 3.8 92.7
AVG. MINIMUM 58.9 57.9 1.0 61.3
MEAN 75.0 72.5 2.5 77.0
DAYS MAX >= 90 20 11.5 8.5 22
DAYS MAX = .01 1 8.6 -7.6 3
DAYS >= .10 1 4.3 -3.3 1
DAYS >= .50 0 1.2 -1.2 0
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.3 -0.3 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.11 08/11 TO 08/11 08/03 TO 08/03
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 0.0 NO SNOW EVER RECORDED IN AUGUST
TOTALS 0.0 NO SNOW EVER RECORDED IN AUGUST
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 0 10 -10 0
SINCE 7/1 0 16 -16 0
COOLING TOTAL 319 244 75 382
SINCE 1/1 1122 688 434 863
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
..................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.9
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 3/217
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 38/330 DATE 08/30
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 45/330 DATE 08/30
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.50
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 8
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 22
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 1
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 34
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 4 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 0 RAIN 0
LIGHT RAIN 9 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0
LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 0
FOG 0 FOG W/VIS
Sweltering, unseasonably warm temperatures gripped much of the contiguous United States last month breaking many records. In the final analysis of the month, NOAA announced that July was the hottest month ever recorded in the U.S. How hot was it? Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com
Much of the Lower 48 states saw above average temperatures during July 2012. Click the image to view the story and slideshow. (NOAA)
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its climate summary for June 2012 showing the United States experienced an unusually warm month. Most notably the U.S. has recorded its warmest first half of the year on record and the warmest 12 month period on record. Climate change? Learn more about the warm weather across the nation on Examiner.com.
Denver set a high temperature record of 94° on Tuesday, June 4.
As officially measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City hit a high temperature of 94° at 2:25pm. This broke the old record high temperature for the date of 93° set in 2010, 1990 and 1977.
The problem? No other reliable station in the metro area came anywhere near that high of a temperature reading.
For comparison, Rocky Mountain Regional Airport saw 91°, Centennial 88°, Boulder 91°, Denver City Park 90°, Stapleton 90° and here in Thornton we recorded 91°.
December ranks as Denver's coldest and third snowiest month.
As with any month in the Denver area, December can bring a variety of conditions. Certainly we have seen bitter cold and heavy snow but in other years dry and mild conditions prevailed.
Based on the updated 1981 to 2010 averages from the National Weather Service, the month is actually our coldest of the year. It also is our third snowiest behind March and November.
Winter weather is typically what we think of when we think about December and it is indeed prone to winter extremes.
In fact, our coldest month in Denver history was in December 1983. In terms of snow, our snowiest month ever occurred in December 1913. More recently the Christmas Eve Blizzard of 1982 and the storms on December 2006 invoke snow-filled memories.
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October offered a bit of everything for everyone from record warmth to heavy snowfall.
October 2011 started out quite warm but then stabilized into a seasonal pattern. As is often the case with Colorado weather though, at one point we went from record high temperatures to snow in a span of two days.
In terms of temperature, Denver finished the month with an overall overage temperature of 52.6 degrees. This was 1.6 degrees above the normal for the month of 50.9 degrees. Temperatures ranged from a high of 87 degrees on the first of the month down to 14 degrees on the 26th and 27th.
Here in Thornton we were slightly cooler with an average temperature of 50.4 degrees. Our highs ranged from a top mark of 86.6 degrees on the first down to a very cold 12.8 degrees on the 27th.
Two record high temperatures were tied or broken during the month. On the 15th, the mercury climbed to 82 degrees which tied the record for the date last set in 1938. On the 24th the temperature hit 80 degrees, breaking the previous record high for the date of 79.
Quite a bit more precipitation was recorded than normal during October 2011. 1.79 inches fell into the rain bucket at DIA which is 0.82 inch above normal. Much of that precipitation fell on October 8th when 1.04 inches was recorded, a record for the date. DIA also recorded a trace of snowfall, the first of the season.
The Mile High City was hit with its first snowstorm on the 25th and 26th when 8.5 inches of the white stuff fell. That also was the snowfall total for the month which far exceeded the normal of 4.2 inches.
Thornton nearly mirrored Denver’s precipitation as we recorded 1.75 inches during the month between rain and snowmelt. Our snowfall fell short of DIAs however as we recorded 6.6 inches during the storm late in the month.
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2011...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2011
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 90 10/01/1892
LOW -2 10/29/1917
HIGHEST 87 10/01 90 -3 85 10/03
LOWEST 14 10/26 -2 16 20 10/28
10/27
AVG. MAXIMUM 67.3 65.3 2.0 69.7
AVG. MINIMUM 37.9 36.6 1.3 40.9
MEAN 52.6 50.9 1.7 55.3
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX = .01 4 5.3 -1.3 4
DAYS >= .10 3 2.4 0.6 2
DAYS >= .50 1 0.5 0.5 0
DAYS >= 1.00 1 0.1 0.9 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.04 10/08 TO 10/08
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 31.2 1969
TOTALS 8.5 4.2
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 400 438 -38 300
SINCE 7/1 495 576 -81 335
COOLING TOTAL 23 5 18 8
SINCE 1/1 964 769 195 870
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/17 10/07
LATEST 05/05
...................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.8
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 4/205
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 49/210 DATE 10/06
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 63/200 DATE 10/06
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.40
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 13
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 15
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 3
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 44
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 1 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 0 RAIN 1
LIGHT RAIN 5 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 1 SNOW 2
LIGHT SNOW 3 SLEET 0
FOG 5 FOG W/VIS
Typically November is a quiet weather month with plenty of nice, fall days but it can also turn wet with plenty of snow and moisture. Just like Forest Gump’s proverbial box of chocolates, you never quite know what you are going to get.
Looking into the weather history books, we see that November is actually Denver’s second snowiest month, second only to March (April is third). Historically we average 10.7 inches of snow during the month.
One little known fact… November is the area’s least sunny month, tying with May with only 64 percent sunshine. September is the sunniest month with sunshine 74 percent of the time.
Get all the details on Denver’s November weather including a look back through history, a recap of last year and the statistics in our November weather preview.
Weather, natural disasters & climate news and information.
With the first full month of fall here, October usually brings one of the quietest weather months in the Denver area with plenty of mild, sunny days and clear, cool nights.
Typically November is a quiet weather month with plenty of nice, fall days but it can also turn wet with plenty of snow and moisture. Just like Forest Gump’s proverbial box of chocolates, you never quite know what you are going to get.