Recent months have, overall, been warmer and drier than normal. Last month saw a notable turn toward colder than normal temperatures and more snow than usual. What will December hold for us?
The month of December brings with it the official start of winter and oftentimes, colder and snowier weather conditions.
It however can also offer unseasonably warm temperatures and bone dry conditions. Given our recent mild and dry weather, we are certainly hoping for a change in the coming month.
Overall December’s monthly mean temperature of 30.0 degrees (1981 – 2010 averages) makes it our coldest month. Snow is always on everyone’s mind this time of year but December is only our 3rd snowiest month behind March and November with an average of 8.5 inches of the white stuff.
Brrr! That would be the operative “word” for the month of November 2022. Despite forecasts of above normal temperatures for the month, we saw very little of that and in fact, saw Thornton’s coldest November of the past 16 years.
The month started out warm enough with back to back days of 70+ degrees. However, after that, we went downhill for much of the month. Only eight days of the month saw above average temperatures. The balance was below. Sometimes well below.
Thornton’s average temperature for the month came in at 34.3 degrees. That was far below Thornton’s 16-year running November average of 39.5 degrees and Denver’s long term average for the month of 39.4 degrees. Officially, as measured at the airport, the Mile High City was a bit warmer with an average of 35.6 degrees.
Thornton’s reading ranked the month as the coldest November of the past 16. The next closest was November 2014 with an average of 35.0 degrees. Denver’s average actually put November 2022 into the record books with a tie for the 19th coldest November on record.
Our warmest reading of the month was 74.1 degrees, coming on the first of the month. Our coldest reading came on the last morning of November at 8.3 degrees. Denver’s highest and lowest were 75 degrees and 4 degrees, coming on the same dates.
In terms of precipitation, it wasn’t an overly wet month with the snows being relatively dry. Thornton recorded 0.54 inches of precipitation for the month. Denver saw less with 0.47 inches. Thornton’s 16-year running November average is 0.49 inches. Denver’s long term November average is 0.64 inches.
As for the white stuff, Thornton recorded a healthy 12.8 inches, well above the 5.7 inches that November has averaged over the last 16 years. Denver lagged us with 10.9 inches. The Mile High City’s November average since 1882 is 7.4 inches.
The weather during the month of November in Denver metro area can offer just about anything. While it is normally a quiet month, it can be prone to extremes.
November has historically been one of Denver’s snowiest months and major snowstorms are not entirely uncommon. However conditions can also be quite dry.
Temperatures during the month continue to cool as we get closer to winter and by the end of the month the low temperatures routinely dip to 20 degrees or below. At times it can in fact bring conditions more like what we see in January.
October 2022 goes into the books as one that saw Thornton experience above normal mercury readings and below normal precipitation. However, those were also a formula for a great number of pleasant, fall days.
Overall, Thornton’s average temperature for the month came in at an even 52.0 degrees. As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City’s average temperature for the month was a good bit warmer coming in at 53.8 degrees.
Both readings were above Denver’s long term October average of 51.1 degrees and Thornton’s running 16-year average of 49.5 degrees.
Thornton saw a maximum temperature of 81.2 degrees occurring on the 20th and our coldest reading of 27.2 degrees occurred on the 29th. Denver maxed out at 79 degrees on the 20th as well and bottomed out 30 degrees on the 28th.
Precipitation was fleeting during the month and we were quite dry until the final week. Thornton totaled 0.43 inches in the bucket. Denver had a little bit more at 0.46 inches.
Both location’s totals were far below average. Denver’s long-term average for October is 0.99 inches while Thornton’s 16 year running average is at 1.04 inches.
While we did see some snowflakes mixed in with rain on the 27th of the month, it did not accumulate so we are still waiting for that first official snowfall.
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.
Looking back on August 2022, by far the most notable weather feature was the temperatures. They were stubbornly warm, refusing to show the usual decrease toward the end of the month we expect to see.
Thornton’s overall average temperature for the month came in at 73.7 degrees. This was well above our 16-year running average for August of 71.6 degrees. This put it in the books as Thornton’s fourth warmest August out of the past 16.
Denver was considerably warmer with an average temperature of 76.1 degrees for the month. This was well above the Mile High City’s historical average of 72.9 degrees (1991 – 2020). August 2022 goes into the books as the fourth warmest August on record in Denver.
Precipitation was fleeting and came in spurts during the month but Thornton’s rain bucket tallied near normal precipitation. We recorded 1.43 inches, a bit above the 1.23 inches average for August over the past 16 years. More than half of that fell on the 15th and 16th of the month.
Denver pretty much matched our total with 1.45 inches of rain. That was slightly less than the historical August average for the Mile High City of 1.58 inches.
Following an August that was unseasonably warm and dry, we find ourselves heading into September hoping for relief. The month can bring plenty of rain and even our first snow of the season but more often than not, it is one of the most pleasant along the Colorado Front Range.
As temperatures start to drop, September usually 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.
The month can bring extremes however. We will of course forever remember 2013’s devastating floods brought on by record-setting rain. Longtime residents might remember September 1971 which brought over 17 inches of snowfall.
Last month was one of relatively little drama. Normally we expect June to bring plenty of severe weather but that just was not the case this year. That was, in part, due to a lack of moisture.
Thornton saw only 0.52 inches in the rain bucket, well-below average. While we did see some hot temperatures (two 98 degree readings being tops), overall the monthly average temp came in right near Thornton’s running 16 year average.
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 sunny 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.
Extreme weather can occur during in month in Colorado we well know. June however is when traditional spring severe weather arrives in the state oftentimes with hail, damaging wind and tornadoes.
Over 40 percent of the tornadoes that occur in Colorado happen during the month of June. Far more common are thunderstorms with hail and wind, each responsible for extensive damage each year.
While severe weather is common, so too are brilliantly sunny and mild days as we close out spring and enter summer. If you are looking for cold, it isn’t likely but it is possible as the Denver area has seen freezing temperatures and yes, even snow, during the month.