The Holiday Blizzard of 2006 highlighted the need for winter travel preparation.
ThorntonWeather.com presents the first in a series from the National Weather Service (NWS) on Winter Weather Preparedness. Before hitting the road, Coloradoans need to ensure that they and their vehicles are prepared should inclement weather strike.
Today’s message from the NWS and ThorntonWeather.com highlights the importance of having a proper emergency kit in your vehicle and should the worst-case scenario occur where you get stuck, what you should do to survive.
Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 600 AM MDT Mon Oct 20 2008
Winter Travel Safety
Winter Weather Preparedness Week continues through Saturday, October 25 as proclaimed by Governor Bill Ritter. Before winter weather arrives in earnest it is highly recommended that you prepare your car or truck for winter travel.
Governor Bill Ritter has proclaimed the week of October 19th through October 25th as Winter Weather Preparedness Week in Colorado.
Winter weather in Colorado can be an inconvenience but more than that it can be deadly. Emergency preparedness for major winter storms – as well as for other types of severe weather – is an important part of living in a state where conditions can change wildly from one moment to the next. To help raise awareness of the need to be prepared for these occassions, Governor Ritter has proclaimed the week of October 19th to October 25th Winter Weather Preparedness Week in Colorado.
The National Weather Service will be issuing Public Information Statements each day this week to highlight the dangers of winter weather and how best to be prepared. ThorntonWeather.com will be posting these notices here in our news section to help you be prepared. Please take the time to read and heed these messages – your life could depend on it.
October 19th to October 25th - This week in Denver weather history.
Snow and wind seem to dominate a look back at Denver weather history for this week. Perhaps most notably, the October blizzard of 1997 occurred this week in history, one of the deadliest storms in Colorado history.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
645 PM MDT SAT OCT 18 2008
…THIS WEEK IN METRO DENVER WEATHER HISTORY…
17-19 IN 1908…A MOIST…HEAVY…WET SNOWFALL TOTALED 13.0 INCHES IN
DOWNTOWN DENVER OVER THE 3 DAYS. RAIN FROM EARLY MORNING
ON THE 17TH CHANGED TO SNOW BY LATE AFTERNOON AND CONTINUED
THROUGH THE LATE MORNING OF THE 19TH. DUE TO TEMPERATURES
IN THE 30`S AND MELTING…THE MOST SNOW ON THE GROUND WAS
ONLY 5.0 INCHES AT 6:00 PM ON THE 18TH. NORTHWEST TO
NORTHEAST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED BETWEEN 12 AND 20 MPH DURING
THE STORM. PRECIPITATION TOTALED 1.82 INCHES.
18-23 IN 2003…AN EXTENDED WARM SPELL RESULTED IN 5 NEW TEMPERATURE
RECORDS. THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 84 DEGREES ON THE 18TH
EQUALED THE RECORD HIGH FOR THE DATE. HIGH TEMPERATURES
OF 86 DEGREES ON THE 19TH…83 DEGREES ON THE 21ST…AND 84
DEGREES ON THE 22ND WERE RECORD HIGHS FOR THE DATES. LOW
TEMPERATURE OF 49 DEGREES ON THE 23RD WAS A RECORD HIGH
MINIMUM FOR THE DATE. LOW TEMPERATURES DURING THE PERIOD
WERE IN THE 40`S AND LOWER 50`S.
Our favorite show, Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers, premieres its second season tomorrow, October 19th. We of course have touted this show before and cannot say enough good things about it. The new season chronicles the tornado hunters’ as they chase storms across the plains this past summer. The season was record breaking in the number of tornadoes and the number of deaths and the Storm Chasers team was right in the thick of it.
Be sure to check out the show if you can. Here is a new trailer to help get you excited.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder will host Super Science Saturday on October 25th.
I just read about this on channel 7’s website. Super Science Saturday is an annual event held at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder that gives teachers, students and families a chance to get up close and personal with the weather experts. From the NCAR website:
Every October NCAR hosts Super Science Saturday. This free public event for students, teachers, and families combines science education with Halloween fun from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
This year on October 25, visit Super Science Saturday and see NCAR scientists starring in live demonstrations, participate in hands-on activity tables, and take part in special science workshops.
This is a great opportunity and a lot of fun! This year the event is on October 25th from 10:00am to 4:00pm at NCAR in Boulder. More information including photos from previous years’ event can be found here:
October 12th to the 18th - This week in Denver weather history.
Looking back into the Denver weather history books shows Denver can receive just about any kind of weather this time of year. From heavy snow to gale force winds to 80 plus degree temperatures, it can all happen this week.
10-12 IN 1969…THE SECOND HEAVY SNOWSTORM IN LESS THAN A WEEK
DUMPED NEARLY A FOOT OF SNOW ACROSS METRO DENVER AND
PLUNGED THE AREA INTO EXTREMELY COLD TEMPERATURES FOR SO
EARLY IN THE SEASON. SNOWFALL TOTALED 11.0 INCHES AT
STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. NORTH WINDS GUSTING TO
26 MPH PRODUCED DRIFTS UP TO 2 FEET DEEP. TEMPERATURES
DIPPED FROM A HIGH OF 52 DEGREES ON THE 10TH TO A RECORD
LOW FOR THE DATE OF 10 DEGREES ON THE 12TH. THERE WAS
ADDITIONAL DAMAGE TO TREES AND POWER AND TELEPHONE LINES
FROM HEAVY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS AND ICING. TRAVEL WAS
RESTRICTED OR BLOCKED BY DRIFTING SNOW IN BOTH THE
MOUNTAINS AND ON THE PLAINS EAST OF DENVER.
The Colorado Weather Almanac by Mike Nelson. Simply the best Colorado weather book out there.
The Colorado Weather Almanac came out last year and I have added this to my short list of “must read” books for anyone interested in weather, particularly for those in Colorado. Everyone here in Colorado is well aware of the author, Mike Nelson, 7News’ chief meteorologist, and he does an extraordinary job covering the entire gamut of weather conditions we receive here.
The best part of the book is described in one of the words in the title – Colorado. This is all about our weather. It starts out with what is probably in my opinion the single most interesting section, Colorado climate. Mr. Nelson explains all the ins and outs of how our topography and our geography greatly impact the weather we have and why weather varies so greatly over short distances, even within the confines of the metro area and Front Range.
There is of course discussion about standard weather terms we all have heard such as dew point, pressure, fronts, El Nino, La Nina and on and on. The key though is that the book ties all of this into Colorado and how these things directly impact us. Other terms associated with our weather like upslope, downslope, Chinook and more are also covered; things that we hear on the news every day but may not fully understand.
This week in Denver weather history - October 5th to October 11th
In our weekly look back at Denver weather history, we see a wide range of weather has occurred in the past. From thunderstorms to rain to big time snowstorms, we can and have seen it all.
3-5 IN 1984…THE REMNANTS OF PACIFIC HURRICANE POLO PRODUCED
HEAVY RAIN OVER NORTHEASTERN COLORADO. MOST LOCATIONS
RECEIVED BETWEEN 1.00 TO 2.50 INCHES OF RAIN…BUT 3.45
INCHES FELL IN LITTLETON. RAINFALL TOTALED 1.73 INCHES
AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT…WHERE NORTH WINDS
GUSTED TO 24 MPH.
4-5 IN 1997…UNUSUALLY WARM WEATHER RESULTED IN TWO TEMPERATURE
RECORDS. HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 87 DEGREES ON THE 4TH EXCEEDED
THE OLD RECORD SET IN 1922 BY ONE DEGREE. HIGH TEMPERATURE
OF 86 DEGREES ON THE 5TH EQUALED THE RECORD SET IN 1990 AND
PREVIOUS YEARS.
ThorntonWeather.com's picks for the best drives to view the fall foliage.
This time of year many folks head to the hills west of Denver in search of gold – fall foliage gold. This year thanks to the warm and dry weather, the season is running longer and a bit later than normal so this coming weekend looks to be a great one to get out and go for a drive in the mountains. Where to go? Below are five of ThorntonWeather.com’s favorite ones near Denver. After that, we will tell you where you can find a great website that provides regular updates on viewing conditions.
I-70 Corridor – If you’re looking for the easiest route, then this one is for you. Simply head west on I-70 about 110 miles to Avon. Between Vail and Avon, both sides of I-70 are lined beautifully with aspen.
Rocky Mountain National Park – One of the most popular summer destinations in the state is of course also a prime spot to view aspen in all their glory. Once in the park on Trail Ridge Road, head toward Bear Lake. Glacier Gorge Junction provides a beautiful spot and you of course also get to enjoy all the splendor that Rocky Mountain National Park has to offer.
Peak to Peak Highway – This little road trip can be a dual purpose trip – gambling and fall foliage viewing! Take U.S. 6 through Clear Creek Canyon and then 119 through Blackhawk and Central Center. You can of course stop there if your wallet is fat enough and donate some money to the casinos. From there continue on 119 toward Nederland. Take highway 72 toward Ward and Allenspark. There you will find more golden aspen than you can imagine, all with the Continental Divide nearby.
Poudre Valley Canyon – Heading north on I-25 take Colorado 14 west and into Poudre Canyon and Roosevelt National Forest. As you continue west you will come very near timberline as you come to Cameron Pass. Amazing views abound!
Guanella Pass – This is a nice, relatively short drive from Denver. From C470 take 85 through Bailey and Conifer, a nice drive unto itself. When you come to the town of Grant, take the Guanella Pass Scenic and Historic Byway north to Georgetown. The air is pretty thin along the way as you climb in excess of 11,500 views through the Pike and Arapahoe National Forests. Fair warning – about 10 miles of the road is gravel but it is well maintained.
So do you think you will try one of these drives? Or maybe one of the other dozens (hundreds?) that are possible? Before you go, be sure to check out the U.S. Forest Service’s Fall Colors website! It provides weekly updates on viewing conditions throughout the Rocky Mountain region and is a great resource to plan your trip. The site is usually updated once a week on Fridays. Click here to view the Rocky Mountain Region 2008 Fall Color Report.
As part of a special “Best of” series on Examiner.com, I recently penned an article about what was one of the most significant storms in Denver history – the 1982 Christmas Eve blizzard. It is republished here as I thought everyone might like to check it out:
Looking back through history, Denver and Colorado have had some extraordinary weather stories. When looking to pick a “best” or most significant weather event, reaching far back into the history books one might choose the Georgetown blizzard of 1913 which dumped an astonishing 86 inches of snow or perhaps the Big Thompson Flood of 1976 which claimed 145 lives. More recently, there were the holiday storms of 2006 or the Windsor tornadoes from 2007. But, there is one storm that historically stands out not only because of its severity in terms of the weather but also because of the long lasting impact it caused in Denver and Colorado which is still being felt today – the Christmas Eve Blizzard of 1982. For those of you that didn’t live in Colorado then or are too young to remember, a trip through the history books shows why this storm was so significant. Those that do remember it have memories that will last a lifetime.
As part of a special “Best of” series on