Colorado’s famously highly variable weather seems to showcase itself during the month of May when a variety of weather conditions can be seen.
The month can certainly bring extremes.
Snow is not entirely uncommon during the month, occurring in about 50% of Mays. When it does, it has the potential to cause damage to newly bloomed trees.
More common however is severe weather, particularly in the latter half of the month. Thunderstorms become more frequent and their associated hazards – lightning, wind, hail and tornadoes – are usual visitors.
The City of Thornton has announced that it has replaced the old CodeRed emergency alert system with a new one called “ThorntonReady Emergency Alerts.” We highly recommend all residents sign up for the new system immediately.
With the system you can choose exactly which types of events you want to be notified about – civic alerts, weather advisories, weather warnings, etc. Additionally, you control how you want to be notified whether by phone call, text, email or all of them.
We found that they wanted to alert users with an entire gamut of alerts, many which don’t really warrant a middle-of-the-night phone call. However, the ability to be notified about the more common advisories is a nice touch and helps to keep you informed.
For us, we opted out of calls for advisories although being geeks we don’t mind the texts or emails. For calls, we chose only tornado warnings. If you are in an area where appropriate, we would suggest also opting in for calls for flash flood warnings. See attached screenshot of our choices.
Should you desire, you can also add information about your household that could be seen my emergency responders should an emergency arise. These include other members of the household, special health requirements, pets and more.
We chose not to add the personal information at this time as we are somewhat suspicious of what that information could be used for and who it may be shared with beyond first responders.
This service is crucial to ensuing you are notified about dangerous conditions at your home. Please do sign up.
April 4, 2026- A pelican and cormorant hang out on a pond. (Manus Dei Nature Photography)
April can be a tricky month weather-wise with everything from mild temperatures to snow to severe weather being possible. The good thing about that is that it provides plenty of chances for great photos!
April marks a transition between winter and summer for most of the country but for Denver it is especially true as we can see a stunning variety of weather.
The proverbial April showers are certainly a possibility for Denver. Snow? Tornadoes? Thunderstorms? You bet – all can happen!
Throw in our usual wildlife plus the wide variety of birds that return to the Centennial State for the spring and summer and there is a lot going on.
Slideshow updated April 20, 2026.
To learn more about how to send your photo to us for inclusion in the slideshow, see below the slideshow.
Showcasing images captured by ThorntonWeather.com readers as well as some of our own, our monthly slideshow covers the entire gamut of weather-related imagery.
Sunsets, sunrises, wildlife and of course every type of weather condition are vividly depicted in images captured from yours and our cameras.
What is missing in the slideshow above? Your photo!
Our monthly photo slideshow is going to feature images that we have taken but more importantly images that you have captured. The photos can be of anything even remotely weather-related.
Landscapes, current conditions, wildlife, pets, kids. Whimsical, newsy, artsy. Taken at the zoo, some other area attraction, a local park, a national park or your backyard. You name it, we want to see and share it!
Images can be taken in Thornton, Denver or anywhere across the extraordinary Centennial State. We’ll even take some from out of state if we can tie it to Colorado somehow.
We’ll keep the criteria very open to interpretation with just about any image eligible to be shown in our slideshows.
What do you win for having your image in our slideshow? We are just a ‘mom and pop’ outfit and make no money from our site so we really don’t have the means to provide prizes. However you will have our undying gratitude and the satisfaction that your images are shared on the most popular website in Thornton.
To share you images with us and get them included in the slideshow just email them to us or share them with ThorntonWeather.com on any of the various social media outlets. Links are provided below.
Thornton, Colorado’s March 2026 temperature summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)
The month of March 2026 is one which went into the history books but we would like to forget. The ridiculously warm and dry weather that has plagued us all winter continued with a vengeance.
Overall, Thornton saw its warmest March of the past 20 years. It also went into the books as the fourth driest March over the same period. Officially, Denver saw similar records fall.
Four of the first five days of the month saw well above normal temperatures. Finally, on the sixth day of the month, we got a break. Temperatures chilled and we received a nice shot of snow.
It did not take long though and the mild temperatures returned and dry conditions stayed until the 15th of the month. We then got another light bit of snow. That, however, would be the end of the precipitation for the month.
The final half of March 2026 saw us record seven days with 80+ degree temperatures and two days with 90+ degrees. The earliest we have ever seen those types of readings.
Thornton saw an average monthly temperature for March 2026 of 53.9 degrees. This was far above the 20-year running average for the month of 42.8 degrees. It also easily displaced March 2012 (49.6 degrees) as the warmest March over the same period.
Officially, as measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City saw record-setting temperatures as well. Their average reading for the month was 51.6 degrees. This easily bested the previous warmest March of 50.4 degrees set in 1910.
In terms of precipitation, Thornton recorded 0.63 inches in its bucket for the month. Most of that came with the snow on the 6th. This was well below the March 20 year average of 0.83 inches and put the month in the books as the 4th driest March over the period.
Denver was similarly dry recording 0.66 inches in their rain bucket. This was 0.20 inches below the long term March average for Denver.
Snow was reasonable for the month with Thornton receiving 6.8 inches during March 2026. That was, however, a good bit below the 10.5 inches we averaged over the past 20 years.
Out at DIA, Denver fared better with the white stuff with 10.1 inches being recorded. That was actually 1.7 inches above their long term average for snowfall in March.
April marks a transition between winter and summer for most of the country but for Denver it is especially true as we can see a stunning variety of weather.
The proverbial April showers are certainly a possibility for Denver. Snow? Tornadoes? Thunderstorms? You bet – all can happen!
For good measure throw in a chance for hail and even dust storms and April gives every type of weather condition you could like – or hate.
The month of March is the start of meteorological spring and while conditions do begin warming, winter weather is certainly out of the question. From hot to cold, snow to rain, the conditions can be very conducive to great pictures as we see in our slideshow.
March in Denver typically means frequent and rapid weather changes. The days grow longer and we start enjoying more sunshine and sometimes summer-like weather. However, on occasion arctic air masses can still force their way south into Colorado dropping temperatures quickly and markedly.
With the active wildlife, increased outdoor activities by us humans, and of course the weather, March imagery contains a wide variety of subjects and extremes.
Slideshow updated March 29, 2026. To learn more about how to send your photo to us for inclusion in the slideshow, see below the slideshow.
Showcasing images captured by ThorntonWeather.com readers as well as some of our own, our monthly slideshow covers the entire gamut of weather-related imagery.
Sunsets, sunrises, wildlife and of course every type of weather condition are vividly depicted in images captured from yours and our cameras.
What is missing in the slideshow above? Your photo!
Our monthly photo slideshow is going to feature images that we have taken but more importantly images that you have captured. The photos can be of anything even remotely weather-related.
Landscapes, current conditions, wildlife, pets, kids. Whimsical, newsy, artsy. Taken at the zoo, some other area attraction, a local park, a national park or your backyard. You name it, we want to see and share it!
Images can be taken in Thornton, Denver or anywhere across the extraordinary Centennial State. We’ll even take some from out of state if we can tie it to Colorado somehow.
We’ll keep the criteria very open to interpretation with just about any image eligible to be shown in our slideshows.
What do you win for having your image in our slideshow? We are just a ‘mom and pop’ outfit and make no money from our site so we really don’t have the means to provide prizes. However you will have our undying gratitude and the satisfaction that your images are shared on the most popular website in Thornton.
To share you images with us and get them included in the slideshow just email them to us or share them with ThorntonWeather.com on any of the various social media outlets. Links are provided below.
Another record-setting day in the books for Denver.
As measured at Denver International Airport, the official high in the Mile High City today reached 79 degrees. This ties the previous record high for March 29 set in 1879.
Here in Thornton we were warmer with a high of 82 degrees.
In addition to record-setting daytime temperatures, early morning and nighttime temperatures yesterday remained quite mild and set a record.
As measured at Denver International Airport, Denver saw a low temperature of 54 degrees. This was a good bit warmer than the previous record low minimum for March 25 of 50 degrees set in 1907 and previous years.
Here in Thornton, we cooled down further than the Mile High City, with a low of 49 degrees.
Our summer-like conditions continued today and another high temperature record fell. More than that, it also set an all-time March high temperature record.
As measured at Denver International Airport, Denver saw an official high temperature of 87 degrees. This easily breaks the old record high for March 25 of 75 degrees set in 1956.
The reading today also breaks the all-time record high for March, besting the 86 degrees we saw just four days ago. Prior to this most recent heat wave, the record for March was 84 degrees set on March 26, 1971.
Here in Thornton, we were warmer than the Mile High City with a high of 90 degrees.
Another summer-like day in the Denver area today. With it, the Mile High City set its fourth daily high temperature record of the past week.
As measured at Denver International Airport, Denver’s official high temperature today was 81 degrees. This easily beat the previous record high for March 24 of 76 degrees set in 1896.
Here in Thornton, we were warmer, topping out at 83 degrees.
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