The March Blizzard of 2009 is winding down and it gives us a chance to look at all that happened in the last 36 hours or so. One of the neat things to look at is the 24 hour time lapse video from yesterday. Check out the video from our two webcams:
East Webcam Time Lapse – 3/26/09
West Webcam Time Lapse – 3/26/09
The city has annnounced that they will be plowing residential streets in accordance with their snow removal plan.
From the City of Thornton:
City of Thornton officials have rated this a Class 3 storm (potential to last more than 24 hours; accumulations of over nine inches) and are treating it as such. This means that the city is bringing in on-call contractors to supplement the city truck efforts. While City Crews are staying on arterials, contractors have plowed secondary streets and are commencing plowing operations in residential neighborhoods.
For more information from the city, please see their storm update page.
Continue reading City of Thornton will plow residential streets in wake of blizzard
Thornton and Denver are preparing for what will be its biggest snowstorm of the season today as the National Weather Service has now issued a Blizzard Warning for all of eastern Colorado. The major storm we had been watching in recent days is now arriving over the Front Range and snow is starting to fall and will become widespread by 7:00am. Initially the snow will melt as it hits the ground but as it gets heavier, it will begin to accumulate.
March is our snowiest month and this is setting up to be a classic late winter / early spring storm with lots of Pacific moisture and a Canadian cold front dipping down from the north. Winds are now starting to come out of the east and northeast providing the required upslope conditions that will slow the storm down and hold it over the Front Range.
Between noon and about 9:00pm the snow will be at its heaviest as will the wind which will cause significant drifting and road travel will become treacherous – the afternoon rush hour is almost certainly going to be a big mess. Road closures are likely to happen at some point later today, particularly south and east. Areas along the Palmer Divide, the foothills and the south metro area will have the most snow with lower amounts as you move north. The Denver metro area can look for snowfall totals between 8 and 16 inches while there could be up to two feet of snow in areas south and west.
Remember, a Blizzard Warning means that severe conditions are expected and winds can gust in excess of 35 mph coupled with significant snowfall. Visibilities may be reduced to a quarter of a mile or less and travel will be extremely dangerous and is discouraged. Be sure you are prepared if you do travel and should you get stranded, stay with your vehicle – do not head out and seek help! Going through these storms is always a major task. We ask that you please be careful if you are on the roads and if you have folks in your area that need a bit of help digging out, lend them a hand.
Since January, Denver has had 15% of its normal precipitation and for the snow season we are at a mere 41%. While the snow will be troublesome, we are truly in need of moisture so this is a welcome sight in some respects.
The major winter storm we have been tracking for the last couple of days continues on its path toward Denver and the Front Range and before it is over, Denver could see more than a foot of snow. The latest computer models indicate the storm is coming a bit further north than previously thought which increases the changes for what will be a very significant snow event for us.
Snow in the mountains tonight will begin to spread to Denver and the Front Range Thursday morning and it will last through Thursday evening and beyond. Highlighting the significance of the storm, the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning (see below for text of warning) for all of northeastern Colorado including Denver.
The NWS is forecasting snow totals from 8 to 15 inches for the metro area (see image below) and from 1 to 2 feet along the Palmer Divide. I think that may be a bit optimistic myself but there is little doubt we are in for our biggest storm of the snow season. Areas south and west like Highlands Ranch, Parker and Golden will almost certainly experience the most snow in the metro area. See the image below for potential snow totals.
Continue reading Major storm continues on path, Denver could get 12+ inches of snow
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for Denver and much of northeastern Colorado in anticipation of a significant storm now approaching the state. The warning takes the place of the previously issued watch and signifies the increased potential for a major snow event. The warning goes into effect at 6:00am Thursday morning and runs through 6:00am Friday.
Computer models are beginning to coalesce around solutions that involve snow amounts that could exceed a foot along the Palmer Divide and the foothills. Snow will begin falling in the foothills in the morning and by midday will encompass the entire Front Range. By the time the storm ends, much of the metro area will have in excess of six inches of snow. Tomorrow afternoon’s commute is almost certainly going to be a rough one.
The spring snowstorm could be our biggest storm to date for the 2008 – 2009 winter season. We are desperately in need of moisture so while it may be troublesome, we really need the precipitation.
Last month Apollo 17 astronaut and moonwalker Harrison Schmitt added his voice to the growing chorus of scientists speaking out against the anthropogenic [manmade] global warming (AGW) theory. In strongly worded comments he said the theory was a ‘political tool.’ Now, in a speech at the International Conference on Climate Change he outlined his argument in great detail saying, “the science of climate change and its causes is not settled.”
Schmitt recalled as a child in Silver City, New Mexico helping his father, also a geologist, take rain measurements. Those early experiments spurred the former astronaut’s interest in earth sciences at an early age. He recalled how later in life, while on the surface of the moon, he made weather forecasts for the southern hemisphere of the earth.
In wide ranging commentary, Dr. Schmitt made a point by point argument against many of the things that global warming advocates point to in support of the theory. In a similar vein to his comments last month, he continued to admonish scientists and politicians that have politicized the issue and said those that disagree do have a battle ahead of them.
Get the rest of this story on Examiner.com.
| For all the details, read the rest of this story on our Denver Weather Examiner page. |  |
Denver officially broke the high temperature record on Wednesday, March 4th. At 12:40pm the temperature at Denver International Airport reached 76 degrees, breaking the old record of 74 degrees set in 1872.
This marks the 4th weather record we have broken in just the week. In addition to Wednesday’s mark, we have had:
We are very dry right now and could really use some significant precipitation as snowfall totals are less than half of what they normally are by this time of year. Is there hope? We remember back to 2003 when we were in a similar dry condition and two major storms helped to turn things around. Click here to read about that on Examiner.com.
Are these really records and is it fair to compare these measurements with historical data? Check out our Examiner.com investigation to see why some say these records should have an asterisk attached to them.
February 2009 is Denver’s least snowiest February on record. A new record high temperature is recorded on January 21, 2009. Record low temperatures are recorded on December 14th and 15th of last year.
These announcements are common and we all take notice when we hear them and they make for great water cooler chat topics but are these claims accurate?
In 1995 Denver finally opened its new airport, Denver International Airport, out on the plains east of the city. This new facility, 12 miles as the crow flies northeast of the old Stapleton International Airport, moved the airport from an urban environment to a rural one and more than 19 miles from the center of Denver. Following that move, the National Weather Service (NWS) began taking some of its official measurements at the glistening new airport. In doing so, some say Denver’s climate records have forever been altered and as such any weather record should have an asterisk attached to it.
On Examiner.com we have launched a three part investigative series on this topic. It is a fascinating read – click here to read the rest of the story.
| For all the details, read the rest of this story on our Denver Weather Examiner page. | |
Updated, 5:30pm: Denver’s official high temperature today reached 74 degrees at 3:08pm, beating the old record of 72 degrees by two.
Original post, 2:39pm: Denver has officially broken the high temperature record for today, March 2nd. At 1:52pm the thermometer at Denver International Airport reached 73 degrees, besting the old record of 72 degrees set way back in 1901. Here in Thornton we were a touch warmer reaching a high of 74.1 degrees.
This afternoon there is a chance the temperature could go a degree or two higher thus further increasing the record.
Is this really a record? Since moving Denver’s official weather recording station to DIA, many weather enthusiasts believe our weather and climate records are being unduly altered. Examiner.com just launched an investigative feature into this problem today – check out part 1 of our series on Examiner.com: Do Denver weather and climate records have an asterisk attached?
Looking at this week in Denver weather history, it is easy to see why March is known as Denver’s snowiest month. There are numerous instances of major winter storms dumping snow on the city that was measured not in inches – but feet!
From the National Weather Service:
28-1
IN 1875…6 INCHES OF SNOW FELL FROM 3:15 PM ON THE 28TH TO 1:00 AM ON THE 1ST. PRECIPITATION FOR THE TWO DAYS WAS 0.50 INCH.
29-1
IN 1896…SNOWFALL TOTALED 5.5 INCHES IN THE CITY. NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTED TO 24 MPH.
IN 1948…SNOWFALL TOTALED 5.9 INCHES IN DOWNTOWN DENVER. NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 15 MPH.
1
IN 1904…WEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 42 MPH WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 58 MPH. THE CHINOOK WINDS WARMED THE TEMPERATURE TO A HIGH OF 67 DEGREES.
IN 1906…SNOWFALL WAS HEAVY AND TOTALED 7.5 INCHES OVER DOWNTOWN DENVER. NORTHEAST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 37 MPH.
IN 1940…SNOWFALL WAS HEAVY AND TOTALED 7.7 INCHES IN DOWNTOWN DENVER.
IN 1943…6.0 INCHES OF SNOW FELL OVER DOWNTOWN DENVER. NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 19 MPH.
Continue reading March 1 to March 7 – This week in Denver weather history