Category Archives: Thornton Weather

January 2024 top shots: Monthly photo slideshow

January 16, 2024 - A stunner of a sunset. (Tasha Miller Cole)
January 16, 2024 – A stunner of a sunset. (Tasha Miller Cole)

As one of our coldest months, January can be a good month to hibernate inside and avoid the outdoors.  But, like any month in Colorado, photo opportunities abound as our monthly slideshow demonstrates.Snow is not normally dominant in the month but when it does fall, it can create a beautiful blanket of white.  Throw in the amazing sunrises and sunsets we receive in the middle of winter as well as wildlife and a host of other subjects and the imagery can be quite beautiful and stunning.

  • Slideshow updated January 31, 2024
  • 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.

So come on, get those camera’s rolling!

Internet down, real-time data currently unavailable (Now fixed)

Update 1/11/24, 12:00pm: We are back up and running. The station is providing live data to the website and catching up on data loads. We should be fully functional here soon. Thank you for your patience.

Unfortunately, the Internet connection that allows the updating of the website with real-time data from our weather station is currently down. We expect to have it back up and running sometime Thursday afternoon (1/11/24).

Much of our website, other than the real-time data, remains fully functional. This includes the forecasts, watches / warnings and more.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

January 7 to January 13: This week in Denver weather history

This Week in Denver Weather History

January in Colorado is known for two main weather conditions – cold and wind. Our look back at this week in Denver weather history shows why this reputation is well earned.

From the National Weather Service:

31-7

In 1941…a protracted cold spell through January 7…1942… Produced below zero low temperatures on 7 of the 8 days. A low temperature of 2 degrees on the 3rd prevented a string of 8 days below zero. The coldest days during the period were the 1st with a high of 2 degrees and a low of 9 degrees below zero…the 4th with a high of 2 degrees and a low of 11 degrees below zero…and the 5th with a high of 26 degrees and a low of 12 degrees below zero.

6-7

In 1908…furious high winds were noted in Boulder but caused only minor damage and injury.

In 1913…a very cold arctic air mass caused temperatures to plunge to record levels. The low temperature fell to 21 degrees below zero on the 6th and to 18 degrees below zero on the 7th…both records. The high temperature of only 8 degrees below zero on the 6th was a record low maximum for the date.

In 1920…post-frontal heavy snowfall totaled 7.0 inches in downtown Denver. North winds were sustained at 24 mph with gusts to 30 mph on the 6th.

In 1923…warm Chinook winds resulted in two temperature records. Low temperatures of 37 degrees on the 6th and 42 degrees on the 7th equaled the record high minimums for the dates. West winds were sustained to 30 mph with gusts to 33 mph on the 6th. Southwest winds were sustained to 47 mph with gusts to 52 mph on the 7th. High temperatures were 53 degrees on the 6th and 56 degrees on the 7th.

In 1986…2 to 4 inches of snow fell over metro Denver… With 5 to 8 inches in the foothills west of the city. The 2.4 inches of snowfall recorded at Stapleton International Airport was the only snowfall of the month. Northwest winds gusted to 24 mph at the airport.

In 2006…a brief warm spell resulted in two temperature records. High temperatures of 66 degrees on the 6th and 69 degrees on the 7th equaled the record daily maximum temperatures for each of those days. Low temperatures remained above freezing and were within 1 or 2 degrees of the record daily high minimums.

7

In 1911…west Chinook winds were sustained to 51 mph and warmed the temperature to a high of 56 degrees.

In 1994…occasional high winds buffeted the eastern foothills. Wind gusts to 99 mph were recorded at Rollinsville…southwest of Boulder. West winds gusted to 40 mph at Stapleton International Airport.

In 1995…a brief blast of high winds hit the eastern foothills and adjacent Front Range communities. A wind gust to 112 mph was recorded atop Squaw Mountain…west of Denver. In Boulder…winds gusted to 81 mph. West winds gusted to 31 mph at Stapleton International Airport.

In 2009…damaging downslope winds were responsible for triggering two wildfires that threatened the city of Boulder. Peak wind gusts ranged from 75 to 107 mph in and near the foothills of Boulder…Jefferson and park counties. Although the fires never merged…they were close enough for firefighters to build a perimeter around both of them. The fires quickly torched 3000 acres and forced the evacuation of up to 1400 families. One home was destroyed along with several barns and outbuildings. Three firemen suffered minor injuries. In Bailey…power lines were downed by falling trees. A tin roof on an auto repair shop in town was almost completely blown off. Peak wind gusts included: 107 mph…3 miles south of Mt. Audobon…92 mph…3 miles south of Evergreen; 87 mph…6 miles northwest of Boulder; 81 mph…2 miles east-northeast of Bergen Park and at the National Wind Technology Center; 79 mph…4 miles northeast of Nederland; 77 mph…3 miles west of Sheridan; 75 mph at Genesee. A peak wind gust of 39 mph was measured at Denver International Airport from the west.

In 2020…high winds developed in and near the foothills of Boulder and northern Jefferson counties. Peak wind gusts included: 89 mph in west Longmont…83 mph at the NCAR Mesa Laboratory…and 80 mph at the junction of state highways 93 and 72. West winds gusted to 38 mph at Denver International Airport.

7-8

In 1911…gale force winds occurred in Boulder causing minor injuries.

In 1937…cold arctic air plunged temperatures below zero for an estimated 56 consecutive hours. Two temperature records were set. High temperatures of 8 degrees below zero on the 7th and 3 degrees on the 8th were record low maximum readings for those dates. Low temperatures plunged to 12 degrees below zero on the 7th and 11 degrees below zero on the 8th. Snowfall was 1.4 inches in downtown Denver.

In 1969…a violent evening windstorm struck Boulder and the adjacent foothills. A wind gust to 130 mph was recorded at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Winds reached 96 mph in downtown Boulder. The Boulder airport wind recorder was blown away after measuring a wind gust to 80 mph. The windstorm caused over one million dollars in damage and one fatality in Boulder. About 25 homes in south Boulder had roofs blown off or were severely damaged. Roofs were blown off buildings housing scientific laboratories and offices of the Environmental Science Services Administration…now NOAA…in Boulder…and installations of several scientific measuring sites near Boulder received heavy damage. Grass fires driven by the high winds endangered many areas…but were controlled by volunteer firemen. One man died from injuries received when he was blown from a fire truck. One man was killed and another injured when the truck camper in which they were riding was blown off I-25 about 10 miles north of Denver. In the same area a mobile home and a truck trailer were blown off the highway and demolished. At least 20 people in the Boulder area received light to serious injuries from flying debris or from being blown into obstructions. Power lines and trees were downed over a wide area. Damage was relatively light in the city of Denver…where northwest winds gusted to 62 mph at Stapleton International Airport on the 8th. Many windows were broken in Arvada…Englewood…and Littleton. A 27-year-old fire lookout tower on Squaw Mountain…west of Denver…was blown away…and several radio relay towers at that location were toppled. Trucks were overturned near Georgetown. Mobile homes were overturned in several areas with occupants receiving injuries in some cases. The strong Chinook winds also brought warm weather. The maximum temperature of 69 degrees on the 7th broke the old record of 65 degrees set in 1948. The temperature also reached 65 degrees on the 8th…but was not a record.

In 1992…an intense blizzard buried eastern parts of metro Denver. At times snow fell at rates of 2 to 3 inches an hour. Winds increased from the north at speeds of 25 to 45 mph. Drifts of 4 to 8 feet were common. I-70 was closed east of Denver…and I-25 was closed from Denver south. Snowfall totals ranged from a couple of inches in the foothills west of Denver to as much as 2 feet on the east side of metro Denver. The heaviest snow fell on the 7th in a band from the northern suburbs of Westminster and Thornton through Aurora and east Denver to southeast of Parker. Snowfall totals included: 22 inches in southeast Aurora…14.8 inches at Stapleton International Airport…13 inches in Northglenn…10 inches in Parker…and 9 inches in Westminster. The 14.5 inches of snowfall measured on the 7th into the 8th is the greatest 24 hour snowfall ever recorded in the city during the month of January. North winds gusting to 46 mph caused much blowing snow at Stapleton International Airport.

In 2000…high winds developed in and near the Front Range foothills. The strongest winds were generally confined to foothills areas north of I-70. A wind gust to 76 mph was reported in Golden Gate Canyon. West winds gusted to 37 mph at Denver International Airport on the 8th. Continue reading January 7 to January 13: This week in Denver weather history

Thornton’s 2023 weather recap: Not a lot of drama but a big dose of precipitation

Thornton, Colorado 2023 Temperature Summary (ThorntonWeather.com)
Thornton, Colorado 2023 Temperature Summary (ThorntonWeather.com)

That’s another year in the books and looking back, there really weren’t any particularly notable events in terms of the weather for Thornton. We did end up a bit warmer than average and precipitation was well above normal.

The year started off on the cold and snowy side. January saw temps more than 3 degrees cooler than average and it was our snowiest month of the calendar year with 11.2 inches. The next few months were relatively quiet. After three consecutive months with below normal levels of precipitation, May arrived and Mother Nature let it rain.  Thornton recorded almost double the May average.

June was cooler than normal and rain continued to arrive in copious amounts with us getting more than double the average. July continued to be wetter than normal and temperatures climbed with Thornton hitting or beating the 100 degree mark three times. August saw a bit warmer than average temperatures and again saw three days with 100 degree or warmer readings.

As temperatures cooled, we continued to run warmer than average. In fact, the last six months of 2023 saw warmer than average temperatures. Most notably, December was a whopping 6.6 degrees warmer than average. The last three months of the year also saw below average precipitation.

In the end, Thornton saw an average annual temperature of 51.3 degrees. This was a bit above the running 17-year annual average of 50.7 degrees.

Out at Denver International Airport where the Mile High City’s official records are taken, they were just a hair cooler with an annual average of 51.0 degrees, 0.2 degrees below Denver’s long term annual average.

Precipitation was most notable for the year as Thornton saw 21.89 inches of rain and snow melt. That put the year in the books as the wettest year of the past 17 years and easily bested the annual average of 15.30 inches.

Denver was quite wet as well, although not quite as much so as us. They recorded 18.94 inches in their bucket, 4.46 inches above their annual average.

Click here to view Thornton’s 2023 climate report.

Thornton, Colorado 2023 Precipitation Summary (ThorntonWeather.com)
Thornton, Colorado 2023 Precipitation Summary (ThorntonWeather.com)

December 2023 weather recap: Mild, dry weather continues

Thornton, Colorado December 2023 Temperature Summary (ThorntonWeather.com)
Thornton, Colorado December 2023 Temperature Summary (ThorntonWeather.com)

Thornton wrapped up 2023 with similar weather conditions as had been seen the previous two months. Temperatures were well above normal and precipitation was scarce.

The month was a quiet one, lacking any sort of real weather drama. We started out on the cool side but then put together a string of well above normal days from the 4th to the 7th. We then turned colder and saw our first and biggest snow of the month, 1.7 inches, on the 9th. The balance of the month saw some ups and downs, mainly ups, with only three more snowfalls, all very light.

Thornton ended the month with an average temperature of 37.1 degrees. This was far above the running 17-year average for the month of 30.5 degrees. It also put December 2023 into the books as the warmest December of those 17 years, besting the previous warmest of 37.0 degrees in 2021.

The warmest temperature of 68 degrees was seen on the 19th while the coldest temperature of 11.2 degrees came on Christmas morning.

As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City was similarly warm. Denver’s December 2023 average temperature was 37.4 degrees, besting Thornton’s number. That too was well above their long-term average for the month of 31.2 degrees and goes into the Denver weather history books tying December 1929 as the 17th warmest December on record.

Along with the warmth, we saw little precipitation. Thornton recorded a mere 0.26 inches in the bucket. That was only about half of the 17-year running average for December of 0.45 inches. Much of that can be attributed to the relative lack of snowfall as we only saw 3.1 inches of the white stuff. That is less than half of the 8.4 inches Thornton has averaged during December over the past 17 years and the third least snowy December over that period.

Out at the airport, it was quite dry as well. Denver recorded only 0.12 inches in their bucket, far below the long-term average of 0.35 inches. The Mile High City was also lighter on snow than us, seeing only 1.4 inches. That puts December 2023 into the books as the 18th least snowy December on record.

Click here to view Thornton’s complete December 2023 climate summary report.

Thornton, Colorado December 2023 Precipitation Summary (ThorntonWeather.com)
Thornton, Colorado December 2023 Precipitation Summary (ThorntonWeather.com)

December 2023 top shots: Monthly photo slideshow

Cool clouds at sunrise over Denver. (Bill Hutchinson)
Cool clouds at sunrise over Denver. (Bill Hutchinson)

The month of December can offer everything from bone dry conditions to bone chilling cold and monstrous snowstorms.  The weather and wildlife all afford an abundance of photo opportunities as our December photo slideshow shows.

Leaves have fallen from trees now and the landscape can sometimes look quite stark.  However it only takes a quick shot of snow to change that picture greatly.  Throw in gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, plenty of wildlife big and small, kids playing and much more and the month can be quite colorful and eventful.

  • Slideshow updated December 26, 2023
  • 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.

So come on, get those camera’s rolling!

Looking back at an unforgettable holiday – Denver’s Christmas Eve Blizzard of 1982

Cars are buried under the heavy snow in Denver. Scroll down for a photo slideshow with more images. (Denver Public Library Digital Collection)
Cars are buried under the heavy snow in Denver. Scroll down for a photo slideshow with more images. (Denver Public Library Digital Collection)

As Christmas approaches everyone reflects on the past and for longtime Denver residents that oftentimes means remembering one of the most significant winter storms in the Mile High City’s history – the Christmas Eve Blizzard of 1982.  This major winter storm has become the one by which all others are compared not only due to its record-setting impact but also due to its timing being near Christmas.

As Christmas 1982 approached, forecasters were predicting a white Christmas several days beforehand but most were expecting a moderate snowfall of 6 inches.  Two days before Christmas Eve though, the picture began to change.  On the 22nd a Pacific cold front came ashore in California bringing severe rain, high surf and even hurricane force winds.  As it moved east over higher terrain, it dumped 2 feet of snow in the Wasatch Mountains near Salt Lake City.

At about that same time, jet stream winds were forming a trough of low pressure over the southeastern plains of Colorado.  The counterclockwise motion of the trough began to pull moist air into the state.  Further east Kansas and Oklahoma experienced severe thunderstorms and even tornadoes.  The winds set the stage for strong upslope conditions along the Front Range.

  • Scroll down to the view photo slideshow from this famous snowstorm
  • Do you remember the Christmas Eve Blizzard of ’82?  Leave a comment below with your memories
  • If you have photos of the event email them to info@thorntonweather.com or share them with us on our Facebook page and we will add them to the slideshow

Rain changed to snow on the plains and shortly before midnight on the 23rd, a full blown blizzard had developed.  Denver woke to snow on the ground the morning of Christmas Eve but the storm was just getting started.  Snowfall rates of 2 – 3 inches per hour were the norm during the day and winds screamed at 50mph causing wind chill temperatures to plummet to as low as -35 degrees.  As conditions continued to deteriorate throughout the day, the gravity of the situation began to be realized. Continue reading Looking back at an unforgettable holiday – Denver’s Christmas Eve Blizzard of 1982

Astronomical winter arrives Thursday, offers up the shortest day of the year

The Winter Solstice
Winter officially begins at 8:27pm MST on Thursday, December 21, 2023.

Astronomical winter arrives in Thornton Thursday evening and with the solstice also comes the shortest day of the year.

Winter officially begins at 8:27pm MST on Thursday, December 21, 2023.

The Winter Solstice occurs when the North Pole is tilted at its furthest from the sun – 23.5 degrees away. This results in the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

Here in Denver, with sunrise at 7:17am and sunset at 4:38pm, our day Saturday will be 9 hours, 21 minutes and 14 seconds long.

The following day, Friday, it will be about a second longer and each day from now through to the Summer Solstice in June will get gradually longer as well.

While we have a short day on the solstice, it is nothing like what will be experienced in the Arctic Circle.  Areas north of there to the North Pole will have no direct sunlight at all.  Conversely, areas south of the Antarctic Circle toward the South Pole will have 24 hours of daylight and have a midnight sun.

Did you know that there is a difference between the astronomical seasons that we are discussing here and meteorological seasons?

Meteorological seasons differ slightly and are geared toward matching the calendar with the annual temperature cycle. This is done primarily for meteorological observing and forecasting and in many ways it is more logical than the astronomical seasons.

For the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological spring covers the months of March, April and May. Summer brings the hottest months of the year and so meteorological summer is June, July and August. Meteorological fall then is September, October and November followed by the coldest months of December, January and February as meteorological winter.

Denver ties record high temperature for December 19

Record High Temperature

We knew going into today this was a possibility and indeed, it happened.

As measured at Denver International Airport, the official high temperature for the Mile High City reached 67 degrees. This ties the record high for the date last set more than 100 years ago in 1917.

Here in Thornton, we were just a touch warmer with a high of 68 degrees. This was the warmest December 19th since ThorntonWeather.com came online in 2006.

November 2023 weather recap: Thornton gets another mild, dry month

Thornton, Colorado's November 2023 Temperature Summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)
Thornton, Colorado’s November 2023 Temperature Summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)

For the second month in the row, Thornton saw a period of temperatures above normal and precipitation below normal. Were it not for a cold snap and snow to end the month, it would have been much worse.

Most of November saw a continuation of the mild, dry weather we saw in October. For the first three weeks, temperatures were largely above normal and precipitation was virtually non-existent. In fact, 19 out of the first 22 days of the month saw mercury readings above normal and a mere 0.02 inches had been recorded in the rain bucket and we had no snow.

Mother Nature finally changed course and chilled us out and brought our first snow of the month during the last week. We saw a few days with well below normal temperatures and 4.3 inches of snowfall were recorded over a two-day period.

Thornton’s average temperature for November 2023 came in at 42.2 degrees. This was well above our 17-year running average for November of 39.7 degrees. Temperatures ranged from a high of 79.8 degrees on the 5th down to a low of 11.7 degrees on the 26th.

Out at DIA where the Mile High City’s official measurements are taken, it was similarly warm. Denver had an overage temperature for the month of 43.2 degrees, again, well above their average of 39.4 degrees.

In terms of precipitation, Thornton saw a mere 0.20 inches of liquid precipitation during the month. This was less than half of the 0.47 inches running November average and tied for the third driest November of the past 17 years.

Denver recorded 0.18 inches out at the airport. Far below their long term November average of 0.64 inches.

Snow was below normal both here in Thornton and at DIA. Thornton recorded 4.3 inches, a good bit below the 5.7 inch November average of the past 17 years. Denver saw less than us with 2.9 inches, far below their long term November average of 7.3 inches.

Click here to view Thornton’s complete November 2023 climate summary report.

Thornton, Colorado's November 2023 Precipitation Summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)
Thornton, Colorado’s November 2023 Precipitation Summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)