Two very cold days and a third cold weather record has been set with this latest Arctic blast.
As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City’s high temperature today topped out at only 7 degrees. This easily breaks the previous record low maximum for the date of 10 degrees set in 1874.
Here in Thornton, we were able to see the mercury climb a bit higher topping out at 13 degrees.
The record low maximum follows on the heels of record low temperatures set today and yesterday.
Our latest Arctic plunge is coming to an end and with it, a record is broken.
As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City bottomed out at -11 degrees this morning. That breaks the old record low for the date of -7 degrees set just last year in 2022.
Here in Thornton we were similar cold with a low of -10 degrees.
As another Arctic blast settles in, a weather record falls.
As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City bottomed out at -7 degrees today. That breaks the old record low for the date of -6 degrees set in 1913.
Here in Thornton we were a bit “warmer” with a low of -5 degrees.
February in Colorado typically brings to an end an extended period when average temperatures are at their lowest. Winter begins to loosen its grip and temperatures get warmer but precipitation is not a particularly common event during the month.
Thus far, our snow season has been a bit of a disappointment although January did help and the start of February offers some relief. February is only our sixth snowiest month so we can’t count on much else.
Temperatures however do usually see a nice rebound during the month. Average high temperatures climb from an average of 44 degrees at the start to 50 degrees by the end of February.
You likely could have guessed the overall summary for the month, one that is summed up with two words: cold and snowy. January 2023, in fact, goes into the books as the second coldest and one of the snowiest Januarys of the past 17 years.
Overall, Thornton’s January saw an average temperature of 27.4 degrees. This is more than 3 degrees below the 17-year running average for the month of 30.7 degrees. It is also the second coldest January over that time span.
Temperatures ranged from a high of 62.4 degrees on the 14th down to a bone-chilling -3.7 degrees on the morning of the 30th.
Most notable was the big chill that descended at the end of the month resulting in four days of below freezing high temperatures. Additionally, the first five days of the month and 13 of the last 14 days of the month recorded below normal high temperatures.
For Denver, as measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City was actually colder with an average temperature for the month of 25.0 degrees. This was well below Denver’s January average of 31.7 degrees and the 17th coldest January on record for Denver.
Denver saw its warmest temperature of 59 degrees on the 14th and its coldest, -10 degrees, on the 30th.
In terms of precipitation, Thornton saw nearly double its January average. We recorded 0.85 inches in the bucket between rain and snowmelt. That is far above our 17-year running average for the month of 0.43 inches.
Out at the airport, Denver reported a healthy 1.25 inches of precipitation, besting our mark. That is well above their long-term January average of 0.38 inches. It also puts January 2023 into the record books as the 8th wettest January on record in Denver.
As you might infer from the precipitation totals, snowfall as well came in above normal.
Thornton recorded 11.2 inches of the white stuff. This was well above the 17-year average of 6.9 inches. It makes the month the 4th snowiest January of the past 17 years.
Denver bested us here as well with 13.0 inches. That is exactly double the 6.5 inches January average for the Mile High City since 1882. January 2023 goes into the books as tied with January 1989 as the 15th snowiest January in Denver.
Click here to view Thornton’s complete January 2023 climate summary report.
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.
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.
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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!
Yeah, it definitely did not get very warm today and the record books now reflect that. After tying a record low this morning, now we have a new record low maximum.
As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City only saw a high temperature today of 4 degrees. This breaks the previous record low maximum of 4 degrees set more than 100 years ago in 1918.
Here in Thornton, we managed to stay a bit warmer, topping out at 11 degrees.
With our latest big chill having settled in, the mercury is dropping into record-setting territory.
As measured at Denver International Airport, the official low temperature this morning dropped to -10 degrees. This tied the record low for the date last set in 1985.
Here in Thornton, we didn’t plummet quite that low as we bottomed out at -4 degrees.
As we begin the new year the winter chill begins to set in. While January can see its share of extremes, the month historically sees stable temperatures and is usually relatively dry.
January ranks as the second coldest month in Denver next to December with average temperatures remaining virtually the same from the start to the end of the month.
In terms of snowfall, the month only ranks as the sixth snowiest and it is not uncommon for it to be quite dry.
What does January 2023 hold for us? Follow the link to find out.
For the complete January preview including a look at historical averages and extremes, click here.
For Thornton, December 2022’s weather was pretty much on par with what we would expect. Average mercury readings came in a bit above normal as did snowfall.
Our overall average temperature for the month came in at 31.2 degrees. This is above the 16-year running average for December of 30.0 degrees. While we did experience some extreme cold for a few days, that was balanced out by a good number of days with above normal readings.
Denver International Airport, where the Mile High City’s official measurements are taken, averaged 29.3 degrees, a rare occasion where the airport was colder than us. This was a good bit below the 30-year Denver average for December of 31.2 degrees.
In Thornton, our readings ranged from a high of 65.0 degrees on the 27th to a bone chilling low of -14.6 degrees on the 22nd. Denver saw a high of 64 degrees on the 11th and a low of -24 on the 22nd.
In terms of precipitation, Thornton’s reading came in far above the 16-year average with 1.21 inches of liquid precipitation. Much of that can be attributed to the storm on the 28th and 29th that saw us receive nearly one inch combined between rain and snow melt. The monthly total made December 2022 Thornton’s wettest December of the past 16 and was far above the average of 0.46 inches.
Denver nearly matched our number with 1.18 inches at the airport. This was well above the Mile High City’s December average of 0.35 inches.
For the first three weeks of the month, Thornton saw no snow at all. Then, two storms saved the month. Thornton ended up with 11.1 inches, about an inch more than the 16-year running average of 10.2 inches for December.
Denver actually bested us for the month with 13.0 inches. That is well above the average of 8.0 inches for December since 1882.
Click here to view Thornton’s complete December 2022 climate summary report.
