Recent months have, overall, been warmer and drier than normal. Last month continued that trend. What will December hold for us?
The month of December brings with it the official start of winter and oftentimes, colder and snowier weather conditions.
It however can also offer unseasonably warm temperatures and bone dry conditions. Given our recent mild and dry weather, we are certainly hoping for a change in the coming month.
Overall December’s monthly mean temperature of 30.0 degrees (1981 – 2010 averages) makes it our coldest month. Snow is always on everyone’s mind this time of year but December is only our 3rd snowiest month behind March and November with an average of 8.5 inches of the white stuff.
A beautiful sunrise starts the day on November 3, 2020. (Bill Hutchinson)
Typically November is a quiet weather month with plenty of nice, fall days but it can also turn wet with healthy doses of snow and moisture. The wide variety of conditions can create picturesque scenes ranging from blue skies and snow-capped mountains to a wintry wonderland in the metro area.
November is the second snowiest month of the year so winter conditions are not unusual. Typically though, these bouts of cold are short-lived and normal daytime conditions are pleasant.
Outdoor activities continue to be quite popular during the month. The cooling temperatures do oftentimes lead to an increase in wildlife activity.
All of the above help lead to a month in which a wide variety of scenes, flora and fauna can be captured.
Slideshow updated November 29, 2020
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.
[flickr_set id=”72157716819321428″]
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.
A very mild late fall day. As measured at Denver International Airport, the official high temperature in the Mile High City today reached 76 degrees. This ties the record high for November 17 set in 1999.
Here in Thornton we were a bit cooler with a high of 71 degrees.
A bit of a mixed bag of weather for us over the next few days. We will initially enjoy a couple of warm days but then a series of fronts will see things cool down and bring a chance for precipitation.
Friday will be the most calm and warmest day. Mostly sunny skies will be above and highs will again top the mid-70s. Tonight, cloud cover will be increasing and lows will drop to the mid-40s.
Saturday will see cloud cover gradually ease with highs in the low to mid-70s. The afternoon brings breezy winds as a front starts to push through. Overnight Saturday night into Sunday AM, the front will keep the breezy winds going and we may see some sprinkles of rain from midnight into mid-morning Sunday. Lows will be in the mid-40s.
Sunday will see mostly sunny skies from mid-morning on but with some breezy winds. Temperatures will be near average for the date with highs in the mid to upper 50s.
Sunday night a second cold front will arrive and that will see things turn a good bit colder Monday and potentially bring some light snow to start your workweek.
The weather during the month of November in Denver metro area can offer just about anything. While it is normally a quiet month, it can be prone to extremes.
November has historically been one of Denver’s snowiest months and major snowstorms are not entirely uncommon. However conditions can also be quite dry.
Temperatures during the month continue to cool as we get closer to winter and by the end of the month the low temperatures routinely dip to 20 degrees or below. At times it can in fact bring conditions more like what we see in January.
Our mild weather continued today and set another record, the third in the past two days.
Officially, as measured at Denver International Airport, the high temperature today topped out at 77 degrees. This just beat out the previous record high for November 4th of 76 degrees set over 100 years ago in 1915.
Thornton was similarly warm but just a touch cooler, recording a high of 75 degrees for the second day in a row.
This mild weather has been quite nice but it certainly is not normal for this time of year with mercury readings well above average. The Mile High City saw two weather records tied or broken on Tuesday.
As measured at DIA, Denver saw a high temperature of 79 degrees. This tied the record high for November 3rd last set in 1915.
Additionally, a record high minimum was set as the low temperature only dropped to 48 degrees. This bested the old record of 46 degrees set in 1940.
Here in Thornton, we were cooler across the board with a high of 75 degrees and a low of 37 degrees.
The United States returns to Standard Time at 2:00am Sunday as Daylight Saving Time comes to an end.
The biannual ritual of changing our clocks to adjust for Daylight Saving Time occurs this weekend, providing yet another signal of the changing of seasons. The United States will ‘fall back’ one hour at 2:00am Sunday morning as we return to Standard Time.
The ritual of changing our clocks twice a year can be met with some resistance as some people struggle to adjust their body’s internal clock. Others actually like the return to standard time as they get to enjoy an extra hour of sleep.
The time change definitely has big effects on the dawning of daylight and how early it gets dark in the evening.
Sunrise on Saturday occurs at 7:28am but on Sunday it will be at 6:29am. Similarly, sunset will occur at 5:58pm on Saturday but on Sunday the sun will disappear over the horizon at 4:57pm.
For many this means that when they get home from work it will now be dark and outdoor activities will be significantly curtailed as a result.
Arizona and Hawaii are the only states that do not observe Daylight Saving Time and remain on Standard Time year round. The U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands also do not observe the event.
It won’t be all that long though before Daylight Saving Time returns. On March 14, 2021 we will ‘spring forward.’
Daylight Saving Time Schedule
The mandated beginning and end of Daylight Saving Time has changed in the United States over the years.
The most recent schedule was set by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and took effect in 2007. We now ‘spring forward’ to begin Daylight Saving Time on the second Sunday in March and ‘fall back’ with the return to Standard Time on the first Sunday in November.
The Cameron Peak Fire sends smoke into the sky on October 7, 2020. (David Canfield)
October in Thornton can bring a wide variety of weather conditions, perfect for the photographer in all of us.
The month brings the changing of the colors at Colorado’s lower elevations and it is also is typically when we see our first freeze and first snow.
Couple those facts with our usual widely varying landscapes and wildlife and we have a month that is sure to bring in plenty of photo opportunities.
Slideshow updated October 27, 2020
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.
[flickr_set id=”72157716398320681″]
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.
Brrr! Following our snowstorm, the cold has lingered and this morning plunged into record-setting territory.
Denver’s official low temperature this morning, as measured at DIA, dropped to 8 degrees. This easily bests the previous record low for October 27 of 11 degrees set in 1925.
Thornton actually came out on the colder end of things this morning with a low of 5 degrees recorded at 5:37am.
The weather during the month of November in Denver metro area can offer just about anything. While it is normally a quiet month, it can be prone to extremes.
