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 relatively dismal with the seasonal total in Thornton more than 10 inches below average. In the high country, the snowpack is not faring much better. February is only our sixth snowiest month so we may not see much snowfall for the balance of the month.
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.
Finally! Our winter thus far had been quite dry so seeing some precipitation in January was a very welcome change. Temperatures were just a bit above normal.
Overall, the month was short on any sort of real weather drama with no major storms or particularly notable temperature extremes. However, a series of storm systems did give us a bit of a roller coaster of weather with five different snow events over the month.
January started out with a very cold New Year’s Day but soon saw warmer temperatures arrive. Our first snow came on the 11th and 12th. This was followed by some smaller events and finally our biggest snowfall of the month on the 28th.
Thornton’s average temperature for the month came in at 31.3 degrees. This was a bit warmer than Denver’s long term overage for January of 30.7 degrees. Out at DIA where Denver’s official readings are taken, it was a bit warmer with an average of 32.0 degrees.
Our mercury readings ranged from a low of 2.2 degrees on the 1st and the 2nd to a high of 61.1 degrees a few days later on the 4th. Denver’s lowest reading was 5 degrees below zero on the first and its warmest of 62 degrees came on the 4th.
In terms of precipitation, Denver averages 0.41 inches of liquid precipitation during January. Thornton easily bested that with an even 1 inch in our bucket. Denver was above average as well with 0.75 inches.
Snowfall in Thornton saw above normal levels with a total for the month of 10.9 inches. Denver, as usual, lagged with 6.2 inches of the white stuff. The 30 year average for Denver for January is 7.0 inches.
Thornton, Colorado’s January 2019 temperature summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)Thornton, Colorado’s January 2019 precipitation summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
1026 AM MST FRI FEB 1 2019
...................................
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2019...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2019
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 76 01/27/1888
LOW -29 01/09/1875
HIGHEST 62 01/04 76 -14 68 01/09
LOWEST -5 01/01 -29 24 -4 01/16
AVG. MAXIMUM 44.6 44.0 0.6 49.2
AVG. MINIMUM 19.5 17.4 2.1 20.1
MEAN 32.0 30.7 1.3 34.7
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 6 5.5 0.5 3
DAYS MIN <= 32 29 29.4 -0.4 28
DAYS MIN <= 0 1 1.7 -0.7 2
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 2.35 1883
MINIMUM 0.01 1933
1934
1952
TOTALS 0.75 0.41 0.34 0.54
DAILY AVG. 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.02
DAYS >= .01 6 4.1 1.9 5
DAYS >= .10 2 0.9 1.1 2
DAYS >= .50 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.0 0.0 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.45 01/11 TO 01/11 01/21 TO 01/21
OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
TOTALS 6.2 7.0
RECORD 24.3 1992
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 1016 1063 -47 932
SINCE 7/1 3388 3531 -143 3082
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
.................................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.9
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 4/214
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 40/290 DATE 01/07
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 54/350 DATE 01/22
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.50
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 10
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 17
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 4
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 58
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
Stunning lenticular clouds at sunset over the Colorado Front Range. (David Canfield)
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 29, 2019
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=”72157677459558328″]
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.
Well, that was fun, eh? Well, probably not for those stuck in traffic when the snowstorm hit this morning.
The storm over-performed big time, far exceeding forecasts. Upslope flow pushed the system against the mountains and kept it in place over the Front Range.
Our east webcam captures it all in a time lapse.
Snow begins at about 3:00am and continued through much of the morning. By the end of the day though, blue skies returned and the snow was melting. We recorded 4.2 inches here but know many spots, particularly to the west, got more.
Thornton’s December was lacking in terms of any sort of real weather drama. Temperatures were relatively mild for much of the month and precipitation was fleeting.
Above normal temperatures were the general rule for the first part of the month. It was only the last week of the month when Arctic air arrived and we saw temperatures drop considerably. We saw only two measurable snow events, neither of which amounted to much.
Overall, Thornton’s average temperature for the month was 30.8 degrees. This was nearly a full degree above Denver’s long term December average of 30.0 degrees. Out at DIA where the Mile High City’s official measurements are taken, it was a good bit warmer with an average of 32.5 degrees.
Temperatures in Thornton ranged from a high of 60.6 degrees on the 21st down to a low of 4.5 degrees on the morning of the 29th. Denver’s warmest reading of 63 degrees also came on the 21st and its coldest, 0 degrees, on the 31st.
Denver averages 0.35 inches of precipitation during December. Thornton fell well short with a mere 0.07 inches. Out at the airport, even less was realized with 0.03 being recorded. This puts December 2018 into the books as one of the driest Decembers ever recorded.
Thornton recorded a mere 0.9 inches of snow during the month, the majority of which fell on the last day of the month. Denver saw 0.5 inches, all on the 31st. Both fall well short of the long term Denver average for December snowfall of 8.5 inches and put December 2018 on the list of the ten least snowy Decembers recorded.
Ten least snowy December’s in Denver weather history:
TRACE – 1905, 1906, 2002
0.1 – 1928
0.4 – 1890
0.5 – 1935, 2018
0.6 – 1995
0.7 – 1977, 1895
Thornton, Colorado’s December 2018 Temperature Summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)Thornton, Colorado’s December 2018 Precipitation Summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
936 AM MST TUE JAN 1 2019
...................................
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 2018...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2018
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 79 12/05/1939
LOW -25 12/22/1990
12/24/1876
HIGHEST 63 12/21 62 1 69 12/12
LOWEST 0 12/31 -4 4 -4 12/24
AVG. MAXIMUM 46.1 42.8 3.3 48.3
AVG. MINIMUM 18.8 17.1 1.7 18.0
MEAN 32.5 30.0 2.5 33.2
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 4 5.8 -1.8 4
DAYS MIN <= 32 31 29.4 1.6 28
DAYS MIN <= 0 1 2.0 -1.0 1
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 5.21 1913
MINIMUM 0.00 1881
TOTALS 0.03 0.35 -0.32 0.21
DAILY AVG. 0.00 0.01 -0.01 0.01
DAYS >= .01 1 4.1 -3.1 4
DAYS >= .10 0 1.1 -1.1 1
DAYS >= .50 0 0.1 -0.1 0
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.0 0.0 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.03 12/31 TO 12/31
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
TOTALS 0.5 8.5
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 999 1086 -87 979
SINCE 7/1 2372 2468 -96 2150
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 1026 769 257 881
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
.................................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.6
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 2/222
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 39/010 DATE 12/12
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 53/010 DATE 12/12
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.50
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 6
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 22
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 3
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 51
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
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 fourth snowiest and it is not uncommon for it to be quite dry.
What does January 2019 hold for us? Follow the link to find out.
A beautiful sunset over downtown Denver to start the month of December. (Alisa H)
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 31, 2018
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=”72157702984201741″]
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.
Winter officially begins at 9:28am MST on Thursday, December 21, 2017. (NOAA)
Astronomical winter arrives in Thornton Friday afternoon and with the solstice also comes the shortest day of the year.
Winter officially begins at 3:23pm MST on Friday, December 21.
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 Friday will be 9 hours, 21 minutes and 16 seconds long.
The following day, Saturday, it will be one 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 today, 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.
Thornton’s month of November saw us get a real taste of what is to come for the next few months. Temperatures cooled considerably and we saw a decent bit of snow although not as much as normal.
The first five days of the month started out relatively mild but then we saw a series of systems interrupt the calm. Temperatures turned colder and on the 11th and 12th we received a nice little snowfall. We briefly warmed up then saw some light rain on the 18th and 19th and then once again warmed back up. The month closed out with a chilly day and some light snow.
Thornton saw an overall average temperature for the month of 36.8 degrees. This was a good bit colder than Denver’s long term average for the month of 38.3 degrees. Out at DIA where Denver’s official measurements are taken, it was a good bit warmer with an average of 37.8 degrees.
Temperatures for us ranged from a high of 64.7 degrees on the 2nd of the month down to a cold low of 15.7 degrees on the morning of the 26th. Denver’s high of 65 degrees on the 2nd matched ours but their coldest reading of 10 on the 12th was notably colder than our lowest reading.
November’s long term precipitation average in Denver is 0.61 inches. Thornton managed about half that in our bucket with 0.31 inches with Denver close to us at 0.35 inches.
Snowfall was respectable but not notable. Thornton recorded 6.3 inches of the white stuff while Denver, as usual, lagged with 4.5 inches. Both measurements were below Denver’s long term November average of 8.7 inches.
Thornton, Colorado’s November 2018 temperature summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)Thornton, Colorado’s November 2018 precipitation summary. (ThorntonWeather.com)
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
929 AM MST MON DEC 3 2018
...................................
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER 2018...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2018
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 81 11/27/2017
LOW -18 11/29/1877
HIGHEST 65 11/02 73 -8 81 11/27
LOWEST 10 11/12 -6 16 22 11/15
11/12
AVG. MAXIMUM 50.6 52.1 -1.5 61.1
AVG. MINIMUM 25.0 24.5 0.5 29.4
MEAN 37.8 38.3 -0.5 45.3
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 2 2.3 -0.3 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 27 23.4 3.6 22
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.6 -0.6 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 3.21 1946
MINIMUM T 1899
1901
1949
TOTALS 0.35 0.61 -0.26 0.29
DAILY AVG. 0.01 0.02 -0.01 0.01
DAYS >= .01 6 4.7 1.3 3
DAYS >= .10 1 1.6 -0.6 1
DAYS >= .50 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.0 0.0 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.17 11/11 TO 11/11 11/17 TO 11/17
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 4.5 8.7
RECORD NOVEMBER 42.5 1946
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 808 801 7 586
SINCE 7/1 1373 1382 -9 1171
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 1026 769 257 881
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
.................................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.8
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 2/225
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 48/330 DATE 11/24
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 62/320 DATE 11/24
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.50
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 8
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 16
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 6
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 56
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORMS 0 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 0 RAIN 0
LIGHT RAIN 2 FREEZING RAIN 0
LIGHT FREEZING RAIN 1 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 3
LIGHT SNOW 9 SLEET 0
FOG 8 DENSE FOG 2
HAZE 2
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
November brought Thornton cooler than normal temperatures and a bit more snow than usual. 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.
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.
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.
November brought Thornton cooler than normal temperatures and a bit more snow than usual. What will December hold for us?