The mercury climbed fast today and it was unrelenting as it did so. As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City officially reached a high of 98 degrees. This tied the record high for the date last set in 1960.
Here in Thornton, we matched that with a 98 degree maximum as well. This was actually our warmest temperature reading of the year, topping the 96 degrees we registered on July 27 and August 1.
Thankfully, relief from the heat is not too far away. A cold front will move through tomorrow keeping highs right around 90 degrees. This will be followed by a trough which will bring temperatures down another 10 degrees (or more) Monday through Wednesday.
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The month of July continued the recent trend of cool, damp weather. By the time it was said and done though, while temperatures overall were below average, precipitation fell short of normal.
Temperatures were at or above normal for the first few days allowing for a pleasant Independence Day.
The day after, however, a monsoonal weather pattern cooled things down and brought most of the month’s moisture over the following 10 days.
Ridging then built and we settled into a relatively normal period for the final two weeks although precipitation became scarcer.
Thornton saw an average temperature for July 2015 of 71.2 degrees. This was a good bit below the long term Denver average of 74.2 degrees. Out at Denver International Airport where the Mile High City’s official measurements are taken, the average for the month was 72.8 degrees.
Our temperatures ranged from a high of 96.1 degrees on the 27th down to a low of 53 degrees on the 11th. Denver saw a maximum of 97 degrees and a minimum of 52 degrees.
Denver averages 2.16 inches of precipitation during July. Thornton fell a bit short of that mark recording 1.76 inches. At the airport, only 1.06 inches was recorded.
Thornton, Colorado July 2015 temperatur?e summary. (ThorntonW?eather.com?)Thornton, Colorado July 2015 precipitat?ion summary. (ThorntonW?eather.com?)
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOULDER, CO
202 PM MDT SAT AUG 1 2015
...................................
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF JULY 2015...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2015
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 105 07/20/2005
LOW 42 07/04/1903
07/31/1873
HIGHEST 97 07/27 100 07/07
LOWEST 52 07/28 55 07/17
07/16
AVG. MAXIMUM 87.6 89.4 -1.8 88.3
AVG. MINIMUM 57.9 58.9 -1.0 60.6
MEAN 72.8 74.2 -1.4 74.5
DAYS MAX >= 90 16 16.0 0.0 17
DAYS MAX <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD
MAXIMUM 6.41 1965
MINIMUM 0.01 1901
TOTALS 1.06 2.16 -1.10 3.85
DAILY AVG. 0.03 0.07 -0.04 0.12
DAYS >= .01 12 8.3 3.7 8
DAYS >= .10 3 4.3 -1.3 6
DAYS >= .50 0 1.4 -1.4 2
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.7 -0.7 2
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.33 07/18/15 2.85 07/29/14
07/18/15 07/30/14
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
TOTAL 0.0 0.0
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 5 6 -1 5
SINCE 7/1 5 6 -1 5
COOLING TOTAL 251 289 -38 304
SINCE 1/1 409 444 -35 431
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
..................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.3
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 3/176
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 46/320 DATE 07/15
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 60/330 DATE 07/15
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.60
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 4
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 22
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 5
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 52
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 3 RAIN 1
LIGHT RAIN 16 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0
LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 0
FOG 7 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 0
HAZE 6
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
As summer vacations wind down and families prepare to send their kids back to school in August, Colorado weather also starts to settle down. The chances for severe weather decrease markedly during August and by the end of the month daytime temperatures are dropping quite a bit as well.
July 11, 2015 – Corn fields on the plains serve as the foreground while the gorgeous Rocky Mountains lie behind. (Jennifer McNeil)
Colorado offers outdoor opportunities unlike any other state and while the summer heat settles in, photos of the amazing scenes across our state provide a view into why we love it here so much.
The weather this time of year has a pretty standard pattern of quickly warming temperatures followed by afternoon thunderstorms that can cool things down. These storms sometimes provide a good bit of ‘excitement’ and are a prime photo subject.
Slideshow updated July 31, 2015
Recreationalists head outdoors and take advantage of urban, suburban and rural opportunities. As they do, our abundant wildlife that is found just about anywhere comes into focus.
Showcasing images captured by ThorntonWeather.com readers as well as some of our own, our monthly slideshow covers the entire gamut of weather and nature related imagery. Sunsets, sunrises, wildlife and of course every type of weather condition are vividly depicted.
To learn more about how to send your photo to us for inclusion in the slideshow, see below the slideshow.
[flickr_set id=”72157656079164135″]
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 new Pentagon report says that climate change is an “urgent and growing threat to our national security” and blames it for “increased natural disasters” that will require more American troops designated to combat bad weather. Some studies have questioned whether such a trend exists. Says the Pentagon report released Wednesday, “Global climate change will have… Continue reading Climate change ‘urgent and growing threat’ to national security: Pentagon→
Mudflows and flooding triggered by an ice melt in the central Asian country of Tajikistan have displaced more than 600 people, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Usually high summer temperatures in Tajikistan, home to 8.4 million people, caused a glacial melt on July 16. The resulting water runoff hit the Shughnon district in… Continue reading Freakishly High Temperatures Trigger Tajikistan Floods→
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Hurricane Katrina, the most-destructive and third-deadliest storm in U.S. history, also was a force for change, spurring major advancements in forecasting and communication. Since its rampage in late August 2005, scientists have developed several new high-tech tools to better predict the strength and track of storms, in hopes of preventing a similar… Continue reading 2005’s Hurricane Katrina led to improvement in storm forecasting→
The month of June was a rather eventful one with wetter than normal conditions starting things out and temperatures coming in quite a ways above normal. Further, the month lived up to its reputation as Colorado’s severe weather month with numerous notable thunderstorms and a good bit of tornado activity.
The month started out warm and dry but on the 3rd a cold front moved in cooling things down and bringing healthy shots of rain. On the 4th and 5th Thornton saw more than a half inch of rain on each day.
To our north, the 4th brought extreme weather in the form of an EF-3 tornado near Berthoud and multiple, smaller tornadoes in the Simla area to the southwest.
We then dried out a bit and warmed up but on the 9th another cold front arrived. Like the previous system, cooler temperatures and a decent shot of rain followed.
In the first 18 days of the month, Thornton saw 14 days with measurable precipitation. That however chanced for the latter third of the month as we dried out and warmed up significantly. There were still days with thunderstorms but the bulk of them seemed to just miss Thornton for the most part.
Such was the case of the 24th when extreme weather hit to our south. While we saw just a bit of rain, other areas near central Denver recorded far more and an EF-1 tornado struck from northeast Denver to northwest Aurora.
Overall Thornton’s monthly average temperature for June 2015 came in at 69.0 degrees. This was a good ways above the long term June average for Denver of 67.4 degrees. Out at the airport, the Mile High City’s official average reading was 69.5 degrees.
Temperatures in Thornton ranged from a high of 94.3 degrees on the 21st down to a low of 50.5 degrees on the morning of the 6th. Denver’s highest reading of 94 degrees came on the 30th and its lowest of 51 degrees on the 3rd.
In terms of precipitation, both Thornton and Denver recorded identical amounts in their rain buckets. The 2.53 inches of precip bested Denver’s June average of 1.98 inches by a good bit. In all, Thornton saw 16 days of measurable precipitation while Denver recorded 13.
Thornton, Colorado’s June 2015 temperatur?e summary. (ThorntonW?eather.com?)Thornton, Colorado’s June 2015 precipitat?ion summary. (ThorntonW?eather.com?)
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOULDER, CO
806 PM MDT SAT JUL 4 2015
...................................
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE 2015...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2015
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 105 06/26/2012
06/25/2012
54/01/2206
LOW 30 06/02/1951
HIGHEST 94 06/30 94 06/26
LOWEST 51 06/03 42 06/15
AVG. MAXIMUM 82.9 82.4 0.5 83.4
AVG. MINIMUM 56.1 52.3 3.8 51.2
MEAN 69.5 67.4 2.1 67.3
DAYS MAX >= 90 6 7.9 -1.9 6
DAYS MAX <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 4.96 1882
MINIMUM T 1890
TOTALS 2.53 1.98 0.55 1.82
DAILY AVG. 0.08 0.07 0.01 0.06
DAYS >= .01 13 8.4 4.6 9
DAYS >= .10 5 4.6 0.4 5
DAYS >= .50 2 1.4 0.6 1
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.3 -0.3 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.99 06/05 TO 06/05 06/27 TO 06/27
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 0.0
TOTALS 0.0 0.0
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 11 62 -51 30
SINCE 7/1 5583 6058 -475 6004
COOLING TOTAL 154 133 21 106
SINCE 1/1 158 155 3 127
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
........................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.0
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 2/167
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 36/160 DATE 06/24
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 47/160 DATE 06/24
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 2
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 61
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 16 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 4 RAIN 5
LIGHT RAIN 16 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 3
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0
LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 1
FOG 6 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 1
HAZE 3
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
June 6, 2015 – An amazing June sunset in Thornton. (Michelle Jones)
The month of June typically sees springtime severe weather reach its height of activity in northeastern Colorado.
This affords the opportunity to capture extraordinary images of amazing weather phenomena from monstrous supercell thunderstorms to heavy rain, hail and even tornadoes.
Slideshow updated July 1, 2015
Showcasing images captured by ThorntonWeather.com readers as well as some of our own, our monthly slideshow covers the entire gamut of weather and nature related imagery.
Sunsets, sunrises, wildlife and of course every type of weather condition are vividly depicted. June brings some very dynamic weather and the photos are a great way to see the stunning variety.
To learn more about how to send your photo to us for inclusion in the slideshow, see below the slideshow.
[flickr_set id=”72157654137987799″]
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.
June 28 to July 4: This week in Denver weather history
As always, an interesting week in Denver and Thornton weather history. Various severe weather items are noteworthy, none more so than on July 2, 2006 when a teenager wearing an iPod was struck with lightning. The music player actually contributed to the teen’s injuries by providing a direct route for the electricity into the victim’s head via the headphones.
From the National Weather Service:
21-3
In 2002…the maximum temperature in Denver equaled or exceeded 90 degrees for 13 consecutive days…equaling the 5th longest such streak on record. The record of 18 consecutive days was set during the summer of 1901.
28
In 1873…there was a great deal of smoke over the city from forest fires in the mountains.
In 1875…smoke from forest fires in the foothills south of Denver were visible from the city.
In 1913…an apparent dry microburst produced southwest winds sustained to 44 mph with gusts to 48 mph in the city.
In 1925…a thunderstorm produced north winds sustained to 38 mph with gusts to 44 mph.
In 1958…a microburst caused a brief wind gust to 58 mph at Stapleton Airport.
In 1964…lightning struck several homes in metro Denver… Sparking fires. Some flooding occurred in the stockyards area…at West 45th Avenue and St. Paul Street…and along Harvard Gulch.
In 1997…strong microburst winds of unknown speed downed several trees…signs…and at least one light pole in the Fort Lupton area. Two trees knocked over by the storm downed power lines causing scattered outages.
In 2002…a thunderstorm wind gust to 60 mph was recorded in Parker.
In 2005…severe thunderstorms produced wind gusts to 66 mph near Longmont and to 60 mph near Niwot. No damage was reported. A thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 55 mph at Denver International Airport during the afternoon.
29
In 1874…eight different fires in mountain forests were visible from the city. All of the fires were extensive… And the volume of smoke from each was immense. Three of these fires had been burning from the 18th with varied intensity.
In 1911…an apparent dry microburst produced sustained winds to 45 mph.
In 1960…a strong gust of wind blew a small foreign sedan off the highway near Brighton…injuring the driver. East winds gusted to 40 mph at Stapleton Airport.
In 1961…thunderstorm winds estimated as high as 40 to 50 mph occurred over southeast Denver. No significant damage was reported.
In 1962…heavy rain and small hail caused some flooding in southwest Denver.
In 1995…upslope cloudiness with rain and fog cooled temperatures to record levels. Low temperature of 47 degrees equaled the record for the date. High temperature of only 54 degrees set a new record low maximum for the date. Rainfall totaled 0.90 inch at Denver International Airport and 0.41 inch at the site of the former Stapleton International Airport.
In 2003…a severe thunderstorm in Parker produced hail to 1 inch in diameter.
In 2011…two airmen from the Colorado National Guard suffered minor injuries when they were struck by lightning. They were hit while on duty at a flight line at Buckley Air Force Base. At Denver International Airport…a microburst produced a peak wind gust to 72 mph.
29-2
In 1990…almost a year to date after the record breaking heat in early July 1989…the third longest heat wave in Denver history started. From June 29th through July 2nd the temperature reached 100 degrees or more on four consecutive days. The highest reading of 102 degrees occurred on the 29th…30th…and 1st. Combined with the 102 degree reading on June 27th this would have been the longest heat wave on record…but the temperature climbed to only 98 degrees on June 28th.
29-15
In 2000…the 29th marked the beginning of a near record hot streak for metro Denver. The high temperatures…as recorded at Denver International Airport…exceeded the 90 degree mark for 17 consecutive days from June 29th through July 15th. This was one day short of equaling the all time record. The record of 18 consecutive 90 degree or above days was first set from July 1st through July 18th…1874. The record was equaled from July 6th through July 23rd…1901.
30
In 1879…dense smoke from mountain forest fires covered the city and obscured the sun as it set behind the mountains.
In 1900…a thunderstorm produced northwest winds to 44 mph with gusts to 58 mph…but only a trace of rain.
In 1917…north winds were sustained to 47 mph with gusts to 52 mph.
In 1942…a strong thunderstorm produced hail and heavy rainfall in south Denver. Leaves were stripped from trees and heavy rain caused street flooding which halted traffic. Hail of unknown size reached a depth of 9 inches on the ground.
In 1965…funnel clouds were observed to the south of Stapleton International Airport and in Jefferson County…15 miles southwest of the airport. Later…a tornado touched down briefly 1 mile east of Littleton…causing only minor damage. Another tornado was observed 12 miles southwest of Stapleton International Airport in Jefferson County. Hail to 3/4 inch in diameter fell in the bear valley area…12 miles south- southwest of Stapleton International Airport. Yet another tornado was sighted 10 miles northwest of the airport. Cloudbursts accompanied by hail battered areas of Arapahoe and Adams counties east of Denver…damaging ripening grain fields. At Lafayette…3.50 inches of rain fell in 30 minutes…causing some flooding.
In 1982…numerous funnel clouds were observed over southwest metro Denver. Only one funnel touched down near the intersection of Jewell and Kipling. The tornado was on the ground for about 5 minutes and caused no damage except for uprooting some trees. In addition…thunderstorms produced heavy rain and hail in the foothills west of Denver. Over an inch of rain fell in a short time near Idaho Springs… Causing clear creek to overflow its banks and flood a few low lying areas of the town. A few people were evacuated… And water and mud entered several stores. The heavy rain also washed out several roads. Hail piled up to a depth of 3 to 4 inches near Idaho Springs. Hail to 3/4 inch was reported at many places across metro Denver including Stapleton International Airport. Lightning struck a chemistry building on the university of Colorado campus in Boulder and started a small fire. Thunderstorm wind gusts to 60 mph were reported near Brighton.
In 1984…heavy rain caused some street and basement flooding in Littleton. One location received 1.56 inches of rain in 75 minutes.
In 1987…a weak tornado near Watkins stayed on the ground for 5 minutes.
In 1990…a small twister touched down in an open field just north of the rocky mountain arsenal. No damage was reported.
In 1998…hail as large as 1 inch in diameter fell near Evergreen.
In 2005…a severe thunderstorm produced hail as large as 3/4 inch near Roggen. The hail destroyed a wheat field.
In 2006…the temperature reached a high of 98 degrees at Denver International Airport. This marked the 19th day in June with a maximum temperature of 90 degrees or more setting a new all-time record for the month.
In 2011…very strong thunderstorm winds were also observed across portions of the urban corridor. A peak wind gust to 65 mph was recorded…2 miles northeast of boulder with a gust to 63 mph at Front Range Airport at Watkins and 7 miles southeast of Denver International Airport. The peak wind gust measured at Denver International Airport itself was 45 mph. A severe thunderstorm also produced one inch in diameter hail 2 miles south-southeast of Parker. In addition…a lightning strike destroyed a home in north Denver.
The mercury climbed fast today and it was unrelenting as it did so. As measured at Denver International Airport, the Mile High City officially reached a high of 98 degrees. This tied the record high for the date last set in 1960.
