Thornton 8 is now available for live, online streaming on the city’s website and ThorntonWeather.com. (City of Thornton)
The City of Thornton’s KTTV-8 television channel can be a great resource for information as to what is going on in our fine city. Unfortunately watching the channel required you subscribed to Comcast cable – until now.
We were browsing the city’s website today and noticed they have added a live Internet feed of the channel. This is a great development and one that allows all Thornton residents with Internet access to view the station and get the latest city news and information.
Alternatively, we have added a page on our website where you can watch the live feed. You will find it under the ‘Area Information’ button to the left or click here to view it.
Please note: ThorntonWeather.com is not endorsed by or an official website of the City of Thornton.
A view of the thunderstorm on Saturday, July 20, 2013 after it passed Thornton. View more imagery in the slideshow below. (ThorntonWeather.com)
The forecast called for a chance for thunderstorms and Mother Nature obliged on Saturday. Heavy rain and gusty winds struck the north metro area but what followed was perhaps more interesting.
In all, Thornton recorded 0.29” of rain in a very short period from 4:30 to 4:55pm. Some small hail accompanied the storm as did strong wind gusts. There were some reports of broken tree limbs from the powerful gusts.
After the storm moved to the southeast, it continued to intensify. From almost any vantage point in Thornton, the scene was amazing.
Initially the bright while tops of the storm cells were stark and beautiful to watch. A nearly full moon then began to rise in the east behind the storms and the scene was stunning. As the sun went down, the clouds turned a shade of amber providing a colorful scene with the rising moon.
The slideshow below has a nice little compilation of image taken by ThorntonWeather.com and some of our fans on Facebook.
In writing the history of the weather for the area for June 2013 two words come to mind: hot and dry. While both conditions were certainly prevalent, we can at least be consoled by the fact that it could have been worse.
The month actually started cooler than normal with six of the first seven days recording below average temperatures. Soon though high pressure built over the area and temperatures began to climb with many days for the balance seeing above normal mercury readings.
June 2013 wrapped up with an average temperature in Thornton of 70.5 degrees. This was well above Denver’s historical average for the month of 67.4 degrees. Officially Denver’s average temperature last month was 71.1 degrees, warm enough to put it in a tie for the 10th warmest June in Denver history.
In all, Thornton recorded 10 days with mercury readings above 90 degrees. Denver saw 14.
The warmest temperature of the month in Thornton was 99.2 degrees on the 11th. That same day Denver hit 100 degrees, its high reading of the month.
Thornton’s coldest temperature came on the 6th when the temperature dropped to 41.6 degrees. Denver’s officially bested that with a low temperature for the month of 39 degrees on the 2nd.
Denver officially broke three temperature records during the month:
In terms of precipitation the month was certainly dry but not the worst we have seen. Thornton recorded a scant 0.49 inch in the rain bucket. Denver bested us slightly by recording 0.75 inches. Both measurements were far below the 1.98 inch historical average for June but certainly better than the driest June on record in 1890 when only a trace was recorded.
Thornton, Colorado June 2013 Temperatures.Thornton, Colorado June 2013 Precipitation.
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOULDER, CO
210 AM MDT MON JUL 1 2013
...................................
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE 2013...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2013
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 100 06/11 104 -4 105 06/26
06/25
LOWEST 39 06/02 30 9 43 06/11
AVG. MAXIMUM 87.8 82.4 5.4 91.7
AVG. MINIMUM 54.3 52.3 2.0 58.4
MEAN 71.1 67.4 3.7 75.0
DAYS MAX >= 90 14 7.9 6.1 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 4.96 1882
MINIMUM T 1890
TOTALS 0.75 1.98 -1.23 1.22
DAILY AVG. 0.03 0.07 -0.04 0.04
DAYS >= .01 4 8.4 -4.4 2
DAYS >= .10 2 4.6 -2.6 2
DAYS >= .50 1 1.4 -0.4 2
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.3 -0.3 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.51 06/23 TO 06/23 06/06 TO 06/07
06/22 TO 06/23 06/23 TO 06/23
06/23 TO 06/23 06/23 TO 06/23
STORM TOTAL MM MM
(MM/DD(HH)) MM 06/07(00) TO 06/07(00)
06/23(00) TO 06/23(00)3
06/23(00) TO 06/23(00)3
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL MM MM
TOTALS 0.0 0.0
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 29 62 -33 6
SINCE 7/1 6084 6058 26 5399
COOLING TOTAL 221 133 88 314
SINCE 1/1 263 155 108 365
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 03/01 10/07
LATEST 04/24 05/05
....................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 10.7
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 2/156
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 64/060 DATE 06/18
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 97/040 DATE 06/18
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.50
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 6
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 23
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 1
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 42
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 3 RAIN 2
LIGHT RAIN 7 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0
LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 0
FOG 4 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.
With the landscape tinder dry and conditions ripe for wildfires, Adams County has announced a burn ban in all unincorporated areas. Effective immediately, absolutely no open burning is allowed.
[Adams County Sheriff’s Sgt. Paul] Gregory said the fire ban did not apply to fires within liquid fuels or gas stoves, fireplaces inside buildings and charcoal or propane grill fires at private residences. Fires within permanent fire grates in developed campgrounds are OK. So is burning household trash within a fireproof container that won’t let flame or burning material escape from the bottom of the container. Gregory said the container has to be in the center of an area that is 10 feet in diameter “from which all flammable material has been removed.”
The ban only applies to unincorporated areas of the county so is not applicable to Thornton residents within city limits. Click the image below for a look at the restrictions. To date we have not seen any fire ban ordered by the City of Thornton.
As the sun went down yesterday a thunderstorm moved over the Thornton area. It provided some brief, heavy rain which was very welcome given our drought stricken landscape. Accompanying the moisture was a good bit of lightning which lit up the post-sunset sky.
Our west facing webcam captured one bolt as it struck turning night into day for a brief instant.
A thunderstorm on June 23, 2013 delivered rain and a good bit of lightning. ThorntonWeather.com’s west facing camera happened to capture one bolt as it struck.
Under the influence of strong high pressure, the mercury soared in the Mile High City on Monday and two temperature records fell.
As measured at Denver International Airport, the mercury reached a high of 99 degrees at 2:53 p.m. This broke the previous record high temperature for June 10 of 97 degrees set in 1952.
Here in Thornton we were hot but not quite as hot. Our high temperature topped out at 97 degrees at 2:35 p.m. This is the highest temperature we have seen thus far this year and the highest reading in Thornton since July 21, 2012 (97.9 degrees).
If you thought the nighttime would bring relief from the heat, you were mistaken. Denver’s official “low” temperature on Monday was only 68 degrees. This set a new record high minimum for the date easily besting the previous record holder of 64 degrees last set in 1990. Thornton was just slightly cooler with a low for the date of 66.8 degrees.
There won’t be much of a break in the heat in the coming days. While it will be cooler than today, temperatures for the rest of the week are expected to continue to be well above normal. Get the latest forecast here.
Following on colder and wetter than normal weather in previous months, Thornton’s May returned us to drier and warmer than normal conditions.
The month started out with a bit of a wintry blast of cold temperatures and snow. In fact, Denver even set an all-time May low temperature on the 2nd of the month.
The cold and snow that started the month were probably overall the most notable feature of the month. The rest of May was not particularly extraordinary in any aspect.
Denver’s average temperature for the month was 57.9 degrees. This was 0.8 degrees above average. Here in Thornton we were just slightly cooler with an average temperature of 57.6 degrees.
Thornton’s temperatures ranged from a high of 89.2 degrees on the 14th down to a low of 20.7 degrees on the morning of the 2nd. Denver saw a maximum temperature of 88 and a low of 19 degrees.
Official Denver temperature records for the month included:
DAILY RECORDS:
DATE TEMPERATURE TYPE OF RECORD OLD RECORD YEAR LAST SET
MAY 2ND 19 DEGREES RECORD LOW 22 DEGREES 1954
MAY 14TH 87 DEGREES TIED RECORD HIGH 87 DEGREES 1996
MONTHLY RECORDS:
DATE TEMPERATURE TYPE OF RECORD OLD RECORD YEAR LAST SET
MAY 2ND 19 DEGREES TIED RECORD LOW 19 DEGREES MAY 3RD 1907
In terms of precipitation, Denver recorded only 0.82 inches, far below the average for May of 2.12 inches. Here in Thornton Mother Nature was far more generous as we recorded 2.35 inches.
The snow that started the month totaled 4.3 inches in Thornton, 3.4 inches in Denver. Both were well above the May average of 1.1 inches snowfall.
The unseasonably warm weather this week reached record setting levels today. At 1:55pm the temperature at Denver International Airport reached 87° tying the record high temperature for the date previously set on May 14, 1996.
Here in Thornton we were a couple of degrees warmer as the mercury climbed to 89°. This is the warmest temperature we have recorded since September 10 of last year (91°).
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Denver’s recent cold continued as this morning one low temperature record was broken, another tied.
In the wake of our May Day snowstorm, clear skies the following morning allowed temperatures to plummet and reach very winter-like levels. As the mercury bottomed out, Denver broke one low temperature record and tied another.
As measured at Denver International Airport, the temperature this morning dropped to 19 degrees at 6:41am. This easily breaks the previous record low temperature for May 2 of 22 degrees set in 1954.
Most notably, the 19 degree reading also tied the record for the lowest temperature ever recorded during the month of May since record keeping began in Denver in 1872. We have to go all the way back to May 3, 1907 to find a reading that low during May.
Here in Thornton we were quite cold as well although not quite as much as DIA. Our morning low temperature of 20.7 degrees was seen at 6:00am.
The cold and snowy start to May mimics what was seen during the month of April. Last month Denver recorded its fifth coldest and 11th snowiest April on record.
When we look back at April 2013 it will be remembered for two key things: the cold and the snow. By both measurements the month saw extremes with temperatures well below normal and well above normal snowfall, the third month in a row we experienced those conditions.
A series of storm systems moved through during April providing regular doses of cold and snow. Three systems from the 9th of the month through the 25th, each coming at the start of the workweeks, provided the notable conditions. Seventeen of those 18 days saw below normal temperatures.
Denver’s official average temperature for the month came in at 41.7 degrees. This was an impressive 5.7 degrees below the 1981 – 2000 historical average. This put April 2013 into the books as the fifth coldest April since recordkeeping began in Denver. Thornton was only slightly better with an April average temperature of 42.3 degrees.
On four days Denver failed to see high temperatures climb above freezing, Thornton registered three such days.
Five cold temperature records were setting during the month. Record lows were set on April 9th, April 10th and April 22nd. The record low was tied on April 16th. A record low maximum was recorded on the 9th as well.
Temperatures ranged from a high of 80 degrees on the 29th down to a low of 6 degrees on the 10th in Denver. Thornton’s temperatures were similar with a high of 81.7 degrees on the 29th and a low temperature for the month of 6.7 degrees on the 10th.
The precipitation was the second half of the April 2013 story with plenty of that falling, primarily in the form of snow.
Denver officially recorded 1.87 inches of liquid precipitation, just a bit above the April average of 1.71 inches. Thornton was just a touch drier with 1.77 inches of precipitation.
Snow was in abundance as Denver saw 20.4 inches of snowfall as measured at Denver International Airport. Thornton was trailing with 19.1 inches. Both marks were well above the Denver April normal of 6.8 inches. Denver’s measurement fell just short of making the list of 10 snowiest Aprils with April 2013 ranking as the 11th snowiest.
Thornton, Colorado April 2013 Temperatures.Thornton, Colorado April 2013 precipitation.
From the National Weather Service:
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL 2013...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2013
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 90 04/30/1992
LOW -2 04/02/1975
HIGHEST 80 04/29 83 -3 88 04/24
LOWEST 6 04/10 -2 8 24 04/07
AVG. MAXIMUM 54.7 61.5 -6.8 68.6
AVG. MINIMUM 28.7 33.3 -4.6 37.9
MEAN 41.7 47.4 -5.7 53.3
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 4 0.3 3.7 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 17 13.0 4.0 4
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 8.24 1900
MINIMUM 0.03 1963
TOTALS 1.87 1.71 0.16 1.39
DAILY AVG. 0.06 0.06 0.00 0.05
DAYS >= .01 13 9.1 3.9 8
DAYS >= .10 7 4.5 2.5 4
DAYS >= .50 0 0.9 -0.9 0
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.5 -0.5 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.50 04/22 TO 04/23 04/26 TO 04/27
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 33.8 1933
TOTALS 20.4 6.8
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 690 529 161 352
SINCE 7/1 5802 5731 71 5215
COOLING TOTAL 0 1 -1 6
SINCE 1/1 0 1 -1 6
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
....................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 11.0
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 1/016
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 49/290 DATE 04/14
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 55/350 DATE 04/08
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.70
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 2
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 20
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 8
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 53
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 1 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 1 RAIN 3
LIGHT RAIN 10 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 3 SNOW 6
LIGHT SNOW 8 SLEET 0
FOG 12 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 5
HAZE 11
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
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Under the influence of strong high pressure, the mercury soared in the Mile High City on Monday and two temperature records fell.
