Thornton saw yet another month with above normal temperatures during the month of September 2012. The one saving grace was that it was also a wet one with above normal precipitation.
The month started out with three out of the first six days of the month recording temperatures above 90 degrees and the other three warming to above 85 degrees.
Cooler weather arrived on the 12th and Thornton saw a high of only 59.6 degrees. Rain began late on the 11th and continued into the 12th as we recorded 1.32 inches of precipitation in our bucket during the period. Denver officially recorded 0.95 inch on the 12th which was a record for the date.
Above normal temperatures soon returned however and overall we recorded 15 days of high temperatures of at least 80 degrees during the month.
Another storm system moved in on the 25th and 26th and brought more precipitation. Thornton recorded 0.81 inch during the period. At Denver International Airport 1.95 inch was recorded over the two day period. On the 26th alone the airport recorded 1.41 inches, a record for the date.
The average temperature for the month was 64.0 degrees in Thornton. DIA averaged 66.3 degrees which was 2.9 degrees above normal.
Temperatures in Thornton ranged from a high of 94.6 degrees on the first down to a low of 41.6 degrees on the 18th. Denver saw its warmest temperature of 95 degrees on the 1st as well and its lowest of 45 degrees on the 22nd and 28th.
Thornton ended the month with a welcome 2.17 inches of precipitation. Denver fared better with 2.95 inches, well above the September normal of 0.96 inch. Officially the month went into the books as the 5th wettest October on record in Denver.
For the 12th consecutive September no snow was recorded in Denver. The last time we went such a long period without September snow was from 1914 to 1926.
Click here to view the ThorntonWeather.com climatology report for September 2012.
Denver’s Official September 2012 Climate Summary
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 2012...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2012
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 97 09/01 1995
09/04/1995
09/05/1899
LOW 17 09/29/1985
HIGHEST 95 09/01 97 -2 96 09/01
LOWEST 45 09/28 17 28 38 09/21
09/22
AVG. MAXIMUM 80.3 78.5 1.8 78.6
AVG. MINIMUM 52.3 48.3 4.0 49.9
MEAN 66.3 63.4 2.9 64.2
DAYS MAX >= 90 7 3.4 3.6 1
DAYS MAX = .01 5 6.5 -1.5 6
DAYS >= .10 3 3.3 -0.3 2
DAYS >= .50 3 0.6 2.4 1
DAYS >= 1.00 1 0.1 0.9 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.63 09/25 TO 09/26
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 0.0
TOTALS 0.0 1.3
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 69 125 -56 95
SINCE 7/1 69 141 -72 95
COOLING TOTAL 113 76 37 78
SINCE 1/1 1235 764 471 941
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
......................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 8.8
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 3/197
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 30/300 DATE 09/01
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 37/290 DATE 09/01
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.50
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 10
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 16
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 4
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 40
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 5 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 2 RAIN 2
LIGHT RAIN 7 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 1
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0
LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 0
FOG 6 FOG W/VIS
Denver has seen a record-setting summer with extraordinarily warm temperatures and dry conditions. The question on everyone’s mind now is whether or not September will bring some relief.
