ThorntonWeather.com's new satellite imagery allows a close in, bird's eye view of the weather.
For more than four years ThorntonWeather.com has been the one and only source for truly local weather for Thornton, Colorado. We are continually improving the site to provide more information and now we have greatly enhanced two of our most popular features.
First up and arguably the most exciting is the satellite imagery. Using imagery provided by NOAA you begin by selecting a region – northeastern Colorado for a look close to home or perhaps a look at the entire United States. Once you go there, you are given an animated display powered by Adobe Flash.
Best of all with the new satellite system is a series of overlays that you can select using the boxes above the satellite image. You can add the county outlines, major highways, and even weather conditions (the selections vary depending on the region). For each region you can also select an enhancement. These different color palettes are useful for spotting wildfires, the most significant areas of a storm and more.
You can access the satellite imagery by going to Radar & Maps on the menu on the left then select “Satellite Imagery.”
Last but not least is a revamped radar display system. The radar is now fully animated like the new satellite which gives you much greater control. You can speed up the animation, slow it down and pause the display, all of which are useful to seeing where the weather is headed. You can even zoom in on a spot on the display.
To access the radar go to Radar & Maps on the menu on the left and select “TW Super Doppler Radar.”
We recently sat down and talked with YourHub about ThorntonWeather.com. (YourHub)
One thing we at ThorntonWeather.com never get tired of talking about is the weather. We recently sat down with the Denver Post’s YourHub and talked to them about our experiences with weather and of course ThorntonWeather.com itself.
Journalist Joey Kirchmer and Photojournalist Kristin Morin have done a fine job telling the story about ThorntonWeather.com and we were glad to talk to them.
As we have always said, we provide ThorntonWeather.com as a service to the community and view it as a means to inform, educate and share our passion for the weather. Of all the places in the world, Colorado provides one of the most dynamic weather environments and it truly is an interesting place in terms of weather.
Snow now covers nearly three quarters of the lower 48 states and 47 of the 48 have at least some snow. (NOAA)
For much of the lower 48 states of the United States the 2010 to 2011 winter season has been a rough one. Blizzards and snowstorms have stretched into the Deep South and this morning data shows that nearly three quarters of the nation is covered in snow.
The latest analysis from NOAA’s National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center shows 69.4% of the lower 48 states covered in snow as of this morning. This is a significant increase over the 33.1% cover seen in December and bests the previous snow season’s highest number.
Perhaps most interesting is that 47 of the lower 48 states and 49 of all 50 states including Hawaii have at least some snow with the only exception being Florida. Even the Deep South reaching nearly to the Gulf of Mexico is covered in a blanket of white today after ice and snow pummeled the region yesterday. Early this morning only five of the 48 did not have some sort of a winter weather warning or advisory in effect.
Not since the 1888 to 1889 snow season has Denver seen less snow this far into the snow season than this year.
Amid record-setting snowfall in northern Europe this winter and blizzards on the U.S. East Coast, one place that normally sees its fair share of snow has been left high and dry. The Mile High City is facing a snow drought of near record proportions having thus far experienced its worst snow season in 122 years.
Denver’s snow season is from July through June and through the end of December Denver has recorded a mere 4.8 inches of snow. The majority of that (3.3 inches) was received from a pre-New Year’s storm on December 30th. Here in Thornton we have fared a mere 0.1 inch more snow for a total of 4.9 inches.
On average the city sees 25.6 inches from July through December and the pitiful show so far gives the 2010 to 2011 season a 20.8 inch snow deficit to date. Only one other time in the 128 years that snow records have been kept in Denver has so little snow been recorded to this point in the season.
One has to look back to the 1888 to 1889 season to find a more dismal snow season. It was that season 122 years ago that 3.8 inches of snow had been recorded by the end of December. The next worst season up to December was two seasons later when 5.5 inches was recorded.
2010 was a relatively uneventful year for weather in Thornton.
Many years in Colorado are marked by significant weather events. The Christmas Blizzards of 2006, the severe thunderstorms that dominated June of 2009 or reaching even further back the Thornton Tornado of 1981. The same can’t entirely be said about 2010 as we experienced a relatively quiet year without any truly major events.
In terms of temperatures the year was slightly warmer than the historical average of 50.1 degrees. In 2010 Denver officially recorded an annual average of 51.2 degrees at Denver International Airport. Thornton was actually spot on Denver’s historical average at 50.1 degrees.
Denver temperatures ranged from a high of 102 degrees on July 17th down to -16 on January 7th. The July high was a record for the date but the January low didn’t fall far enough to set a record. Thornton’s high temperature for the year was 101.6 degrees and our low was -9.7 degrees – both occurring on the same dates as Denver’s.
The average high temperature for the year was 65.3 degrees – 1.1 degrees above normal. The average low was 37.0 degrees, 1.2 degrees above normal. Thornton’s average highs and lows were very close to Denver’s at 65.7 degrees and 36.8 degrees respectively.
DIA reported 47 days with temperatures at or above 90 degrees – 16 above normal. Thornton stayed cooler recording only 38 days. Low temperatures dipped below freezing on 158 days in Denver (2 above normal) while Thornton had one more with 159 days.
Snowfall
The first half of the 2010 to 2011 snowfall season was dismal as Denver recorded a mere 4.8 inches and Thornton recorded 4.9 inches. This is the second lowest total on record for the period with the only year with less snow being 1888 when 3.8 inches was recorded.
2010 Year in Review - A month by month narrative from the National Weather Service.
While Denver’s weather in 2010 was generally pretty quiet that isn’t to say there wasn’t something to talk about. Below is a month by month narrative from the National Weather Service for each month of the year.
JANUARY…ONLY A TOTAL OF 0.07 INCH OF LIQUID EQUIVALENT WAS COLLECTED DURING JANUARY 2010 WHICH CAME FROM MELTED SNOWFALL. THIS IS 0.44 INCH BELOW THE NORMAL OF 0.51 INCH. IT ALSO TIED 1961 AS THE 6TH DRIEST JANUARY SINCE DENVER RECORDS KEEPING BEGAN IN 1872. ONLY 2 DAYS RECORDED MEASURABLE MOISTURE WITH THE 6TH COLLECTING THE MOST IN A 24 HOUR PERIOD WITH ONLY 0.05 INCH. IN THE SNOWFALL DEPARTMENT WHERE MEASUREMENTS ARE TAKEN NEAR THE DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (DIA)… ONLY 2.6 INCHES OF THE WHITE STUFF WAS RECORDED. THIS AGAIN WAS BELOW THE JANUARY NORMAL OF 7.7 INCHES. FOR THE SEASON…THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE JULY THROUGH JANUARY’S SEASONAL TOTAL WAS 40.2 INCHES WHICH IS 6.9 INCHES ABOVE THE NORM OF 33.3 INCHES FOR THAT PERIOD OF TIME. 40.2 INCHES IS FAR BETTER THAN THE 2008-09 SEASONAL TOTAL THROUGH JANUARY OF A MERE 16.9 INCHES. THERE WERE NO PRECIPITATION RECORDS SET OR TIED DURING THE MONTH.
JANUARY 2010 TEMPERATURE STATISTICS TURNED OUT TO BE A NON-HEADLINE. THE MONTH FINISHED WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 30.4 DEGREES WHICH IS 1.2 DEGREES ABOVE THE 29.2 NORMAL. TEMPERATURES RANGED FROM A HIGH OF 58 DEGREES DOWN TO A LOW OF A NON-RECORD -16 DEGREES. IN FACT… THERE WERE NO TEMPERATURE RECORDS SET OR TIED DURING JANUARY 2010. ALL 31 DAYS HAD LOW TEMPERATURES AT OR BELOW FREEZING AND 3 DAYS HAD MINIMUM TEMPERATURES BELOW ZERO. TWO DAYS HAD HIGH MERCURY READINGS AT OR BELOW FREEZING. JANUARY 2009 SEEMED LIKE A COOL MONTH AS THERE WERE ONLY 7 READINGS THAT REACHED INTO THE FIFTIES. OBVIOUSLY THE REST OF THE MONTH ONLY SAW READINGS IN THE 40S OR BELOW.
THREE DAYS HAD DENSE FOG (VISIBILITY OF 1/4 MILE OR LESS) RECORDED AT DIA. LIGHT FOG WAS OBSERVED ON 8 DAYS. THE PEAK WIND DURING THE MONTH WAS A FAIRLY LIGHT GUST OF 35 MPH FROM A NORTHWESTERLY DIRECTION (310 DEGREES).
FEBRUARY…IT WAS A COOL FEBRUARY WITH THE MONTH FINISHING WITH A 29.1 DEGREE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WHICH WAS 4.1 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMAL OF 33.2 DEGREES. EVEN THOUGH IT WAS 4.1 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL…IT WAS STILL 3.9 DEGREES BELOW THE 10TH COLDEST FEBRUARY WHICH WAS 25.2 DEGREES ESTABLISHED IN 1905. THE COLDEST FEBRUARY OCCURRED IN 1954 WITH A VERY FRIGID 17.6 DEGREE AVERAGE. THE FEBRUARY AVERAGE OF 29.1 DEGREES WAS COLDER THAN THE JANUARY 2010 30.4 DEGREE AVERAGE. TEMPERATURES DURING FEBRUARY RANGED FROM A HIGH OF 52 DEGREES ON THE 27TH DOWN TO A LOW OF -1 DEGREE ON THE 9TH. ONLY 3 DAYS DURING THE MONTH REGISTERED HIGHS IN THE 50S. ALL 28 DAYS REGISTERED OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES AT OR BELOW FREEZING WITH 8 DAYS WHEN THE HIGH TEMPERATURE DID NOT REACH ABOVE 32 DEGREES. ONLY 1 LOW TEMPERATURE DIPPED BELOW ZERO.
PRECIPITATION WAS ALSO BELOW NORMAL. THE MONTH FINISHED WITH ONLY 0.30 INCH OF LIQUID WHICH WAS MEASURED FROM WATER EQUIVALENT OF SNOW. THIS EQUATED TO 0.19 INCH BELOW THE NORMAL OF 0.49 INCH. NINE DAYS RECORDED MEASURABLE MOISTURE BUT THERE WAS NO DAYS THAT ACCUMULATED .10 INCH OR MORE. THE MAXIMUM 24 HOUR LIQUID MEASUREMENT WAS 0.10 INCH BUT THAT COVERED 2 DAYS…THE 7TH AND 8TH. IN THE SNOWFALL DEPARTMENT…5.8 INCHES OF SNOWFALL WAS MEASURED AT THE AIRPORT. THIS WAS ONLY 0.5 INCH BELOW THE NORM OF 6.3 INCHES. THE 24 HOUR SNOWFALL MAXIMUM WAS 1.7 INCHES ON THE 20TH AND 21ST. THERE WERE NO PRECIPITATION OR SNOWFALL RECORDS SET OR TIED DURING THE MONTH. THE DRIEST FEBRUARY WAS 0.01 INCH COLLECTED IN 1970 AND THE WETTEST FEBRUARY WAS 2.01 INCHES IN 1934. THE MOST FEBRUARY SNOW OCCURRED IN 1912 WITH 22.1 INCHES WHILE THE LEAST AMOUNT OF FEBRUARY SNOWFALL WAS A TRACE WHICH OCCURRED JUST LAST YEAR…2009.
THE AVERAGE FEBRUARY WIND SPEED WAS 7.6 MILES PER HOUR WHILE THE PEAK GUST DURING THE MONTH WAS ONLY 35 MPH FROM A SOUTHWESTERLY DIRECTION (210 DEGREES).
Thornton wraps up December with another drier and warmer than normal month.
Much to our dismay we closed out December the same way we did the month prior – warmer and drier than average. Snowfall continues to elude us this season as we have recorded a mere 4.8 inches thus far which is 20.8 inches below normal.
For the month of December the story was the precipitation, or rather the lack thereof. A mere 0.22 inch was officially recorded at Denver International Airport and Thornton was only slightly better at 0.28 inch. This is far below the normal of 0.63 inch for Denver.
The majority of that precipitation was during the last two days of the month when a very cold and quick snowstorm moved through Colorado. Were it not for that Denver would have wrapped up the month as the 2nd driest December on record. Instead the little bit of precipitation that was recorded dropped it out of ‘top 10 driest’ consideration.
The snow that did fall on the 30th and 31st did not amount to a lot – officially 3.3 inches at DIA. Thornton was only slightly better with 3.8 inches. This is again far below the historical average of 8.7 inches for December.
With drought conditions beginning to set in across northeastern Colorado, the end of year snowstorm brought at least a little bit of relief. Thornton recorded just over 3 inches of snow while Denver officialy records 2.9 inches out at Denver International Airport.
Our east webcam captured the event and we put together a time lapse video compressing 24 hours from 8:00am on December 30th to 8:00am on December 31st. It is fun to watch but we find ourselves wishing there was more of it!
The March 2003 blizzard that buried Thornton in snow was ranked as the top weather event of the past 10 years. (ThorntonWeather.com)
There is a lot that can be said about the weather in Colorado but ‘boring’ is not usually a term associated with it. Anyone who has lived in the Centennial State for very long quickly experiences a weather-related event that will give them memories for a lifetime.
From major snowstorms and blizzards to tornadoes, wildfires, scorching heat and damaging hail storms Colorado weather can and does bring it all to the table. The Denver office of the National Weather Service has released a list of what local meteorologists rank as the top 10 weather events of the past 10 years.
For some it may be a blizzard that buried the Mile High City in a heavy blanket of snow and brought everything to a standstill. Others will remember the heavy smoke from fires burning in the mountains destroying hundreds of thousands of acres. The tragedy tornadoes bring to Colorado in terms of destruction and loss of life may be what others remember.
Over the past 10 years many memorable weather events have occurred that fully display the sheer variety of weather Colorado receives. A team of meteorologists serving Colorado analyzed these events and ranked them based on meteorological intensity and their human and economic impact.
A Winter Storm Warning for snow and blowing snow will be in effect for Thornton. Click the image to view our Winter Weather Briefing page. (National Weather Service)
Update, 1:10pm – A lull in the storm. Snow will taper off for just a little bit this afternoon before picking back up before rush hour.
A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect and the National Weather Service is forecasting 5 to 10 inches total accumulation of snow. In Thornton we have recorded 1/2 inch so far and in the end we will likely be at the lower end of the forecast range. Click here to view the latest storm reports.
As expected the real story is the temperatures. Thornton hit its high temperature today of 32.5 degrees at 1:52am and it has all been downhill from there. With winds around 10 mph gusting to 20 mph wind chills have now dipped into the single digits.
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Original story, 7:25am – The snow and cold are running a bit behind but they are on their way. Thornton and the rest of the Denver metro are set to get our first winter storm of the season and a Winter Storm Warning has been issued.
A Winter Storm Warning for snow and blowing snow will go into effect for the Denver metro area at 9:00am and run through 6:00am on Friday. The storm system is pushing its way through northeastern Colorado and as it does temperatures will plummet and snow will begin to fall.
Look for the snow to gradually start this morning with the heaviest period being late this afternoon and into tonight. Total snow accumulations in Denver are forecast to be in the 5 to 10 inch range. Here in Thornton we will likely be on the lighter side of that range. The Front Range foothills and Palmer Divide may see up to a foot.
The snow that initially falls will likely melt due to the warm ground however as temperatures drop roads will become icy and slick. Extreme caution should be used, particularly late this afternoon and into tonight.
While we are looking at a decent bit of snowfall, there isn’t a lot of moisture in this system. As a result look for the snow to be light and fluffy. This will make it easy to shovel but when winds pick up it creates a blowing snow hazard and visibility may be impacted.
This sets the stage for near blizzard conditions, particularly in open areas to the northeast. The National Weather Service has indicated a Blizzard Warning may be issued in some areas later today if conditions warrant.
Temperatures are the other big aspect of this storm system. The mercury will be dropping throughout the day and by 5:00pm it will be down to 14 degrees with overnight lows approaching zero.
The winds, coupled with the bitter Arctic cold, will create dangerous wind chill conditions. Late afternoon will see wind chills near zero and overnight they will dip to near 15 degrees below zero.
Anyone planning outdoor activities or traveling needs to be prepared. Ensure you have adequate clothing and emergency supplies. For more information be sure to check out our Winter Weather Preparedness links below.
Airlines and Colorado Department of Transportation prepare for storm
At Denver International Airport (DIA) airlines began waiving fees for passengers wanting to change their travel plans. Continental, United and Frontier all said they were expecting delays and possibly cancellations from the storm and were operating accordingly. Our Airport & Flight Status page has details.
To access the radar go to Radar & Maps on the menu on the left and select “TW Super Doppler Radar.”
