One day earlier than average, the National Park Service closed Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. The highway through the park is one of Colorado’s premier destinations and travelers won’t be able to drive it again until next spring. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com
Sunday morning the virtually full moon brightened the landscape. Captured just before dawn, the image below is technically two days late to be one of the truly full Hunter’s moon but it still appears fully lit.
The Hunter’s Moon is the traditional term for the second full moon of autumn, following the Harvest Moon, the first of the season. Typically this makes it the full moon we see in October but it can sometimes fall in November.
The name is popularly attributed to Native Americans and said to be named such because it meant it was time to go hunting and prepare for the arrival of winter.
More than folklore, there is something unique about the Hunter’s Moon. See below the image for more details.
But the Hunter’s Moon is also more than just a name. Nature is particularly cooperative around the time of the autumn equinox to make the full moonrises unique around this time.
Here’s what happens. On average, the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day. But when a full moon happens close to the autumnal equinox – either a Harvest or a Hunter’s Moon – the moon (at mid-temperate latitudes) rises only about 30 to 35 minutes later daily for several days before and after the full moon.
Why? The reason is that the ecliptic – or the moon’s orbital path – makes a narrow angle with the evening horizon around the time of the autumn equinox. The narrow angle of the ecliptic results in a shorter-than-usual rising time between successive moonrises around the full Hunter’s Moon.
These early evening moonrises are what make every Hunter’s Moon special. Every full moon rises around sunset. After the full Hunter’s Moon, you’ll see the moon ascending in the east relatively soon after sunset for a few days in a row at northerly latitudes.
National Weather Service forecasters in Alaska hid a very timely message to President Barack Obama and Congress about the government shutdown in their Friday forecast discussion.
The 5:00 a.m. forecast discussion from the Anchorage, Alaska office of the National Weather Service looked innocuous enough. It contained the usual meteorological information about the coming day’s weather.
However, hidden in the discussion was a special message. Find out more on Examiner.com
With a Freeze Warning in place following yesterday’s cold front, we knew it was going to be cold and it certainly has been. In fact, it was record-setting.
Just before midnight, the mercury at Denver International Airport dropped to 28 degrees. This tied the record low temperature for the date, October 4, last set 136 years ago in 1877.
Thornton nearly matched the official Denver numbers with a low of 28.5° recorded at 11:57 p.m. This was our coldest reading since May 3.
The storm system that moved through brought snow to a good part of the Denver metro area. Here in Thornton we measured 0.8”, our first snowfall of the season. A total 0.39″ of liquid precipitation (rain and snow melt) was recorded in our bucket.
Inexplicably, the National Weather Service is showing no snow was measured at DIA yesterday morning. This despite the fact that numerous firsthand accounts and pictures posted to social media showed the airport did indeed have measureable snowfall.
We are reaching out to the NWS to get an explanation for the discrepancy and will update this post if / when we receive a response.
While it appears Denver will escape September snow, our look back at this week in weather history shows that isn’t always the case. Additionally, while not common, even early fall can bring severe weather with damaging wind, lightning and even tornadoes.
From the National Weather Service:
28-29
In 1959…one of the heaviest September snow storms of record began as rain and changed to heavy wet snow. The storm caused heavy damage to trees and shrubbery…which were still in full leaf. The storm dumped 10.6 inches of snow at Stapleton Airport…the third heaviest September snow amount to date. Falling trees and limbs disrupted traffic…broke power and communication lines…and damaged buildings and cars. One man was killed in Denver by a falling tree limb…and four others died of heart attacks while shoveling snow or trying to move heavy tree limbs. Direct costs of the storm for cleaning up debris…repairing utility lines…and damage to buildings and other property across all of eastern Colorado were estimated to be over a half million dollars. The value of trees destroyed or damaged was estimated to exceed five million dollars. North-northeast winds gusted to 32 mph at Stapleton Airport on the 28th.
In 1985…an unusually cold air mass for this time of year settled over the area. Metro Denver received 8 to 12 inches of powdery snow. The 8.7 inches of snow that fell at Stapleton International Airport was the first measurable snow of the season and the city’s heaviest September snowfall since 1971. The snow caused flight delays of over 2 hours at Stapleton International Airport. I-70 was closed for a time west of Denver. Snow-laden tree limbs snapped over all of metro Denver…causing widespread power outages. Ten thousand people were without electricity for a time in Boulder. The morning of the 29th saw mid-winter temperatures along the Front Range. The temperature dipped to 17 degrees…the lowest temperature ever recorded in September in Denver. The high temperature of only 29 degrees on the 29th was a new record low maximum for the date and lowest ever recorded during the month of September. The low temperature of 21 degrees on the evening of the 28th set a new record low for the date. The cold weather persisted through the 1st with record minimum temperatures of 25 degrees set on the 30th and 27 degrees set on October 1st.
29
In 1966…a vigorous cold front moved thru metro Denver. North winds gusting to 51 mph kicked up billows of blowing dust…which briefly reduced the visibility to 1 mile at Stapleton International Airport. The cold air caused temperatures to drop rapidly from a high of 86 degrees to a low of 46 degrees by days end.
In 1985…the lowest temperature ever recorded in September… 17 degrees…occurred. The high temperature warmed to only 29 degrees…the all-time record low maximum for the month.
In 1994…the temperature reached a high of 91 degrees at Stapleton International Airport. This was the 60th day of the year that the temperature had reached 90 degrees or more…establishing a new record at that time. The previous record of 52 “90 degree days” occurred in 1978. Only 43 “90 degree days” were recorded at Denver International Airport during 1994.
In 1995…lightning struck a couple in Aurora as they were walking in the rain. The bolt struck the umbrella the man was carrying…injuring both the man and his wife.
In 2000…late afternoon thunderstorms produced strong wind gusts to 76 mph in Westminster…to 69 mph near Boulder…and to 60 mph at Jefferson County Airport near Broomfield. No damage was reported.
30
In 1898…south winds were sustained to 41 mph with gusts to 54 mph.
In 1940…a late season thunderstorm in the city caused one lightning death.
In 1944…the month ended with a trace of rain on this date and for the month. A trace of rain also occurred on the 4th…9th…and 10th. There was no measurable precipitation for the month. The total of a trace of precipitation for the month equaled the driest September on record first set in 1892.
In 2009…a trained spotter in Coal Creek Canyon…recorded a peak wind gust to 88 mph.
Continue reading September 28 to October 5: This Week in Denver Weather History
With the first full month of fall here, October usually brings one of the quietest weather months in the Denver area with plenty of mild, sunny days and clear, cool nights.
October is historically the second sunniest month and conditions are generally calm.
However we also will usually see our first taste of winter during the month with the first freeze and first snowfall of the season. Temperatures as well will start to drop and by the end of the month the average nighttime lows are below freezing.
For complete details on our historical October weather and what we can expect in the coming month, read our complete October weather preview here.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-s4FTglN9w8U/UjWvCPnJ1FI/AAAAAAAAAhU/VSkx7UO17jE/s144-c-o/006.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108306177534978229224/September2013ColoradoSFloods?authkey=Gv1sRgCOa7nK-5oPKyvQE#5923833337961108562″ caption=”South Platte River at 100th & McKay road breaching its banks and flowing into the Sprat Lakes on September 12, 2013. (Ed Dalton)” type=”image” alt=”006.jpg” pe2_single_image_size=”w300″ pe2_img_align=”right” ]
As we close the books on September 2013, the month featured its usual variety of weather but there is only one thing it will be remembered for: rain!
The month opened with temperatures well above normal. In fact, Denver recorded high temperature records three times in the first seven days.
Soon after however, the picture changed dramatically. The ridge that had kept us so warm at the start of the month moved east and low pressure remained over Nevada. This allowed a monsoonal-type flow of moisture to settle in and remain stubbornly in place for days on end.
Heavy rain became the rule starting on the 9th with showers persisting for six of the next seven days. Thornton and all of the Denver metro area recorded extraordinary amounts while areas closer to the foothills were absolutely pounded.
The ensuing floods were devastating for many places along rivers and streams. Thornton weathered the storm relatively well with some minor flooding. Other communities stretching from the foothills to the northeastern plains weren’t so lucky.
The month closed out with relatively typical September weather. Most days were mild but there were a few more showers and some colder temperatures as well.
In terms of temperatures, Thornton saw a monthly average of 64.3 degrees. This was almost a full degree warmer than the Denver long-term average of 63.4 degrees. The Mile High City, as measured at DIA, was as usual a good bit warmer with a September 2013 average of 66.4 degrees.
Neither location was warm enough to make it into the list of top 10 warmest Septembers. The number ten spot is 66.6 degrees.
We recorded 7 days with temperatures at or above 90 degrees. This matched the number Denver recorded.
Thornton saw a high monthly temperature of 99.0 degrees and a low of 33.2 degrees. Denver’s temperatures ranged from 97 degrees down to a low of 38 degrees.
Officially Denver recorded set or tied three record high temperatures:
Precipitation was of course the big story for the month and Thornton saw more rain in the month than we have ever recorded at ThorntonWeather.com since coming online in October 2006. By the time September came to a close, we had already bested our top year – with three months to go in 2013.
Thornton recorded a total of 10.15 inches of precipitation. The majority of that, 8.84 inches, fell between the 9th of the month and the 15th. One day, the 11th, dropped 4.76 inches in the rain bucket alone.
For Denver, we once again witnessed the problems with the official station being moved to Denver International Airport. While they did record an abnormally high amount, it lagged other areas closer to town, including at the old Stapleton site.
Denver’s records will show 5.61 inches, well above the September normal of 0.96 inches. That also is enough to put September 2013 into the history books as the wettest September in Denver history. The old record holder was September 1961 with 4.67 inches.
Three daily precipitation records were set at DIA:
No snow fell in September for the 13th year in a row. This ties the record for the longest snow-less September streak with the periods from 1914 through 1926 and from 1882 to 1894. The last time we saw September snow was in 2000 when 0.2” fell. The month averages 1.3 inches.
Click here to view Thornton’s September 2013 climate summary report.
Looking back – Top stories from the September 2013 floods
[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-mk2_HTFl7bI/UktlyYkmEQI/AAAAAAAAAwY/a56KaoOMF0Q/s144-c-o/Sept-Temps.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108306177534978229224/Misc?authkey=Gv1sRgCNPjmpm5l5PSOA#5929945250627195138″ caption=”Thornton, Colorado September 2013 temperatures.” type=”image” alt=”Sept-Temps.jpg” pe2_single_image_size=”w560″ pe2_img_align=”none” ]
[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-AEI7PqNjsFo/UktlyUJaioI/AAAAAAAAAwU/tglbcxtvlQo/s144-c-o/Sept-Precip.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108306177534978229224/Misc?authkey=Gv1sRgCNPjmpm5l5PSOA#5929945249439451778″ caption=”Thornton, Colorado September 2013 precipitation.” type=”image” alt=”Sept-Precip.jpg” pe2_single_image_size=”w560″ pe2_img_align=”none” ]
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOULDER, CO
240 AM MDT TUE OCT 1 2013
......THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 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 97 09/06/2013
09/05/2013
09/04/1995
LOW 17 09/29/1985
HIGHEST 97R 09/06 97 0 95 09/01
09/05
LOWEST 38 09/28 17 21 45 09/28
09/22
AVG. MAXIMUM 78.6 78.5 0.1 80.3
AVG. MINIMUM 54.2 48.3 5.9 52.3
MEAN 66.4 63.4 3.0 66.3
DAYS MAX >= 90 7 3.4 3.6 7
DAYS MAX <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 0 0.8 -0.8 0
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 4.67 1961
MINIMUM T 1892
1944
TOTALS 5.61R 0.96 4.65 2.95
DAILY AVG. 0.19 0.03 0.16 0.10
DAYS >= .01 10 6.5 3.5 5
DAYS >= .10 10 3.3 6.7 3
DAYS >= .50 3 0.6 2.4 3
DAYS >= 1.00 2 0.1 1.9 1
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 2.39 09/14 TO 09/15 09/25 TO 09/26
09/07 TO 09/07
09/07 TO 09/07
STORM TOTAL MM MM
(MM/DD(HH)) MM 09/26(00) TO 09/26(00)
09/07(00) TO 09/07(00)7
09/07(00) TO 09/07(00)7
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL MM MM
TOTALS 0.0 1.3
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 83 125 -42 69
SINCE 7/1 83 141 -58 69
COOLING TOTAL 133 76 57 113
SINCE 1/1 999 764 235 1235
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.2
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 2/183
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 45/220 DATE 09/22
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 64/220 DATE 09/22
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.50
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 8
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 14
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 8
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 59
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 5 RAIN 8
LIGHT RAIN 15 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0
LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 0
FOG 12 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 4
HAZE 1
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ay57f6lobfs/Uki4iBmH3II/AAAAAAAAAv0/-rN3zB9mnJw/s144-c-o/co-drake.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108306177534978229224/September2013ColoradoSFloods?authkey=Gv1sRgCOa7nK-5oPKyvQE#5929191804116655234″ caption=”US.34 near Drake is siimply no longer in existence in the wake of the flooding. Image taken September 28, 2013. (Loveland Fire Rescue Authority)” type=”image” alt=”co-drake.jpg” pe2_single_image_size=”w300″ ]
Recovery following Colorado’s devastating floods will be a painstaking process that takes months and years. New video showcases one, small part of the destruction but serves as a reminder as to just how extensive the damage is.
US Highway 34 between Loveland and Estes Park is no stranger to flood damage. Once again, the canyon areas were among the hardest hit in the state and the highway was entirely destroyed in many locations.
Personnel with the Loveland Fire Rescue Authority rode an ATV up the canyon to near Drake this past Saturday, September 28, 2013, and recorded it on video using a helmet mounted camera. The highway is impassable by car and one of the areas that required extensive aerial rescues to help residents stranded by the flood waters.
Entire sections of the road are destroyed as the rider is forced to evade downed power lines and scattered debris. At one point, he appears to be riding in the river but instead is riding where there used to be a highway.
The three-minute video is well worth watching.
One of the benefits of being early risers like we are is that we oftentimes get to see what many others sleep through. Those that had their eyes closed just before the sunrise and as it came up, missed quite a show. Here are a few shots we took this morning.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Li1oR3QnB5M/Ukh9XPB3CJI/AAAAAAAAAvU/sc3NElEWgcM/s144-c-o/twe1.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108306177534978229224/09292013MoonAndSunrise#5929126747558054034″ caption=”A pre-dawn crescent moon started the morning’s show. (ThorntonWeather.com)” type=”image” alt=”twe1.jpg” pe2_single_image_size=”w580″ pe2_img_align=”none” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-6addX2X_SQA/Ukh9XOH4_3I/AAAAAAAAAvM/FQIPjtF-0qI/s144-c-o/twe3.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108306177534978229224/09292013MoonAndSunrise#5929126747314913138″ caption=”Old Glory and a gorgeous Colorado sunrise – it doesn’t get much better than that. (ThorntonWeather.com)” type=”image” alt=”twe3.jpg” pe2_single_image_size=”w580″ pe2_img_align=”none” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-P0xuLDep-Lc/Ukh9XMaqy7I/AAAAAAAAAvQ/D3uQw9rSZmc/s144-c-o/twe2.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108306177534978229224/09292013MoonAndSunrise#5929126746856803250″ caption=”The sky was bathed in orange and blue at the start of the day. (ThorntonWeather.com)” type=”image” alt=”twe2.jpg” pe2_single_video_size=”w400″ pe2_gal_align=”none” pe2_img_align=”none” ]
A marked turn toward colder weather and a few light snowfalls has Colorado ski areas raring to get the 2013 – 2014 season underway. Last night both Loveland and Arapahoe Basin fired up their snowmaking gear.
Neither ski area has announced an official opening date but with snowmaking underway, it won’t be far off. Both began operations last night as temperatures were dropping below freezing.
Loveland and Arapahoe Basin stand at elevations approaching 11,000 feet which gives them a jump on other Colorado ski areas. The two are always in a race to see which can open first with A-Basin usually holding the edge.
The earliest A-Basin has opened is October 10, 2007. Two years later, Loveland bested that mark when it opened on October 7, 2009.
Once the ski season gets started, be sure to check our Colorado Ski Conditions page for the latest.