Extraordinary rain amounts over the past week have brought extensive flooding across northeastern Colorado from the mountains to the plains. In the waters’ wake, what is being called the largest helicopter evacuation since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is underway. Read the rest of this story and check out the photos and video on Examiner.com.
September 2013 will forever be etched in the memory of all Coloradans as one which brought amazing destruction – and death. Images of the truly historical event tell the story of the damage in the aftermath but also show the indomitable human spirit and the willingness of Americans to come together and help in times of need.
Northeastern Colorado has a surprisingly arid climate but also is an environment ripe for extreme weather events like the rain and floods we experienced.
The cost and final death toll from the floods will be determined in the coming days, weeks and months but we know already this is one for the record books.
The September 2013 event lasted multiple days and effects were felt from the mountains and foothills to the flat eastern plains. Many locations saw rainfall totals over four days equal to half of what they normally receive in an entire year.
The images in the slideshow below were gathered from a variety of sources. If you have photos to share, please email them to info@thorntonweather.com and we will add them.
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The start of meteorological fall has been highly eventful with record-setting high temperatures followed by virtually unprecedented rainfall. Four days of steady, sometimes heavy, rain has created hazardous conditions in many places along the Colorado Front Range including Thornton.
We will be monitoring monitoring the storm very closely and posting regularly to our Facebook page and Twitter feed. You can follow along in real time below. We are also on Google+ here.
For comprehensive look at the storm, please monitor our Winter Weather Briefing page.
* Click the image above for a larger view
Five days of rain, one with absolutely torrential downpours, created dangerous and deadly flooding across much of the Colorado Front Range. At one point the National Weather Service warned of ‘biblical rainfall amounts’ and it became hard to argue with that terminology. The rainfall amounts were truly astounding.
Boulder, where some of the worst flooding was seen, recorded 9.08” on Thursday, September 12. Estes Park, where the Big Thompson River flooded its banks, saw 3.9” over the 24 hour period.
Officially Denver only saw 1.1” on the date but that was as measured at Denver International Airport which only saw the edge of the storms. At the previous historical location in Stapleton, 3.68” was measured.
Here in Thornton we seemed to be right in line for the storms and generated one of the higher totals in the metro area accumulating 4.76” on the date. Since the rain started five days ago, we have received an amazing 7.66” (as of this writing).
What has been called a 100-year storm and even referred to as being of ‘biblical’ proportions is very slowly coming to an end. The worst of the rain fell on Thursday, September 12 with locations in Colorado’s foothills reporting in excess of 8 inches of rainfall.
Among the hardest hit areas were the college town of Boulder and picturesque Estes Park. Both cities have seen extensive flooding and damage totals across the state will be well into the tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars.
The two videos below capture the raging waters as they pummeled the communities.
The first video shows Boulder as well as some commentary by Gov. John Hickenlooper. The second is of downtown Estes Park.
Twelve years ago today the United States of America was forever changed when war was brought to our own shores for the first time since Pearl Harbor. The imagery of that day still burns vividly in our memories and one from NASA shows the devastation of that day as seen from 200 miles above.
On that fateful day, crewmembers of the Expedition Three crew of the International Space Station were circling the globe.
Commander Frank L. Culbertson, Soyuz Commander Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin surely felt helpless as they passed over Ground Zero and could clearly see the plume of smoke emanating from the spot where so many people lost their lives.
The image they captured on that day was stunning – see below. While the World Trade Center was so far below, the devastation was so clear.
Our patriotism pulled us through those trying times and it shouldn’t take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity.
Today let us stand together to remember the victims of that horrible day.
Let us stand together and pay tribute to the lives of the thousands of men and women that have carried the battle forth since then and paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Let us stand together and honor the hundreds of thousands who wear our nation’s uniforms protecting us.
Let us never forget so that we and our children will never experience another day like 9/11.
NEVER FORGET!
For the most part the Mile High City’s temperatures were on track to be pretty average this summer – up until the last half of August and first part of September. Since that time numerous high temperature records have been smashed and the number of days with temperatures over 90 degrees climbed.
As measured at Denver International Airport, Denver has officially recorded 54 days this year with high temperatures at or above 90 degrees. This puts 2013 into the books as tied for 6th place with 2006 and 2007 for the number of 90 degree days.
On average Denver sees 40 90 degree days a year with the last one falling, on average, on September 4th. The latest we have seen a 90 degree day was on October 1, 1892.
The grid below, from the National Weather Service, shows the top 20 years of 90+ degrees with the monthly distributions.
How has Thornton fared by comparison? As usual we were cooler than the airport having recorded 47 days with 90 degree or higher temperatures. Of those, we recorded none in May, 10 in June, 14 in July, 16 in August, and 7 in September.
Certainly it is possible we could see those numbers increase before the year is out. However long term trends are toward cooler and wetter weather so it is likely we are done for this year.
Thursday and Friday brought the hottest temperatures ever recorded during the month of September. Saturday we were spared making that mark again but we did tie a record.
The mercury at Denver International Airport topped out at 95 degrees at 3:07 p.m. This tied the record high temperature for the date of September 7th established in 1933.
Thornton saw very similar conditions to the airport. Our thermometer hit a high of 95.6 degrees.
This was the third record-setting day in a row for the Mile High City and every day so far this month except one (the 1st) has been punctuated by temperature exceeding 90 degrees.
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For the second day in a row Denver’s temperature officially topped out at 97 degrees as measured at Denver International Airport smashing records once again.
The hot temperature tied the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded during the month of September, just as it did yesterday. It also sets a new record high for the date of September 6, easily besting the previous record of 95 degrees set in 1959.
Here in Thornton we were hotter than the airport as our temperature topped out at a sweltering 99.0 degrees. This was actually the second hottest temperature Thornton has recorded this year. Only June 11th was hotter at 99.2 degrees.
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A good bit of cloud cover couldn’t keep the mercury from rising to mid-summer-like levels today. The hot temperatures in fact tied two records.
Denver’s temperature topped out a 97 degrees as measured at Denver International Airport. This tied the record high temperature for the date of September 5 set in 1899.
This also tied the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded during the month of September. The 97 degree mark has been recorded multiple times during the month, always within the first five days.
Here in Thornton the temperature we were actually a bit warmer than DIA, a rarity. We topped out at 98 degrees (97.6 degrees).
Unfortunately we will see no break in the 90+ degree weather until Monday at the earliest.
The forecast for tomorrow and Saturday current calls for high temperatures of 95 degrees. Should we hit or exceed those marks, we will tie the record high temperatures for those dates.
Don’t miss a thing when it comes to our ever-changing weather! Be sure to ‘like’ us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and add us to your Google+ circles.