Weather History

March 31 to April 6: This Week in Denver Weather History

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This Week In Denver Weather History
March 31 to April 6: This Week in Denver Weather History

Early spring can bring a wide variety of conditions from wintry storms to severe weather. Our look back at this week in Denver weather history shows that just about any type of weather condition can occur this time of year.

From the National Weather Service:

29-31

In 1970…snowfall totaled 6.0 inches at Stapleton International Airport. Heavy snow accumulation in Boulder on the 29th caused the collapse of a carport at an apartment building…damaging 11 automobiles. Northeast winds gusted to 24 mph at Stapleton International Airport.

30-31

In 1896…heavy snowfall totaled 7.5 inches in downtown Denver. Northwest winds gusted to 26 mph.

In 1897…rain changed to snow during the early morning of the 30th and totaled 6.2 inches before ending during the late morning of the 31st. Northwest winds were sustained to 35 mph with gusts to 46 mph.

In 1929…heavy snowfall of 7.0 inches was recorded over downtown Denver. Northwest winds were sustained to 23 mph on the 30th.

In 1953…heavy snowfall totaled 8.6 inches at Stapleton Airport where northeast winds gusted to 23 mph.

In 1955…a vigorous cold front produced north winds at 40 mph with gusts as high as 54 mph at Stapleton Airport. Rain and snow showers and blowing dust accompanied the front. Snowfall totaled only 0.1 inch at Stapleton Airport on the 31st.

In 1988…snow began falling on the afternoon of the 30th and continued through the 31st…burying metro Denver. Twelve to 18 inches of snow fell in the foothills to the west of Denver and Boulder with 6 to 12 inches across the rest of metro Denver. The storm disrupted aircraft operations at Stapleton International Airport where snowfall totaled 7.1 inches and north winds gusting to 32 mph reduced the visibility to less than 1/4 mile at times…causing air traffic delays of 2 to 3 hours.

In 2000…heavy snow once again developed over the foothills and the higher terrain to the south of metro Denver. Snowfall totals from the storm included: 16 inches atop Squaw Mountain…15 inches near Rollinsville…13 inches near Evergreen…12 inches near Morrison…11 inches in Coal Creek Canyon…10 inches near Blackhawk and in Eldorado Springs…9 inches at Ken Caryl Ranch and Larkspur… And 8 inches near Elizabeth. Snowfall totaled only 4.1 inches at the site of the former Stapleton International Airport. North winds gusted to 32 mph at Denver International Airport on the 30th.

In 2005…a strong spring storm intensified over the eastern plains of Colorado and produced near-blizzard conditions to the east and southeast of Denver overnight. North to northwest winds from 20 to 35 mph with gusts to 50 mph produced extensive blowing snow and caused near zero visibilities at times and snow drifts from 2 to 4 feet in depth. Snowfall amounts included: 12 inches near Bennett…8 inches around Castle Rock… 7 inches near Sedalia…and 6 inches near Parker. Only 0.3 inch of snow was reported at Denver Stapleton. At Denver International Airport…north winds gusted to 37 mph on the 30th and 36 mph on the 31st.

31

In 1873…high winds damaged buildings in the city. Northwest winds with sustained velocities to near 40 mph blew from 9:00 am until sunset.

In 1937…north to northeast winds sustained to 25 mph with gusts to 32 mph produced a light dust storm in the city during the afternoon.

In 1971…wind gusts to 92 mph were recorded in the south hills area of Boulder. At the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder sustained winds of 46 mph with gusts to 83 mph were measured. Damage was minor. Northwest winds gusted to 41 mph at Stapleton International Airport.

In 1983…high winds with gusts to 70 mph in Boulder caused minor damage.

31-1

In 1876…heavy snow began during the night and lasted all day on the 31st and through the morning of the 1st. The average depth of snow fall was 10 to 12 inches…but strong winds whipped the snow into drifts of 8 to 10 feet deep on the streets of the city. Precipitation from the storm was 1.03 inches on the 31st and 0.37 inch on the 1st.

In 1891…heavy moist snowfall totaled 18.0 inches in the city. Northeast winds were sustained to 20 mph with gusts to 24 mph on the 31st.

In 1936…northeast winds sustained to 21 mph produced a light dust storm in the city.

In 1975…a major storm dumped 9.3 inches of snowfall at Stapleton International Airport where northwest winds gusted to 41 mph. Rain changed to snow on the afternoon of the 31st…reducing the visibility to as low as 1/8 mile. Snow continued all day on the 1st and accumulated to a depth of 8 inches on the ground. The minimum temperature of 10 degrees on the 1st set a new record low for the date.

Continue reading March 31 to April 6: This Week in Denver Weather History →

Thornton Weather

Basic Android weather apps and widgets for displaying ThorntonWeather.com data

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One of the most common requests we receive is for a ThorntonWeather.com app for mobile devices.  Unfortunately, short of a lot of donations to fund it, development of one is prohibitively expensive.  However, there are third party programs that will allow you to get Thornton’s weather with data from our station.

The choices range from the basic to major name apps that display ThorntonWeather.com data.  This article will detail the simpler ones that do little more than display weather conditions from our site as an app and as a widget.  While basic, they all do a good job and keep it simple.

Weather Station for Cumulus

Download on Google Play (free)

Widget-Cumulus.jpg
Weather Station for Cumulus is basic but has a very nice display in the app and widget. You will need to configure the 'weather station data URL' to point to ThorntonWeather.com's file. Click the image for a larger view.

This app and widget are very nice and probably our favorite due to the simplicity of the display.

Once downloaded, start up the app and choose “Set Location URL.”  On the next screen you will enter the location of a file on our server that is constantly updated with current conditions.  In the URL box enter:

http://www.thorntonweather.com/cumulus/realtime.xml

Note that the entry is case-sensitive so be sure to enter it in all lowercase.

Once done, click Save.  You then will shown the current conditions from our station.  Scrolling down displays more information such as today’s and yesterday’s highs and lows and more.

Using the setting menu, you will want to update the ‘Widget refresh time interval’.  This determines how often the widget polls our site for the latest conditions.  We ask that you please select 30 minutes or longer so as to not cause an undue burden to our site server.

Adding the widget to one of your devices screens is done in the Apps menu.  Select Widgets, then scroll to the right to find “Weather Station.”  Two sizes are available.

Note that the weather icon displayed is the forecast as generated by our Davis Instruments weather station.  Unfortunately this is not a particularly accurate forecast so it should largely be disregarded.

Weather Station by Draco Systems

Download on Google Play ($3.07)

widget-weatherstation.jpg
Weather Station is a nice app and widget but the varying font sizes and data layouts can be a bit odd. You will need to configure the app to use pull data from ThorntonWeather.com's Weather Underground feed. Click the image for a larger view.

We have a lot of hope for Weather Station and think that someday it will improve and be one of the better ones.  The developer is active and issues regular updates however the displays are a bit ‘off’ with some versions of the program due to odd font sizes and layouts (particularly with the widgets).

For tablet devices, this does have one of the nicest and full featured displays of any and is probably the best choice for those.

Once downloaded, the program tries to pick the closest station using stations that upload to Weather Underground.  However it likely will not choose ThorntonWeather.com’s station as there are many others in the area (most far less accurate).

Click the wrench at the top to open the settings menu.  Start by choosing Select Display Units.  You will want to change them all to their English / Imperial settings.  For temperature choose F, Pressure inHG, rain inch, and wind mph.

Then select Weather Station List.  Scroll down under the PWS heading, select KCOTHORN6.  That is our station’s identifier on Weather Underground.  When you touch it, you will receive confirmation it is activated.

Use the back button to return to the main screen and the conditions should update with data from ThorntonWeather.com.  As for widgets, the program has four of them available to choose from.

Pocket PWS

Download on Google Play (free)

widget-pocketpws.jpg
Pocket PWS is the newest app / widget and a bit basic but that makes it easy to view. You will need to configure the 'XML file url' to point to ThorntonWeather.com's data file. Click the image for a larger view.

This is the newest app that we have found and while it is a bit Spartan, it is functional and free.

Once downloaded you will be prompted to set the URL for the file with the current conditions.  Go into the settings and select XML file url.  In the entry box, enter:

http://www.thorntonweather.com/weatherdisplay.xml

Note that the entry is case-sensitive so be sure to enter it in all lowercase.

Click OK and the app will start displaying current conditions from our station.  There is also a Pocket PWS widget you can add to one of your Android device’s home screens.

Conclusion

In a future story we will detail the more extensive Android weather apps that can be used to display ThorntonWeather.com data.  Should you have any problems getting any of the above listed apps configured, do let us know and we will try to help you.

If you have an Apple device, well, we can’t help you much as we only own Android devices.  However if you find an app in the Apple app store that can read data from a Personal Weather Station (PWS), let us know and we will take a look and see if we can help you configure it.

Remember that we do have a mobile web site optimized for all smartphones that has live conditions, forecasts and more.  Check it out and bookmark it here: http://m.thorntonweather.com

Weather History

March 24 to March 30: This Week in Denver Weather History

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This Week In Denver Weather History
March 24 to March 30: This Week in Denver Weather History

As we have witnessed in recent days, significant snow events can make an appearance in Denver during the month of March and there have been a number of them in our past. Also not unusual and appearing are powerful, damaging winds. These types of events as well as thunderstorms, hail and even a tornado have occurred during this week in Denver weather history.

From the National Weather Service:

22-24

In 1965…a vigorous cold front swept across metro Denver late on the afternoon of the 22nd with east-northeast winds gusting to 38 mph causing some blowing dust. Snowfall from the storm totaled 4.4 inches at Stapleton International Airport. Temperatures on the 22nd dropped from a maximum of 63 degrees to 18 degrees in just 10 hours and dipped to 3 degrees below zero on the morning of the 24th. Maximum temperatures warmed to only 19 degrees on the 23rd and 18 degrees on the 24th.

23-24

In 1909…post-frontal rain on the 23rd changed to heavy snow during the evening and continued through the morning of the 24th. Snowfall totaled 13.8 inches. Rain and melted snow… Totaled 2.43 inches…which was the record greatest 24 hour precipitation ever recorded in March at that time. A thunderstorm of moderate intensity occurred on the 23rd in advance of the cold front. North winds were sustained to 27 mph overnight.

In 1990…several hours of freezing drizzle covered roadways with a thin layer of “black ice” which caused nearly 100 traffic accidents across metro Denver. In Boulder…snow and freezing rain caused numerous accidents and brief power outages. Snow in Boulder ranged from an inch east of town to 4 to 5 inches near Table Mesa. At times thunder was heard during the snow. Snowfall totaled only 0.6 inch at Stapleton International Airport where northwest winds gusted to 30 mph on the 23rd.

In 1995…high winds developed late on the 23rd and continued through the 24th. A few windows were blown out of a Denver high rise building…spraying glass on the sidewalks and streets below. Southeast winds gusted to 48 mph at Denver International Airport on the 23rd.

In 1996…the third storm in 10 days brought heavy snow to the mountains…foothills…and metro Denver. Snowfall totaled 18 inches at Golden Gate Canyon and 10 inches at Nederland in the foothills. Across metro Denver… Snowfall ranged from 4 to 8 inches. At the site of the former Stapleton International Airport…snowfall totaled 6.5 inches with most of the snow occurring on the 24th. North winds gusted to 34 mph at Denver International Airport. As the storm moved east on the 24th and 25th… Blizzard conditions developed over northeastern Colorado closing both I-70 and I-76 east of Denver.

In 2010…a powerful spring snowstorm swept across northern Colorado. The heaviest snowfall occurred in and near the Front Range foothills and deep upslope developed. The heavy…wet snow clung to tree limbs and power lines…which caused 36500 electrical outages throughout Denver and the surrounding metro area. Power outages also occurred in Douglas and Elbert counties. In addition…approximately 5 thousand travelers were stranded at Denver International Airport due to flight cancellations and delays. Initially… The snow fell at a rate of 2 to 4 inches per hour…between Boulder and Denver…bringing the evening rush hour to a complete halt. Countless motorists were stuck on U.S. Highway 36 for several hours. Other road closures included I-70…from Idaho Springs to Genesee and I-25 in both directions…from Lincoln Avenue south to Greenland… Or about 15 miles south of Castle Rock. In and near the Front Range foothills and Palmer Ridge…storm totals included: 26 inches at Coal Creek Canyon…23.5 inches…3 miles south of Evergreen; 22 inches at Aspen Springs…13 miles northwest of Golden and 3 miles west of Jamestown; 21.5 inches…3 miles north of Blackhawk…20 inches at Genesee; 16 inches near Nederland; 14 inches near Elizabeth and Strontia Springs dam; 13 inches at Bergen Park and 3 miles southeast of Indian Hills; 12.5 inches… 3 miles southwest of Conifer; 11.5 inches at St. Mary’s Glacier. In Denver and the surrounding suburbs…storm totals included: 15 inches at lone tree; 14 inches near Highlands Ranch; 13 inches near Louisville…12.5 inches at Aurora…Commerce City…Englewood and 5 miles west of Littleton; 12 inches at Erie and Greenwood Village; 11 inches at Ralston Reservoir and Westminster; 10.5 inches at the national weather service in Boulder…10 inches… 4 miles northeast of Castle Rock…Fredrick…Lakewood…3 miles southeast of Morrison and 4 miles southeast of Watkins; 9.5 inches…3 miles southeast of Denver; 9 inches in Broomfield…Lafayette…Northglenn and Thornton; 8.5 inches near Federal Heights; 8 inches in Arvada… Brighton and Wheat Ridge; 6 inches…5 miles southwest of Hudson. Officially…10.8 inches of snow was measured at Denver International Airport.

23-25

In 1891…rain changed to snow and totaled 8.8 inches in downtown Denver. Most of the snow fell on the 24th. Winds were light.

In 1964…heavy snowfall of 5.8 inches was measured at Stapleton International Airport. North-northeast winds gusted to 21 mph behind a cold front.

Continue reading March 24 to March 30: This Week in Denver Weather History →

Climate Change, Examiner.com

Website claims snowstorms at World Cup events are evidence of climate change

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After years of saying ‘weather isn’t climate,’ climate change alarmists now routinely seize on mundane weather events to promote their cause. Latest is website Quartz.com which fretted about how recent snows in Colorado and Ireland portend climate change’s impact on sports and the globe and then follows it up with a ridiculous claim of temperatures 40 degrees above normal in Brazil.  Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com

Thornton Weather

National Weather Service begins 2013 storm spotter training sessions

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On June 3, 1981 a tornado struck Thornton in what is the worst twister to have struck the Denver metro area. Are you ready should disaster strike again? Image courtesy the City of Thornton archives.

Severe weather is a fact of life in Colorado – from blizzards to tornadoes we can and do see it all.  Each year the weather is responsible for claiming lives in our state and across the nation and the threat is very real.  Storm spotter training allows you to learn how to protect yourself and your family while providing a public service.

Education is key to knowing how to protect you and your family.  Whether you want to be an official storm spotter or maybe just want to learn more about severe weather, storm spotter training can provide you an incredible opportunity to learn.

The National Weather Service Denver / Boulder office has announced a series of Skywarn storm spotter training dates for Colorado for the 2013 season.

The storm spotter program is a nationwide program with more than 280,000 trained spotters.  These volunteers report weather hazards to their local National Weather Service office providing vital information when severe strikes.  Data from spotters include severe wind, rain, snow measurements, thunderstorms and hail and of course tornadoes.

Storm spotters are part of the ranks of citizens who form the Nation’s first line of defense against severe weather. There can be no finer reward than to know that their efforts have given communities the precious gift of time–seconds and minutes that can help save lives.

By completing one of these training classes you can become an official storm spotter.  When severe weather strikes, you can report it by calling a special toll free number or submit your report via the National Weather Service’s website.

These are great sessions for anyone wanting to learn more about the severe weather we experience in Colorado, whether you want to be an official spotter or not.  All training is free.  Topics include:

  • Basics of thunderstorm development
  • Fundamentals of storm structure
  • Identifying potential severe weather features
  • Information to report
  • How to report information
  • Basic severe weather safety

To learn more about the program, see here: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/bou/awebphp/spotter.php

Below are the dates, times and locations announced thus far with the first occurring on Sunday, February 17 and two scheduled in May in the north Denver metro area.  We will try to keep this updated but you can click here for any new dates on the National Weather Service website.

Schedule updated 3/28/13:

April, 2013 – Upcoming
Day City, State Time Location
04 Kiowa, CO
(Elbert County)		 6:00pm MDT Elbert County Fairgrounds 75 Ute Ave – Kiowa, Co 80117
Contact Information: Cory.Stark@elbertcounty-co.gov
06 Fort Collins, CO
(Larimer County)		 8:30am MDT ARES District 10 training Fort Collins Police Services Building, 2221 South Timberline Road, Fort Collins, CO 80525
Contact Information: k0jef@arrl.net
08 Fort Morgan, CO
(Morgan County)		 6:30pm MDT American Legion Building, 16913 Morgan County Road 17.10 (Nelson Road) Fort Morgan Co.
Contact Information: senfante@co.morgan.co.us
11 Hugo, CO
(Lincoln County)		 2:00pm MDT Lincoln County Courthouse 103 3rd Street, Hugo, CO 80821
Contact Information: lclanduse@lincolncountyco.us
11 Hugo, CO
(Lincoln County)		 6:30pm MDT Lincoln County Courthouse 103 3rd Street, Hugo, CO 80821
Contact Information: lclanduse@lincolncountyco.us
15 Loveland, CO
(Larimer County)		 9:00am MDT The Rialto Theater 228 E. Fourth Street Loveland, Colorado 80537
Contact Information: Pat.Mialy@cityofloveland.org
15 Fort Collins, CO
(Larimer County)		 6:30pm MDT Fort Collins Police Services Building, Community Service Room 2221 S. Timberline Drive Fort Collins Colorado
Contact Information: migavin@poudre-fire.org
18 Highlands Ranch, CO
(Douglas County)		 7:00pm MDT Douglas County ARES training Douglas CO Sheriff’s Office Highlands Ranch Substation 9250 Zotos Drive Highlands Ranch, CO 80126 Phone: 303-784-7880
Contact Information: randy.w0rdr@gmail.com
22 Greeley, CO
(Weld County)		 7:00pm MDT Note: time change! 1150 O Street, Greeley 80632 (970) 356-4000 x 3997
Contact Information: gmarquez@co.weld.co.us
27 Evergreen, CO
(Jefferson County)		 9:00am MDT Evergreen Fire Rescue Admin Building – Auditorium 1802 Bergen Parkway, Evergreen, CO
Contact Information: mswinden@evergreenfirerescue.com
29 Centennial, CO
(Arapahoe County)		 6:30pm MDT Arapahoe Sheriff’s 13101 East Broncoes Parkway Centennial, CO 80112
Contact Information: AWallin@ArapahoeGov.com
30 Denver, CO
(Denver County)		 6:30pm MDT Denver ARES training Denver’s COP Shop, 407 South Broadway, #500, Denver, CO
Contact Information: kc0mht@msn.com
May, 2013 – Upcoming
Day City, State Time Location
02 Parker, CO
(Douglas County)		 6:30pm MDT Parker Police 18600 Lincoln Meadows Pkwy Parker, CO 80134?
Contact Information: khenry@parkeronline.org
04 Elbert, CO
(Elbert County)		 9:00am MDT Elbert School 24489 Main Street Elbert, CO 80106
Contact Information: Cory.Stark@elbertcounty-co.gov
06 Westminister, CO
(Adams County)		 3:30pm MDT Front Range Community College 3645 West 112th Avenue, Rocky Mountain Room (near entrance 2) Westminister, CO
Contact Information: rachel.humphrey@frontrange.edu
06 Westminister, CO
(Adams County)		 7:00pm MDT Front Range Community College 3645 West 112th Avenue, Rocky Mountain Room (near entrance 2) Westminister, CO
Contact Information: rachel.humphrey@frontrange.edu
18 Commerce City, CO
(Adams County)		 10:00am MDT Adams County Sheriff’s Office Sub-station, 2nd floor at 4201 east 72nd Ave Commence City.
Contact Information: r1@rampartsar.com
Thornton Weather

Video: Denver’s late March snowstorm as seen from Thornton

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The snow is falling, the wind is blowing and it is cold and nasty out there right now.  We took to the street for a little bit to capture some video of our late spring snowstorm.  Highlights include the flag flapping in the wind, blowing snow, shoveling and even an appearance by Scout, our Frisbee catching dog who doesn’t mind the snow one bit.

Update, 4:45pm: Below the first video taken this morning is a second video captured from our east facing webcam.  It is a time lapse showing the past 24 hours compressed into 48 seconds.

Thornton Weather

Live updates: Follow along for the latest with Thornton’s early spring snowstorm

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ThorntonWeather.com on Facebook, Google+ and TwitterIt may be the first weekend of spring but Old Man Winter isn’t ready to give up yet.  Another dose of wintry weather is said to deliver a good shot of snow and some pretty nasty, cold temperatures.  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.


 


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