Protect the Internet from censorship - Contact Senators and Congressman and urge them to vote against SOPA / PIPA!Dueling bills backed by President Barack Obama, Senator Harry Reid and others would lead to Internet censorship at the whim of the entertainment industry, the government and judges. To protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA), ThorntonWeather.com’s news section will join thousands of other websites and ‘go dark’ on January 18.
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is sponsoring PIPA in the Senate and Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) is carrying SOPA in the House of Representatives. The bills are backed by Hollywood and big media ostensibly as a way to stop online piracy and protect copyrights. They are however bad ideas that could lead to the censorship of websites like ThorntonWeather.com.
These ineffective and shortsighted bills would place undue burdens on websites and Internet providers. Any company with an intellectual copyright claim could for example force Google to remove links to an accused site, prevent credit card companies from processing payments to the accused site, and much more. This could all be done without any legal proceedings at all.
ThorntonWeather.com takes great care to respect and honor other’s property in written, audio or visual form and we are proud of our efforts to never take liberty with someone else’s hard work. However, under SOPA / PIPA, our site could be brought down simply if someone posted a comment that contained copyrighted text or linked to a site that hosted copyrighted material.
This simply is unacceptable. ThorntonWeather.com will be joining other sites like Wikipedia, Tucows, and Reddit in the blackout to take place tomorrow.
Please watch the video below for more information and contact your Senators and Congressman and urge them to vote against SOPA / PIPA. You can also learn more about the dangers of SOPA / PIPA via this infographic and at the links below the video.
January 15 to January 21 - This Week in Denver Weather History
January’s reputation of being dry and windy is evidenced in our look back at this week in Denver weather history. While there are some notable events involving snow, high winds have been the most frequent event worthy of mention.
From the National Weather Service:
13-16
In 1888…a cold air mass settled over the city and caused temperatures to plunge well below zero on four consecutive days…but only one temperature record was set. Minimum temperatures dipped to 4 degrees below zero on the 13th… 19 degrees below zero on the 14th…20 degrees below zero on the 15th…and 11 degrees below zero on the 16th. The maximum temperature of only 4 degrees below zero on the 14th was a record low maximum for the date. North winds were sustained to 30 mph on the 13th.
14-15
In 1908…heavy post-frontal snowfall totaled 6.5 inches overnight. North winds were sustained to 32 mph. The temperature dropped 41 degrees in 24 hours from a reading of 48 degrees at 8:00 pm on the 14th to only 7 degrees at 8:00 pm on the 15th.
In 1950…strong winds occurred in Boulder and Louisville. Winds in excess of 60 mph were recorded at Valmont. Minor damage was reported. Southwest winds gusted to 50 mph at Stapleton Airport.
In 1959…a total of 5.5 inches of snow fell at Stapleton Airport.
In 1992…snow spread from the mountains across metro Denver. The heaviest snow was across the northern portion of the area where 7 inches fell at Thornton. At Stapleton International Airport…only 3.4 inches of snowfall were recorded and northeast winds gusting to 37 mph caused some blowing snow on the 14th.
In 1999…high winds howled across metro Denver. In Commerce City…strong winds toppled 3 utility poles resulting in a power outage to 600 homes. High wind reports included: 108 mph at Wondervu…80 mph at the Hiwan Golf Course in Evergreen…76 mph at Aspen Springs…75 mph at the Jefferson County Airport near Broomfield…74 mph in Boulder…and 70 mph at Georgetown. West to northwest winds gusted to 48 mph…the highest wind gust of the month…and warmed the temperature to a high of 60 degrees at Denver International Airport on the 15th.
14-21
In 1930…a protracted cold spell occurred when low temperatures plunged below zero on 8 consecutive days. The coldest low temperatures of 20 degrees below zero on the 17th and 19 degrees below zero on the 16th were record minimums for the dates. High temperatures during the period ranged from 18 on the 18th to zero on the 20th. Two degrees on the 15th was a record low maximum temperature for the date.
15
In 1875…the wind backed from the southwest to the northeast before noon. The temperature fell 48 degrees in one hour… From a high of 52 degrees to only 4 degrees between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm…as cold arctic air surged back over the city.
In 1888…the low temperature dipped to 20 degrees below zero.
In 1906…southwest winds were sustained to 44 mph.
In 1921…south winds were sustained to 44 mph with gusts to 48 mph. The winds warmed the temperature to a high of 63 degrees. The low temperature of only 47 degrees was a record high minimum for the date.
In 1943…strong Chinook winds struck the Front Range foothills. Wind gusts to 96 mph were recorded at Valmont in east Boulder…with 90 mph measured at Boulder airport. Some damage occurred.
In 1976…strong Chinook winds with peak gusts of 70 to 80 mph were recorded along the foothills. Northwest winds gusted to 46 mph at Stapleton International Airport.
In 1982…a vigorous cold front plunged temperatures 22 degrees in an hour from 39 to 17 degrees. Strong northeast winds at 30 mph with gusts to 46 mph…along with some snow flurries…reduced the visibility to 1 mile in blowing dust at Stapleton International Airport.
In 1987…heavy snow hit metro Denver. Snowfall totaled 10.3 inches at Stapleton International Airport…but amounts across the area ranged from 3 inches in southeast Aurora to 18 inches in the western and southwestern suburbs. Only an inch of snow was measured at Castle Rock. A half foot to a foot of snow fell in the foothills west of Denver and Boulder. Some schools were closed due to the storm. Temperatures hovered in the teens most of the day at Stapleton International Airport where north winds gusted to 30 mph.
In 1988…high winds were clocked in Boulder with a gust to 70 mph recorded at Table Mesa.
In 1998…strong winds developed in and near the Front Range foothills. Winds gusted to 71 mph at Jefferson County Airport near Broomfield. South-southwest winds gusted to only 25 mph at Denver International Airport.
January 8 to January 14 - This Week in Denver Weather History
January in Colorado is known for two main weather conditions – cold and wind. Our look back at this week in Denver weather history shows why this reputation is well earned.
From the National Weather Service:
7-8
In 1911…gale force winds occurred in Boulder causing minor injuries.
In 1937…cold arctic air plunged temperatures below zero for an estimated 56 consecutive hours. Two temperature records were set. High temperatures of 8 degrees below zero on the 7th and 3 degrees on the 8th were record low maximum readings for those dates. Low temperatures plunged to 12 degrees below zero on the 7th and 11 degrees below zero on the 8th. Snowfall was 1.4 inches in downtown Denver.
In 1969…a violent evening windstorm struck Boulder and the adjacent foothills. A wind gust to 130 mph was recorded at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Winds reached 96 mph in downtown Boulder. The Boulder airport wind recorder was blown away after measuring a wind gust to 80 mph. The windstorm caused over one million dollars in damage and one fatality in Boulder. About 25 homes in south Boulder had roofs blown off or were severely damaged. Roofs were blown off buildings housing scientific laboratories and offices of the Environmental Science Services Administration…now NOAA…in Boulder…and installations of several scientific measuring sites near Boulder received heavy damage. Grass fires driven by the high winds endangered many areas…but were controlled by volunteer firemen. One man died from injuries received when he was blown from a fire truck. One man was killed and another injured when the truck camper in which they were riding was blown off I-25 about 10 miles north of Denver. In the same area a mobile home and a truck trailer were blown off the highway and demolished. At least 20 people in the Boulder area received light to serious injuries from flying debris or from being blown into obstructions. Power lines and trees were downed over a wide area. Damage was relatively light in the city of Denver…where northwest winds gusted to 62 mph at Stapleton International Airport on the 8th. Many windows were broken in Arvada…Englewood…and Littleton. A 27-year-old fire lookout tower on Squaw Mountain…west of Denver…was blown away…and several radio relay towers at that location were toppled. Trucks were overturned near Georgetown. Mobile homes were overturned in several areas with occupants receiving injuries in some cases. The strong Chinook winds also brought warm weather. The maximum temperature of 69 degrees on the 7th broke the old record of 65 degrees set in 1948. The temperature also reached 65 degrees on the 8th…but was not a record.
In 1992…an intense blizzard buried eastern parts of metro Denver. At times snow fell at rates of 2 to 3 inches an hour. Winds increased from the north at speeds of 25 to 45 mph. Drifts of 4 to 8 feet were common. I-70 was closed east of Denver…and I-25 was closed from Denver south. Snowfall totals ranged from a couple of inches in the foothills west of Denver to as much as 2 feet on the east side of metro Denver. The heaviest snow fell on the 7th in a band from the northern suburbs of Westminster and Thornton through Aurora and east Denver to southeast of Parker. Snowfall totals included: 22 inches in southeast Aurora…14.8 inches at Stapleton International Airport…13 inches in Northglenn…10 inches in Parker…and 9 inches in Westminster. The 14.5 inches of snowfall measured on the 7th into the 8th is the greatest 24 hour snowfall ever recorded in the city during the month of January. North winds gusting to 46 mph caused much blowing snow at Stapleton International Airport.
In 2000…high winds developed in and near the Front Range foothills. The strongest winds were generally confined to foothills areas north of I-70. A wind gust to 76 mph was reported in Golden Gate Canyon. West winds gusted to 37 mph at Denver International Airport on the 8th.
7-10
In 1962…a major winter storm dumped 13.5 inches of snow on metro Denver. A foot of the snow fell on the 8th when northeast winds gusted to 30 mph. The storm was followed by an intense blast of very cold arctic air. Minimum temperature readings of 24 degrees below zero occurred on both the 9th and 10th. The temperature never reached above zero on the 9th when a maximum reading of 1 degree below zero was recorded. Temperatures were below zero for 37 consecutive hours.
8
In 1912…northwest winds were sustained to 40 mph with gusts to 45 mph in downtown Denver.
In 1971…wind gusts to 52 mph were recorded in downtown Boulder. Northwest winds gusted to 28 mph at Stapleton International Airport.
In 1990…high winds gusting from 50 to 90 mph along the Front Range produced much damage from blowing dust and gravel throughout the day. Wind gusts to 92 mph were recorded in the Table Mesa area of southwest Boulder. The winds caused sporadic power outages. Clouds of dust and gravel whipped by 70 to 90 mph gusts blinded commuters on the Denver-Boulder Turnpike near Broomfield during the morning rush hour. Flying gravel shattered windows on 50 vehicles parked near a Boulder high school. High winds were also blamed for partially dismantling a house under construction in Boulder…as well as toppling a number of fences…billboards…signs…and power poles. The strong cross-winds jack-knifed and overturned semi-tractor trailers on I-70 near Golden and just south of Boulder on State Highway 93. Several county airports were closed due to strong winds and blowing dust reducing visibilities. Wind delays up to 30 minutes occurred at Stapleton International Airport where west winds gusted to 48 mph. Eighty mph winds in Georgetown…Empire…and Idaho Springs were blamed for power and telephone outages. Windows were blown out of a sheriff’s car along I-70 east of Georgetown. The strong Chinook winds warmed the temperature to a high of 60 degrees in Denver.
In 2007…strong winds associated with an intense upper level jet…and a very strong surface pressure gradient…developed in and near the Front Range foothills. Peak wind gusts ranged from 77 mph to 115 mph. The strong winds coupled with freshly fallen snow resulted in whiteout conditions and several highway closures due to blowing and drifting snow. Road closures included: State Highway 93 between Golden and Boulder; State Highway 128 from Wadsworth Boulevard to State Highway 93; U.S. Highway 36…the Denver Boulder Turnpike from Broomfield to South Boulder Road; and State Highway 74 near Evergreen…between County Road 65 and Lewis Ridge Road. More than 100 people were stranded in their cars between Golden and Boulder as blowing and drifting snow made the highway impassable. Snow drifts along State Highway 93 were over 6 feet in depth. As a result… The American Red Cross opened a shelter at Arvada West High School for the stranded commuters. Up to twenty cars were also abandoned along the Diagonal Highway…between Boulder and Longmont. Thirty vehicles were stranded along State Highway 128. The high winds also caused intermittent power outages in Boulder. West winds gusted to 40 mph at Denver International Airport
A circular formation on the bottom of a cloud punctuates Thornton's sunset on Thursday, January 5, 2012. (ThorntonWeather.com)
The past week has brought some beautiful sunrises and sunsets to the Colorado Front Range. The evening of Thursday, January 5, 2012 was no exception as Thornton was treated to an amazing display.
Wave clouds are formed by atmospheric ‘waves’ of wind flowing up and down mountains. Here in Colorado we have had a pretty consistent wave cloud hovering over the Denver metro area this past week.
On Thursday evening, this cloud was present and lit up in shades of orange and red as the sun set behind the Rocky Mountains. What made the beautiful scene amazing was an unusual circular formation in the bottom of the cloud.
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Below are images we took of the clouds at about 5:20pm yesterday.
While other parts of the United States saw significant weather events this past year, the Mile High City was spared much of the devastation and drama. Denver in fact saw an extraordinarily ordinary year in weather in 2011.In…
The year goes into the books as a relatively normal year with few notable events.
With 2011 now behind us we can look back at the year in weather and in doing so we note that it wasn’t a particularly eventful one. Temperatures were very close to average for the year and while it was a wet one, there weren’t any events that will remain emblazoned in our memories.
In terms of temperatures, the year saw an average temperature of 50.6 degrees as recorded at Denver’s official monitoring station at Denver International Airport. This was a negligible 0.1 degrees above normal. Thornton was slightly cooler with an average of 49.8 degrees.
Denver recorded 50 days of 90 degree or warmer temperatures but failed to reach the 100 degree mark at all. Three days including July 4th, July 31st and August 25th hit 99 degrees. Thornton saw 44 90 degree or warmer days during the year and only one hit 99 degrees (July 4th).
The mercury dipped below zero on 12 days at DIA with the coldest temperature of -17 degrees occurring on February 2nd. Here in Thornton we recorded 10 days below zero with the coldest reading coming on February 2nd when we dropped to -14.7 degrees.
While temperatures were not particularly notable, we did managed to record much more precipitation than normal. In all, DIA saw 17.31 inches which was 2.39 inches above the normal of 14.92. Thornton bested Denver’s number with 18.80 inches during the year.
The first quarter of the year saw precipitation readings slightly below normal. Then in May, the skies opened up and Denver received 4.79 inches of rain – far above the normal for the month of 2.15 inches. Most of this fell with two storms systems, one on the 11th and 12th and a second on the 17th and 18th.
June and July brought more wet weather and above normal precipitation. The monsoons during the first half of July brought rain on 9 out of 10 days from the 5th to the 14th and the month recorded 3.20 inches overall.
The last half of July and all of August were quite dry and followed by a relatively average September. October once again brought above normal precipitation, November followed with drier than normal conditions and December was wetter than average.
For the calendar year, Denver received 47.5 inches of snowfall. The biggest storm occurred on October 26th when 8.0 inches of snow fell. Thornton was slightly snowier as we received 51.0 inches of snow during 2011.
Click here to view Thornton’s 2011 climate summary. Following is the official Denver statistics for the year from the National Weather Service.
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOULDER, CO
217 PM MST SUN JAN 1 2012
...................................
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE YEAR OF 2011...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2011
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 105 07/20/2005
08/08/1878
LOW -29 01/09/1875
HIGHEST 99 08/25 64 35 102 07/17
07/31
07/04
LOWEST -17 02/02 36 -53 -16 01/07
AVG. MAXIMUM 64.8 64.7 0.1 65.3
AVG. MINIMUM 36.4 36.3 0.1 37.0
MEAN 50.6 50.5 0.1 51.2
DAYS MAX >= 90 50 39.6 10.4 49
DAYS MAX = .01 80 79.7 0.3 71
DAYS >= .10 37 34.9 2.1 24
DAYS >= .50 10 7.6 2.4 9
DAYS >= 1.00 6 2.3 3.7 3
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.95 MM 12/31 TO 12/31
12/31 TO 12/31
12/31 TO 12/31
STORM TOTAL MM MM
(MM/DD(HH)) MM 12/31(00) TO 12/31(00)
12/31(00) TO 12/31(00)1
12/31(00) TO 12/31(00)1
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL MM 5
24 HR TOTAL MM
SNOW DEPTH MM MM
TOTALS 47.5 MM MM 27.8
LIQUID EQUIV MM MM MM MM
SINCE 7/1 29.5 MM MM 4.8
LIQUID 7/1 MM MM MM MM
SNOWDEPTH AVG. 0 MM MM 0
DAYS >= TRACE 40 MM MM 42
DAYS >= 1.0 16 MM MM 10
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH 7 01/11 8 03/24
01/10
24 HR TOTAL 8.0 11/26 12/31 TO 12/31
12/31 TO 12/31
12/31 TO 12/31
STORM TOTAL MM MM
(MM/DD(HH)) MM 12/31(00) TO 12/31(00)
12/31(00) TO 12/31(00)1
12/31(00) TO 12/31(00)1
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 6069 6059 10 5774
SINCE 7/1 MM 2463 MM 2072
COOLING TOTAL 964 769 195 870
SINCE 1/1 964 769 195 870
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
..................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.9
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 2/211
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 51/210 DATE 07/13
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 72/200 DATE 06/29
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.50
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 87
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 232
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 46
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 49
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 51 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 11 RAIN 22
LIGHT RAIN 76 FREEZING RAIN 1
LT FREEZING RAIN 3 HAIL 8
HEAVY SNOW 7 SNOW 21
LIGHT SNOW 39 SLEET 0
FOG 92 FOG W/VIS
The month of January brings some of the coldest temperatures and driest conditions of the year to the Mile High City. We can see extremes of a variety of types of weather from bitter Arctic cold to damaging Chinook…
December 2011 will go into the books as a cold and snowy month. (ThorntonWeather.com)
Thornton closed out 2011 with a month that while not necessarily historical, brought significant weather to the area. Snow was one of the bigger stories as we piled up a good bit of the white stuff and temperatures were below normal for the month.
December 2011 came in like a lion as a cold front and associated upper level storm arrived during the first week of the month. Denver International Airport recorded 9.2 inches of snow during the period while here in Thornton we saw 10.7 inches. Temperatures were a bone chilling 17.2 degrees below normal during that time.
The middle of the month saw the weather moderate and return to more seasonal conditions. Temperatures overall however remained slightly below average.
With the third week of the month we saw another snowstorm arrive on the 21st and 22nd. Denver recorded 7.3 inches of snow. Thornton once again saw higher totals as we measured 9.1 inches.
The constant snow cover kept temperatures down through the first few weeks of the month and for a time it looked like the month could make it into the books as one of the coldest on record. A late month warming trend however changed that situation.
In the end, December 2011’s average temperature was 26.6 degrees. While this was 3.4 degrees below normal, it pushed the month out of ‘top 10 coldest’ contention.
The snow during the month, while also not record setting, was significant. Denver wrapped up December with 16.5 inches – nearly double the 8.5 inch December average. For the season to date we stood at 29.5 inches giving us a good start toward the 53.5 inch seasonal average.
In terms of precipitation, 0.78 inches was recorded in Denver which was 0.47 inch above normal.
At DIA, temperatures ranged from a high of 58 degrees on the 18th down to a low of -5 degrees on the 6th. Thornton saw similar marks with a high of 59.7 degrees, also on the 18th, and a low of -6.5 degrees on the 6th.
Mother Nature did close out the month and 2011 with a significant windstorm across northeastern Colorado. The New Year’s Eve event saw DIA record a 59mph wind gust and Thornton saw 45mph. Many other areas saw much higher speeds – click here for a summary of the event.
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOULDER, CO
335 PM MST TUE JAN 3 2012
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 2011...
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 79 12/05/1939
LOW -25 12/22/1990
12/24/1876
HIGHEST 58 12/18 79 -21 70 12/14
LOWEST -5 12/06 -25 20 0 12/31
AVG. MAXIMUM 38.5 42.8 -4.3 48.9
AVG. MINIMUM 14.8 17.1 -2.3 19.6
MEAN 26.6 30.0 -3.4 34.3
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 7 5.8 1.2 2
DAYS MIN <= 32 30 29.4 0.6 28
DAYS MIN <= 0 2 2.0 0.0 1
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 5.21 1913
MINIMUM 0.00 1881
TOTALS 0.78 0.31 0.47 0.22
DAILY AVG. 0.03 0.01 0.02 0.01
DAYS >= .01 6 4.1 1.9 2
DAYS >= .10 3 1.1 1.9 2
DAYS >= .50 0 0.1 -0.1 0
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.0 0.0 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.48 12/21 TO 12/22 12/30 TO 12/31
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 57.4 1913
TOTALS 16.5 8.5
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 1182 1086 96 944
SINCE 7/1 2434 2463 -29 2072
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 964 769 195 870
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
..................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.4
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 4/224
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 45/270 DATE 12/31
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 59/270 DATE 12/31
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.40
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 15
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 12
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 4
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 62
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 0 RAIN 0
LIGHT RAIN 0 FREEZING RAIN 1
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 1 SNOW 5
LIGHT SNOW 6 SLEET 0
FOG 11 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 3
HAZE 4
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
A windstorm pummeled northeastern Colorado on New Year's Eve 2011.
Northeastern Colorado closed out 2011 with pummeling high winds on New Year’s Eve. Wind gusts of tropical and hurricane storm strength slammed into the region causing damage and claiming one life.
In the Denver metro area gusts approaching 50mph were common while areas in the foothills and mountains to the west and on the plains to the northeast saw much higher speeds. Here in Thornton we recorded a maximum gust of 44.9mph in the predawn hours.
Post-Storm Summary of the New Year’s Eve Windstorm
A fast moving upper level storm system, along with a deep low pressure system over Nebraska and high pressure building over Utah, combined to create a powerful windstorm across Northeast and North Central Colorado on December 31st. The high wind event began in the mountains after midnight Friday night, and then spread across the plains early Saturday morning. The height of the windstorm on the plains occurred around mid day when numerous gusts between 60 and 80 mph were reported.
The strong winds produced damage to fences and some roofs, and also knocked down trees resulting in power outages to approximately 19,000 residents. Some trucks were also blown off the road, and 1 fatality occurred due to a flying tree limb on U.S. Highway 36 north of Boulder.
Visibilities over the northeast corner of the state were also reduced significantly by a combination of blowing dust and blowing snow.
The following is a list by county of maximum wind gusts associated with this powerful windstorm…
Grand…
Berthoud Pass 94 MPH
11 N Kremmling 80 MPH
9 S Fraser 80 MPH
Jefferson…
3 SSE Pinecliffe 111 MPH
3 S Golden 86 MPH
Highway 72 and 93 Junction 79 MPH
National Wind Technology Center 77 MPH
3 NNW Morrison 76 MPH
4 S Rocky Flats 73 MPH
2 E Golden 67 MPH
2 E Northeast Lakewood 64 MPH
2 ENE Lakewood 64 MPH
3 W Conifer 62 MPH
Wheat Ridge 55 MPH
Larimer…
4 E Loveland 73 MPH
Natural Fort Rest Area 71 MPH
5 NW Fort Collins 67 MPH
3 NE Loveland 67 MPH
Wellington 63 MPH
4 E Fort Collins 63 MPH
Virginia Dale 62 MPH
Fort Collins 57 MPH
Lincoln…
3 W Cedar Point 80 MPH
Limon Airport 74 MPH
Weld…
4 ENE Eaton 80 MPH
3 NNW Cornish 79 MPH
2 NNW New Raymer 77 MPH
10 NE Pawnee Buttes 74 MPH
Briggsdale 72 MPH
9 NNE Briggsdale 72 MPH
7 N Rockport 70 MPH
Greeley Airport 67 MPH
4 ENE Severance 63 MPH
Eaton 63 MPH
1 N Greeley 62 MPH
6 E Berthoud 62 MPH
2 W Keenesburg 58 MPH
Milliken 56 MPH
12/31/11 - Here is surface pressure analysis (light blue lines) and infrared satellite image at 12 PM MST near the height of the windstorm. Note the large difference in pressure between the surface low pressure over southeast Nebraska and high pressure centered over southern Idaho, and the resulting tight gradient across Colorado. This is a key feature in windstorms across the Front Range and High Plains. (NWS)12/31/11 - A 6 hour model forecast of 700 mb winds (approximately 10,000 ft MSL) and surface pressure. 700 mb wind strength is noted by flags (50kts) plus barbs (10kts for full & 5kts for half). Stronger downslope flow and large scale subsidence which occurred in this storm can bring these stronger winds aloft down to the surface. (NWS)12/31/11 - A surface plot of weather stations across the region during the windstorm. This image was taken at 1 PM MST, when the maximum winds were spreading across the northeast plains of Colorado. At this time, the strongest corridor of winds stretched from Sterling (gusting to 59 kts or 68 mph), to Akron (gusting to 63 kts or 72 mph) to Burlington (gusting to 66 kts or 76 mph). (NWS)
January 1 to January 7 - This Week in Denver Weather History
One of our coldest and driest months, January is not normally known for its weather extremes. However just like any in Colorado, significant events can occur as we see in our look back at this week in Denver weather history.
From the National Weather Service:
31-1
In 1900…low temperatures dipped to 19 degrees below zero on both days to establish daily record minimum temperatures.
In 1975…only 4.2 inches of snow fell at Stapleton International Airport…while north of Denver a major blizzard raged. All roads north of Denver into Wyoming were closed when strong winds whipped snow into 5 to 6 foot drifts. North winds gusted to 43 mph at Stapleton International Airport on the 31st…causing some blowing snow. Freezing drizzle also fell on the 31st.
In 1984…heavy snow fell in the foothills with 8 inches at Boulder and 6 inches in southern and western metro Denver. Only 1.5 inches of snow fell overnight at Stapleton International Airport.
In 1991…a New Year’s Eve snow storm dumped 2 to 8 inches of snow across northeastern Colorado. Snowfall totaled 3.4 inches at Stapleton International Airport. The 1.9 inches of snow that fell on the 31st was the only measurable snowfall of the month.
In 2008…another brief period of high winds occurred in and near the foothills of Boulder and Jefferson counties. In Nederland…the strong wind snapped a blue spruce which landed on a nearby propane tank. Some roofs in the immediate area were damaged and power lines were downed; which left 126 residences without electricity for six hours. Peak wind gusts included 90 mph at the national wind technology center…and 89 mph; 6 miles northwest of Boulder. At Denver International Airport…a peak wind gust of 23 mph was measured from the southwest.
31-6
In 1973…the 31st marked the start of a protracted cold spell that extended into January of 1974 when temperatures dipped below zero on 7 consecutive days. Record daily minimum readings occurred on the 3rd and 5th when the temperature plunged to 17 degrees below zero on both days. A record low daily maximum temperature of only 4 degrees occurred on the 5th.
31-7
In 1941…a protracted cold spell through January 7…1942… Produced below zero low temperatures on 7 of the 8 days. A low temperature of 2 degrees on the 3rd prevented a string of 8 days below zero. The coldest days during the period were the 1st with a high of 2 degrees and a low of 9 degrees below zero…the 4th with a high of 2 degrees and a low of 11 degrees below zero…and the 5th with a high of 26 degrees and a low of 12 degrees below zero.
1
In 1875…the temperature fell 27 degrees between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm. The high for the day was 43 degrees…and the low was 8 degrees. Occasional snow flurries fell during the day…but not enough to cover the ground.
In 1885…dense smoke choked the skies over downtown Denver until midday.
In 1910…a rare trace of light rain fell during the morning.
In 1911…post-frontal northeast winds were sustained to 40 mph. Only a trace of snow fell in downtown Denver.
In 1952…snowfall of 0.03 inch was the only measurable snowfall of the month and resulted in 0.01 inch of melted snow…the only precipitation of the month.
In 1956…west-northwest winds gusted to 52 mph at Stapleton Airport.
In 1996…the first snow storm of the new year dumped more than a foot of snow in the Front Range foothills with 4 to 9 inches across the western and southern sections of metro Denver. Snow totals included: 14 inches at conifer; 11 inches at Evergreen; and 10 inches at Eldora Ski Resort… West of Boulder. Snowfall totaled only 1.2 inches at the site of the former Stapleton International Airport. North- northeast winds gusted to 30 mph at Denver International Airport.
In 2003…only a trace of snow fell at the site of the former Stapleton International Airport. This…along with a trace of snow on the 22nd…was the only snow of the month…which equaled the 1934 record for the least snowiest January.
