Tag Archives: DIA

Climatology, Thornton Weather

Last week’s snowfall totals from the storm highlight an ongoing issue

Denver's March 14 & 15, 2024 Snowfall Totals. (National Weather Service)
Denver’s March 14 & 15, 2024 Snowfall Totals. (National Weather Service)

We all know our Pi Day storm last week was a big one.

Here in Thornton we recorded 10.8 inches. Downtown Denver reported 12.2 inches.

What will Denver’s official snow records show? A mere 5.7 inches. This is a direct result of the National Weather Service’s insistence on having Denver’s official measurements taken at Denver International Airport.

Data was collected in downtown Denver from 1872 through December 1948, then at the Stapleton Airport Office from January 1950 through February 1995. In March 1995, the service made the station at DIA the city’s official station for most meteorological observations. In 2008, they began taking official snowfall measurements out there.

Being so far from the Mile High City’s population center, the data collected there is entirely unrepresentative of what residents experience. Further, the move has skewed our climate records rendering comparisons to historical data invalid.  It is highly frustrating and is a significant issue which the National Weather Service dismisses.

Local television meteorologists have long railed against the change in station, most notably Mike Nelson of Denver 7. With this storm, Ashton Altieri of CBS 4 called the National Weather Service out on it.

Climate Change, Climatology, Thornton Weather

Questions arise about use of DIA weather station; Location far from city invalidates historical comparisons

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Hot or cold: Denver's problematic weather records
Hot or cold: Denver's problematic weather records. (Denver Weather Examiner)

Does a move of 12 miles make a difference in what type of weather is seen in Colorado?  Longtime residents know that our weather can vary greatly over short distances and this has many questioning the placement of Denver’s official weather monitoring station.

From 1871 to 1949 Denver’s weather was recorded at the National Weather Service’s office in downtown Denver.  In January 1950 a move was made to Stapleton International Airport.

As that facility aged Denver opened Denver International Airport on the plains northeast of Denver in 1995.  The weather service followed suit and moved the Mile High City’s official weather station the 12 miles to DIA.

Since that time, many weather watchers have noticed problems – DIA is consistently warmer and drier than the old site at Stapleton.  Further, its remote location gives conditions far from where most people in Denver live and thus doesn’t accurately represent what they are experiencing.

Even bigger issues arise when comparing weather data taken today with measurements previously recorded at Stapleton or downtown.  The different microclimates of the sites are so different that it becomes much like comparing apples and oranges.

This was recently made evident with the string of 90 degree or warmer days we put together.  If you went by the station at DIA, the streak lasted 18 days putting in a three way tie for the second longest streak in Denver history.  However, no monitoring station closer to the city was as warm.

Further, while July was certainly a wet month, DIA’s precipitation measurements fell far short of most other locations.

Amid concerns about a warming climate, can we trust the measurements at DIA?  How is it possible to compare the weather today with historical weather when there is such a large discrepancy?

We recently tackled this topic on the Denver Weather Examiner and the conclusion is obvious – It simply is impossible to correlate current weather records with Denver’s historical ones.  Further, the National Weather Service seems intent on ignoring the issue.

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