Tag Archives: record temperatures

Another record-setting Sunday as Denver ties all time high temperature for September 26

September 26, 2010 Thornton Weather Leave a comment

For the second Sunday in a row the mercury in Denver reached a record-setting mark.

The Mile High City is on pace to see one of its “top 10 warmest” Septembers on record and that was in full evidence on Sunday. For the third time this month we have tied or broken a record high temperature.

At Denver International Airport today the high temperature reached 90 degrees at 2:54pm thus tying the record for the date set in 1892. This is far above the normal high temperature of 74 degrees for the date.

Here in Thornton we were slightly cooler as we recorded a high temperature of 88.1 degrees at 3:07pm today.

Denver also broke a high temperature record on Monday, September 20th when the mercury climbed to 94 degrees. This bested the old record for the date of 92 degrees set in 1956.

Last Sunday, September 19th, the mercury topped out an amazing 96 degrees. That broke the old record of 93 degrees set in 1980. It was also the hottest temperature ever recorded so late in the year and was the hottest Denver Broncos home game on record.

The recent wildfires have reminded us just how dry Denver has been in recent weeks and the precipitation measurements bear this out. Thus far this month Denver has recorded a mere 0.06 inch of precipitation – far below the average for September of 1.14 inches.

Given that at the current time there is no moisture in the weather forecast through the end of the month, September 2010 may very well go into the record books as one of the top 10 driest Septembers on record. If the month were to end today it would tie for 5th place on the list with 1882 and 1920.

In terms of temperature the month also is threatening top 10 status. As of yesterday the average temperature for the month has been 66.8 degrees. That is more than four degrees above the normal of 62.4 degrees. If the month were to end today that would put the month in a tie for the 9th spot on the top 10 warmest Denver Septembers on record.

Thornton Weather

Another record smashed – Denver breaks 54 year old high temperature record

September 20, 2010 Thornton Weather Leave a comment

For the second day in a row Denver set a high temperature record.

A sizzling end to summer in the Mile High City! Following on Sunday’s record setting heat we followed suit again on Monday breaking another high temperature record.

The official high temperature as measured at Denver International Airport reached 94 degrees Monday afternoon at 1:38pm. This breaks the old high temperature record for the date of 92 degrees set in 1956.

Here is Thornton we just a slight bit cooler than the official high temperature as ThorntonWeather.com recorded 92.3 degrees as our high temperature.

The mercury would likely have climbed higher today were it not for some afternoon cloud cover.

Yesterday Denver reached a high of 96 degrees easily eclipsing the old record for September 19th of 93 set in 1980. The day also went down in history as the hottest home game temperature in history for the Denver Broncos and the highest temperature ever recorded in Denver this late in the year.

Tomorrow is the last day of summer but we won’t be breaking any records. Temperatures will become more seasonal finally as cooler air moves in from the northern plains.

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Thornton Weather

Denver smashes record high temperature as 96 degrees hits the Mile High City

September 19, 2010 Thornton Weather Leave a comment

Denver recorded a high temperature today of 96 degrees shattering the old record high for the date of 93.

Denver is closing out summer in sizzling fashion. With only three days left in summer the Mile High City shattered the record high temperature for the date and may set another one on Monday.

Today at 2:32pm the temperature at Denver International Airport reached a scorching 96 degrees. This smashes the old record of 93 degrees set 30 years ago in 1980.

The 96 degree mark today is also the highest temperature ever recorded in Denver this late in the year. Previously 96 degrees was recorded on September 13, 1990 and in previous years.

Mercifully here in Thornton we weren’t quite as warm. We recorded a high of 93.6 degrees at 3:20pm.

Don’t miss: Do Denver weather and climate records have an asterisk attached?

The temperature today was not a record high for the month of September however. That mark would be 97 degrees set on the 1st of the month in 1995, the 4th in 1995 and the 5th in 1899.

More heat is on tap for tomorrow as Denver will approach the 90 degree mark. The record high for September 20th is 92 degrees set in 1956.

Along with the heat and lack of humidity also comes fire danger. A Red Flag Warming will go into effect on Monday from noon until 9:00pm. We have seen how dangerously dry the weather has been with the Fourmile Canyon Fire and the Reservoir Road Fire in the last few weeks. Please be careful.

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National Weather, Thornton Weather

While the east roasts, the west chills – Record temperatures of both extremes in the U.S.

July 7, 2010 Thornton Weather Leave a comment

Record heat strikes the northeastern U.S. while southern California sees record low maximums. Denver may see its own temperature record today. (Examiner.com)

Triple digit heat broiled the northeastern United States on Tuesday while record setting cool weather struck southern California. Denver may be next to see cool temperatures for the record books as the United States experiencing a wide variety of temperatures.

Slideshow: In pictures – Residents across the northeast try to beat the heat

On the East Coast, temperatures exceeding 100 degrees struck from Virginia north to Massachusetts. Many of the temperatures recorded set new high temperature records for the date including:

Allentown, PA – 101 degrees (old record 100 degrees set in 1999)
Atlantic City, NJ – 102 degrees (old record 99 degrees set in 1999)
Baltimore, MD – 105 degrees (old record 101 degrees set in 1999)
Newark, NJ – 103 degrees (old record 102 degrees set in 1999)
New York City, NY (Central Park) – 103 degrees (old record 101 degrees set in 1999)
Philadelphia, PA – 102 degrees (old record 98 degrees set in 1999)
Warwick, RI – 102 degrees (old record 97 degrees set in 1999)
Wilmington, DE – 103 degrees (old record 98 degrees set in 1999)
Windsor Locks, CT – 102 degrees (old record 99 degrees set in 1999)

On the opposite coast of the nation, record low maximum temperatures were recorded from San Diego up to Riverside. Low pressure and a thick marine layer of clouds held temperatures down and residents that would normally be wearing shorts and tank tops traded that clothing for jeans and sweatshirts.

Among the tied or broken record low maximums recorded in southern California on Tuesday were:

Escondido – 69 degrees (old record 78 set in 1987)
Laguna Beach – 62 degrees (old record 68 set in 1968)
Newport Beach – 66 degrees (tied record of 66 last set in 1995)
Oceanside Harbor – 62 degrees (old record 65 set in 2002)
Riverside – 79 degrees (old record 80 set in 1969)
San Diego – 65 degrees (tied record of 65 last set in 1912)

On Wednesday, both the northeastern United States and southern California may see those record-setting temperature trends continue.

Denver also stands a chance to see a record setting low maximum today. The forecast for Denver International Airport where Denver’s official temperature measurements are now taken is for a high of 63 degrees today. The current record low maximum is 65 degrees last set in 1952. Here in Thornton we will see similar temperatures.

Colorado Weather, Thornton Weather

Denver sets new record high temperature for March 30th

March 30, 2010 Thornton Weather Leave a comment

Denver set a new high temperature record for today, breaking a 131 year old record.

Following on last week’s wintry blast, residents of the Mile High City were anxious for spring-like weather and they received it today. Denver has officially set a new record high temperature for the date breaking a 131 year old record.

The National Weather Service reported that at 3:32pm the mercury reached 82 degrees at the official measuring station at Denver International Airport (DIA). This breaks the previous record of 81 degrees set in 1879. The service noted that Rutherford B. Hayes was our 19th president at the time.

Here at ThorntonWeather.com, we reached a high of 81.7 degrees at 4:01pm.

Denver’s newest National Weather Service station at Denver City Park recorded a high temperature today of 81 degrees. Many believe this station is the one that should be the official reporting station for the city as the station at DIA has been shown to be skewing Denver’s climate records.

Other area stations reported similarly warm temperatures. Longmont reached a high temperature of 83 degrees breaking its old record of 81 degrees set in 1986. On the Rocky Mountain Weather Network, Arvada reached 84 degrees, north Denver 83 degrees, Littleton 81 degrees and Broomfield 83 degrees.

Don’t miss: March 28 to April 3 – This week in Denver weather history

Climatology, Thornton Weather

December 2009 goes into the books as seventh coldest on record

January 4, 2010 Thornton Weather Leave a comment

For the second time in the past three months, Denver has experienced monthly average temperatures in the ‘top 10 coldest’ category. In October, the Mile High City saw its second coldest October on record since record keeping began in 1882. Now Denver has just wrapped up its seventh coldest December in history.

Denver’s average December 2009 temperature was 24.1 degrees – a chilly 6.2 degrees below the normal average of 30.3 degrees. That puts the month into the books as the seventh coldest December on record (image right). Thornton was just a touch colder having recorded an average temperature of 23.8 degrees.

Temperatures during the month ranged from a high temperature of 59 degrees on the 1st down to a low of -17 on the 9th. Overall, the majority of days during the month saw below normal temperatures.

In terms of snowfall, the month did finish above average but not in record setting territory. The National Weather Service recorded 11.1 inches of snowfall at the official monitoring station at Denver International Airport. This was 2.4 inches above the average of 8.7 inches for December. In Thornton, we received a bit more snow than DIA. 15.3 inches was recorded at ThorntonWeather.com of which the single biggest even was the pre-Christmas storm which dumped 7.5 inches.

The snow we did receive however was rather dry and as such we finished the month below normal for precipitation. DIA recorded 0.45 inch of precipitation which is 0.18 inch below normal. Here again, because of the additional snowfall, Thornton fared a bit better with 0.5 inch of precipitation.

Click here to view the ThorntonWeather.com December 2009 climate report

CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOULDER, CO                                 
510 PM MST SAT JAN 2 2010

................................... 

...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 2009...

CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1971 TO 2000
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2009

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            59   12/21        79     -20       69  12/02       
                        12/01                                         
LOWEST            -17   12/09       -25       8      -19  12/15       
AVG. MAXIMUM     36.4              44.1    -7.7     41.0              
AVG. MINIMUM     11.9              16.4    -4.5     12.3              
MEAN             24.1              30.3    -6.2     26.6              
DAYS MAX >= 90      0               0.0     0.0        0              
DAYS MAX <= 32     15               5.3     9.7       10              
DAYS MIN <= 32     31              29.2     1.8       30              
DAYS MIN <= 0       6               2.8     3.2        6              

PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
 MAXIMUM         5.21   1913                                          
 MINIMUM         0.00   1881                                          
TOTALS           0.45              0.63   -0.18     0.24              
DAILY AVG.       0.01              0.02   -0.01     0.01              
DAYS >= .01         7               5.3     1.7        6              
DAYS >= .10         2                MM      MM        0              
DAYS >= .50         0                MM      MM        0              
DAYS >= 1.00        0                MM      MM        0              
GREATEST
 24 HR. TOTAL    0.20   12/22 TO 12/23        0.10  12/13 TO 12/14       

SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
 TOTAL           57.4   1913  SNOWIEST DENVER MONTH SINCE 1881
TOTALS           11.1                8.7              7.1             

DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL    1260              1078     182     1179              
 SINCE 7/1       2739              2486     253     2367              
COOLING TOTAL       0                 0       0        0              
 SINCE 1/1        533               696    -163      825              

FREEZE DATES
RECORD
 EARLIEST     09/08/1962                                              
 LATEST       06/08/2007                                              
EARLIEST                        10/07                                 
LATEST                          05/05                                 
.................................................................

WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED              8.8
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION   3/217
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION    43/220    DATE  12/13
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION    49/220    DATE  12/13

SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT)   MM *SUNSHINE DATA N/A EFFECTIVE 10/1

NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR            4
NUMBER OF DAYS PC             21
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY          6

AVERAGE RH (PERCENT)     61

WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH 
THUNDERSTORM              0     MIXED PRECIP               0
HEAVY RAIN                0     RAIN                       0
LIGHT RAIN                0     FREEZING RAIN              0
LT FREEZING RAIN          0     HAIL                       0
HEAVY SNOW                0     SNOW                       2
LIGHT SNOW               10     SLEET                      0
FOG                      11     FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE      1
HAZE                      7                                           
                                                                    
-  INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.                                      
R  INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.                                
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.                                       
T  INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.

Thornton Weather

Denver sets new record high minimum for November 12th

November 13, 2009 Thornton Weather Leave a comment

Denver broke the record high minimum temperature for the date yesterday.

The Mile High City has enjoyed some great weather this past week and one weather record has officially been set. Just before midnight last night, the temperature at Denver International Airport dropped to 45 degrees. This sets a new record high minimum for November 12th, breaking the old record of 44 degrees set in 1894. Thornton however wasn’t near as warm as we had a low temperature of 40.5 degrees.

The warm weather pattern though is set for a big change this weekend as you can see in our forecast. Two systems will begin to impact the area, the second of which arrives Saturday afternoon and could bring a good deal of snow to the area. Get the details on the Winter Storm Watch here.

It is important to remember though that the National Weather Service moved Denver’s official measurements to DIA 14 years ago from the former Stapleton site. This has caused a major change in Denver’s climate and weather records. Data shows that DIA runs hotter on the highs, colder on the colds and records less moisture than what stations closer to Denver do. This has resulted in Denver’s historical climate records being skewed.

Some say Denver’s climate records have forever been altered due to the station move and as such any weather record should have an asterisk attached to it. For more on the controversy, be sure to read our Examiner.com investigative series:

Examiner.com Investigates
Do Denver weather and climate records have an asterisk attached?

Part 1 – Overview and history.

Part 2 – Data analysis. Is there a problem?

Part 3 – Solutions, conclusions and why you should care.

Data analysis slideshow.

November 12, 2009 – Denver gets new National Weather Service monitoring station

Thornton Weather

Denver sets new high temperature record for November 5th

November 5, 2009 Thornton Weather Leave a comment

Denver broke the record high temperature for the date today.

Everyone in the Mile High City has been enjoying an extraordinarily beautiful November day today. As we mentioned in our morning forecast on Examiner.com, temperatures were expected to reach record-setting highs and that has been the case.

At 1:49pm the official temperature as taken at Denver International Airport reached 77 degrees. This broke the record high for the date last of 76 degrees set in 1945 and before that in 1916.

Here in Thornton we actually were a good bit warmer than the offical high. ThorntonWeather.com reached a high of 79.9 degrees at 12:12pm.

As always, we have to ask the question: Is this really a record or not? Some say Denver’s climate records have forever been altered and as such any weather record should have an asterisk attached to it. Why? Get the details on that story here.

Thornton Weather

Denver ties high temperatures record for the date

October 18, 2009 Thornton Weather Leave a comment

Denver tied the record high temperature for the date today.

At 3:44pm today, the temperature at Denver International Airport reached 84 degrees. This tied the record high temperature for October 18th set in 2003 and 1958. The average temperature for this date is 68 degrees so we exceeded that by a large margin.

From record setting cold last week to record setting warmth this week – you have to love Colorado weather!

Was it really a record though? Examiner.com investigates: Do Denver weather and climate records have an asterisk attached?

Here in Thornton we were actually a touch warmer reaching 85.9 degrees. We have one more day of above normal temperatures ahead on Monday before we see a change that will bring cooler temps and possibly rain and snow.

Thornton Weather

Three temperature records fall to frigid cold in Denver

October 11, 2009 Thornton Weather Leave a comment

Record setting cold arrived in Denver, breaking three records and nearly hitting a fourth.

Following on two low temperature records Friday and Saturday, a third was set Saturday when the mercury climbed to a high of only 26 degrees. That easily smashed the previous record low maximum for the date of 34 degrees set in 2005.

Friday night the cold front moved in and temperatures plummeted 23 degrees in five hours. Before midnight the mercury read 18 degrees thus shattering the old low temperature record for October 9th of 25 degrees. That record dated to 1970.

Saturday morning the low temperature at Denver International Airport dropped to 17 degrees. That set a new record low temperature for October 10th as well. The previous record low of 25 degrees was set more than a century ago in 1905.

A fourth record, for Sunday’s low temperature, was within reach but the mercury didn’t quite dip far enough. The record low for the date is 22 degrees, set in 1946. This morning the temperature at DIA dropped to 24 degrees which while chilly, didn’t quite go far enough.

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The Arctic blast of cold air sent temperature plunging and forced the postponement of game 3 of the National League Divisional Series against the Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies. That game has been rescheduled for tonight at 8:07pm.

Sunday will be the first time since Friday night with temperatures above the freezing mark in Denver although it will remain 20 degrees cooler than normal. The forecast high today is 49 degrees whereas the average for this date is 69 degrees.

For the Rockies game, at the first pitch the temperature will be around 38 degrees. The mercury will slowly drop during the game and be down to around 35 by 11:00pm.

The Rockies aren’t the only game in town today either. The Denver Broncos host the New England Patriots at 2:00pm. For the game at Invesco Field at Mile High, it should be great football weather. It will be 47 degrees at kickoff and remain right in that vicinity throughout. A slight breeze around 5 mph will make it feel a touch cooler than that.

For the longer term, temperatures throughout the week will remain cooler than normal. Columbus Day temps will actually be a touch cooler than today before we start a slight warm-up for the rest of the week.

Weather, natural disasters & climate news and information.