February 10, 2011 - Satellite image of Colorado and surrounding states showing the extensive snow cover. Click the image for a larger version. (NASA)
The recent snowstorm covered not only Thornton but the vast majority of Colorado in a blanket of white. The latest satellite imagery from NASA shows the extent of the snow stretching across the state from border to border.
The satellite image, taken by NASA’s Aqua satellite on February 10th, shows the impressive snowfall received by the entire region. Not only is Colorado covered but the neighboring states of Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas are covered in snow as well.
Not since the 1888 to 1889 snow season has Denver seen less snow this far into the snow season than this year.
Amid record-setting snowfall in northern Europe this winter and blizzards on the U.S. East Coast, one place that normally sees its fair share of snow has been left high and dry. The Mile High City is facing a snow drought of near record proportions having thus far experienced its worst snow season in 122 years.
Denver’s snow season is from July through June and through the end of December Denver has recorded a mere 4.8 inches of snow. The majority of that (3.3 inches) was received from a pre-New Year’s storm on December 30th. Here in Thornton we have fared a mere 0.1 inch more snow for a total of 4.9 inches.
On average the city sees 25.6 inches from July through December and the pitiful show so far gives the 2010 to 2011 season a 20.8 inch snow deficit to date. Only one other time in the 128 years that snow records have been kept in Denver has so little snow been recorded to this point in the season.
One has to look back to the 1888 to 1889 season to find a more dismal snow season. It was that season 122 years ago that 3.8 inches of snow had been recorded by the end of December. The next worst season up to December was two seasons later when 5.5 inches was recorded.
Snow covers Loveland Ski Area this morning as they prepare to open for the first time of the season. (Loveland Ski Area)
Down here along the Front Range we continue waiting for our first snow but in the high country Mother Nature brought white gold in recent days. The 2010 ski season will kick off this morning as Loveland Ski Area opens and Arapahoe Basin will follow suit tomorrow.
The annual race to be the first ski area in Colorado to open is running a bit behind schedule as warmer than normal weather postponed the openings. The contest usually comes down to Loveland and A-Basin and for the second year in a row Loveland will be the winner.
Check out the announcement from Loveland in the video below
Loveland recorded five inches of snow Friday night and more throughout the day Saturday to add to their manmade base. Overnight Saturday and into Sunday morning snow has continued to fall assuring conditions will be more than adequate for the scheduled 9:00am opening.
On the other side of the Continental Divide in Summit County, A-Basin will open at 9:00am on Monday. The resort will also be opening with its new Black Mountain Express high speed chairlift.
A series of winter weather systems are forecast to move across the Colorado mountains in the coming days helping to add to the snow totals and pushing other areas closer to their openings. Winter Storm Warnings have been posted for mountain areas west of the Divide and Winter Storm Watches for the north central mountains on the west side.
Are you ready? As September comes to a close and with fall's arrival cold and snow aren't far behind usually.
Wednesday marked the first day of fall and while the forecast may not call for freezing temperatures or snow, it won’t be long before the Mile High City is faced with those conditions. We have in fact already passed the earliest dates Denver has seen freezes and snow so they can arrive at any time.
Denver has in fact seen snow as early as September 3rd and its first seasonal freeze as early as September 8th. Those are the extremes however. On average the first snowfall occurs on October 19th and the first freeze on October 7th.
How will we fare this year? La Niña conditions are strengthening and the outlook is for warmer than normal temperatures for the next few months. Colorado weather however doesn’t always follow an established pattern.
Below is a look at Colorado’s cold season statistics as provided by the National Weather Service. They provide a bit of historical perspective as to what we might expect this year.
The statistics below and many more are kept in our Climatology section. Check it out
Autumn First Freeze Information
Earliest Date of First Freeze: September 8, 1962
Latest Date of First Freeze: November 15, 1944
Average Date of First Freeze: October 7th
First Freeze Last 11 Years:
October 2, 2009
October 13, 2008
October 8, 2007
September 18, 2006
October 5, 2005
October 14, 2004
September 14, 2003
October 4, 2002
October 5, 2001
September 20, 2000
September 28, 1999
October 21st is the average date in which Denver’s normal overnight low temperature hits 32 degrees Fahrenheit for the first time.
Autumn First Snow Information
Earliest Date of First Snow: September 3, 1961
Latest Date of First Snow: November 21, 1934
Average Date of First Snow: October 19th
First Measurable Snow Last 11 Years:
October 21, 2009
November 14, 2008
October 22, 2007
October 18, 2006
October 10, 2005
November 1, 2004
November 5, 2003
October 25, 2002
October 5, 2001
September 23, 2000
September 28, 1999
Seasonal Snowfall Amounts
Greatest Seasonal Snowfall: 118.7 inches 1908-09
Least Seasonal Snowfall: 20.8 inches 1888-89
Average Seasonal Snowfall (1971-2000): 61.7 inches
Winter snow extent for the Northern Hemisphere has been steadily increasing for the past 10 years. (Steven Goddard / Watt’s Up With That)
This winter has seen record-setting snow across parts of North America as well as Europe and Asia. Climate scientists have been quick to remind the public that the storms were short term events and not indicative of a lack of global warming. However, they have neglected to point out that winter snow extent in the Northern Hemisphere has been steadily increasing for more than 10 years.
Rutgers University’s Global Snow Lab is the definitive source for information on snow coverage of the globe. According to the unit’s latest statistics, 20,141,729 square miles (52,166,840 km2) of the Northern Hemisphere is covered in snow.
That puts the week as having the second highest snow extent in the 44 years that Rutgers has been gathering data. The only week out of the last 2,277 in the record with more occurred in 1978 during the second week of February.
In the wake of the recent blizzards that struck the East Coast, many climate scientists took to television and print media repeating the mantra that ‘weather is not climate.’ They point out that short-term weather phenomena do not disprove manmade climate change and global warming. Many even said in recent weeks that the extreme cold actually supports the global warming theory.
As seen from space, snow covers the Mid-Atlantic from Washington D.C. through Baltimore and Philadelphia to New York City. (NASA) See a larger image below.
Whether it is called ‘Snowmageddon’, ‘Snowpocalypse’ or any other array of the names, the amazing series of winter storms that have struck the Mid-Atlantic States has been nothing short of astounding. Two storms struck the region in less than a week and NASA satellites have captured images of what the scene looks like from space after the second storm struck.
More than two thirds of the United States recorded snow no the ground on Friday. (National Weather Service)
It seems so improbable that no one was sure whether or not it has happened before but there was snow on the ground in 49 of the 50 states on Friday. The unlikely event was possible thanks to snow that hit unusual places like Texas and Florida.
According to the National Weather Service, 67.1 percent of the United States’ total land area was covered by snow yesterday. That far exceeds the 40 to 50 percent normally seen this time of year.
Dallas, Texas recorded an improbable 12.5 inches of snow breaking records for the date and pushing the city to its second snowiest winter on record and its snowiest in 32 years. Not to be left out, snow was on the ground in Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia and even the Florida Panhandle.
So what was the one state that held out without snow? Hawaii. This is actually unusual as the Mauna Kea volcano peaks at 13,800 feet and often times has snow on it. Research meteorologist Tiziana Cherubini at the Mauna Kea Weather Center told the Associated Press the mountain had been without snow for a few weeks and none is in the forecast.
Officials at Rutgers University’s Global Snow Lab and with the National Weather Service are trying to determine if all 50 states have recorded snow on the ground at the same time. They have verified that 49 states have previously on January 19, 1977 when South Carolina was the lone holdout.
National Weather Service meteorologists attribute the snowy conditions to a moderate El Nino event in the Pacific Ocean and the Arctic Oscillation. In El Nino seasons, moisture streams across the south. The Arctic Oscillation brings colder air from the north dropping temperature and allowing any precipitation that might fall to turn to snow.
A major winter snowstorm has begun in the nation’s capital and forecasters are warning that by the time it is over, it may amount to Washington D.C.’s biggest snowstorm on record. Much of the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States was bracing for blizzard conditions and snowfall amounts that could exceed two feet.
The National Weather Service warned of ‘extremely dangerous’ weather conditions that will winds that will turn the snow into a blizzard. “Travel is highly discouraged tonight and will be very dangerous,” the service said. Winter Storm Warnings have been posted from North Carolina to Pennsylvania and from Indiana to Delaware.
Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which oversees the National Weather Service took the unusual step of issuing her own statement prior to the storm arriving. “An epic snowstorm has the mid-Atlantic region in its crosshairs. At this time, personal safety must be first and foremost,” Lubchenco said.
Travel across the region began to come to a veritable halt Friday as airlines canceled flights and trains stopped running. Delta, Southwest and other airlines were stopping flights out of Washington, Philadelphia and Baltimore and were unsure when they would resume service. Amtrak canceled most train service from Washington southward.
Calling the recent weather that has gripped the eastern two thirds of the nation a ‘cold spell’ does not do it justice. From the eastern side of the Rockies to Florida and north to New England, much of the nation has seen extraordinarily cold weather in recent days that will continue through the weekend.
To the west, Denver will begin to warm up finally this weekend but that comes in the wake of Arctic cold that saw the Mile High City see high temperatures in the teens on Thursday and a low temperature down to -16. Just a bit further east on the plains, Kansas and Nebraska were similarly cold and were forced to cope with snow and ice that turned roadways treacherous.
In the Midwest, the cold weather had tragic results. On Thursday, an icy highway caused a tractor trailer to lose control and swerve into oncoming traffic impacting a bus transporting disabled adults. Three passengers and the bus driver were killed, six other passengers were injured as was the truck driver.
The nation’s railway system was impacted as Amtrak was forced to cut its daily train between Chicago and Denver on Friday because it could not make it through snow drifts in Nebraska. Passengers on the train Thursday arrived in Denver a day late after having been stuck on the plains for 23 hours. The California Zephyr from California to Chicago finally arrived Friday after being delayed 18 hours.
The southern part of the nation found itself gripped in the cold and unprepared to deal with it. Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and even Florida saw temperatures dipping into record setting territory. Shelters in the states were packed with the homeless seeking someplace warm to spend the nights.
NASA's Terra satellite captured this image of London and the surrounding countryside covered under a blanket of snow. See a larger image below. (NASA)
Cold winter weather that has been called the worst in 50 years has gripped England and turned deadly. Showing the widespread extent of the snowfall, NASA released imagery today from its Terra satellite showing the nation under a blanket of white.
The severe cold in the country has turned deadly and claimed 22 lives since it first struck last month. Schools across the nation have been forced to close and air and road travel has been severely impacted. Many homes have found themselves without power.
The nation found itself unprepared by the cold as it was facing shortages of road salt and more critically, natural gas for heating. Suppliers of salt said they were having a hard time keeping up with demand and may very well run out before the cold weather is finished. Companies in northern England have been ordered to shut down in order to preserve natural gas supplies.
