The month of October was one without a lot of drama for Thornton. For the majority of it, we saw temperatures a good bit above normal and little precipitation. It was only in the last week of the month that we saw a taste of the cold and snow to come.
The first three weeks of the month were notable for the lack of precipitation. We saw streaks of eight days and 11 days without anything falling into the rain bucket. Similarly, with only a few days as exceptions, temperatures rain well above normal.
On the 26th, the weather pattern began to change and temperatures chilled out. This was followed by our first snowfall of the season, 4.9 inches on the 29th.
Overall, Thornton saw an average temperature for October 2023 of 51.2 degrees. This was a good bit above our 17-year running average of 49.6 degrees for the month. Temperatures ranged from a high of 86.8 degrees on the 20th down to a low of 14.4 degrees on the 30th.
For Denver, as measured at Denver International Airport, the month was similarly warm. The Mile High City saw an average temperature of 52.5 degrees, 1.4 degrees above the long term October average.
Precipitation was lacking for the month in both locations. Thornton managed a relatively meager 0.62 inches in the rain bucket with the majority of that coming with the end of month snowfall. Denver fared worse with 0.47 inches being collected there.
In terms of snowfall, there was only one event for the month. Thornton received 4.9 inches. Denver bested us with 7.5 inches as the storm system had bigger effects to the east and south of us. Thornton’s 17-year running average for October snowfall is 4.4 inches while Denver’s long term average is 3.9 inches.
Click here to view Thornton’s complete October 2023 climate summary report.
