Our look back at this week is shorter than usual owing to the calmer weather we typically see this time of year. That isn’t to say however that there aren’t notable events like a tornado, lightning at the Adams County Fairgrounds that severely injured a man and the Fourmile Canyon wildfire.
From the National Weather Service:
5-9
In 1988…layers of smoke aloft from large forest fires in Yellowstone National Park completely obliterated the sun at times. At Stapleton International Airport…surface visibility was reduced at times to 5 and 6 miles in smoke.
5-13
In 2010…the Fourmile Canyon wildfire…northwest of Boulder… Broke out on the morning of the 5th. It originated from an unattended fire pit at a local residence. The wildfire quickly consumed 5 1/2 square miles or 3500 acres the first day…and forced the evacuation of over three thousand residents. Erratic 45-mph gusts sent the fire in two directions at times. Very dry weather conditions preceded the fire. The combination of strong winds…low relative humidities and dry fuels allowed the wildfire spread rapidly through the steep…heavily forested terrain. The flames were reportedly 20 to 50 feet in length. Towns within the burn area included Salina…Wallstreet and Gold Hill. The dry conditions coupled with gusty winds ranging from 45 to 64 mph persisted for several more days. Fire managers used as many as 700 firefighters and support personnel from 35 agencies and seven air tankers to battle the wildfire. A total of 6181 square acres or approximately 10 square miles were burned. The Fourmile Canyon wildfire was the most destructive fire in Colorado history in terms of the damage to personal property. It destroyed 171 homes with an estimated cost of 217 million dollars.
9
In 1933…heavy rain in the foothills over the clear creek and Golden Gate Canyon watersheds caused flooding in Golden and damaged the roadway in Golden Gate Canyon… Which resulted in its closure.
In 1969…a funnel cloud was sighted in southeast Denver. There was also considerable thunderstorm activity and local heavy rain across metro Denver. Rainfall totaled 1.30 inches at Stapleton International Airport where small hail also fell.
In 1973…hail from 3/4 inch to 1 3/4 inches in diameter fell in Westminster and south of Broomfield.
In 2009…a man was critically injured when he was struck by lightning while riding his bicycle. He was nearing a paramedic van when he was hit. His heart stopped but paramedics quickly responded and were able to resuscitate him.
In 2011…a man was struck by lightning at the Adams County fairgrounds. He was leaning against a tree while watching a cross country meet when the tree was hit. The lightning traveled down the tree and up through the ground…using him as a conductor. The victim received second and third degree burns.
9-10
In 1933…heavy rain over the Cherry Creek…plum creek…big dry creek…and little dry creek watersheds caused flooding on the South Platte River in Denver overnight. Nearly an inch of rain…0.98 inch…fell in the city.
In 1944…a trace of rain fell on each day. This together with a trace of rain on the 4th and 30th was the only precipitation for the month. The total of a trace of precipitation for the month equaled the driest September on record first set in 1892.
In 1994…unusually very warm weather resulted in three temperature records being equaled. High temperatures of 94 degrees on the 9th and 93 degrees on the 10th equaled record maximums for the dates. Low temperature of 63 degrees on the 9th equaled the record high minimum for the date.
10
In 1985…golf ball size hail was reported just east of Parker.
In 1989…3/4 inch diameter hail fell in Littleton. Heavy rain produced local flooding in Lakewood. The heavy rain caused the wall of a house to collapse.
In 1993…thunderstorm winds downed power lines…which caused a power outage in Castle Rock.
11
In 1910…west winds were sustained to 42 mph.
In 1951…a vigorous Canadian cold front produced a dust storm across metro Denver. Northeast wind gusts to 43 mph reduced the visibility at Stapleton Airport to as low as 1 1/2 miles for nearly 5 hours. The temperature dropped 47 degrees in 8 hours…from a high of 92 degrees to a low of 45 degrees.
In 1967…a microburst wind gust to 52 mph produced blowing dust and briefly reduced the visibility to 1/2 mile at Stapleton International Airport.
In 1974…a trace of snow…the first of the season…ended the shortest period without snow…94 days from June 9th through September 10th. A trace of snow also fell on June 8th.
In 1995…strong post-frontal winds associated with a fast moving pacific cold front knocked down power poles and trees as it moved through metro Denver. Numerous power outages affected nearly one thousand people in Denver and Jefferson counties. West winds gusted to 34 mph at Denver International Airport.
11-12
In 1974…post-frontal rain changed to snow overnight for the first snow of the season. Snowfall totaled only 1.8 inches at Stapleton International Airport where north winds gusted to 40 mph on the 11th. High temperature of only 46 degrees on the 12th set a new record low maximum for the date.
12
In 1887…west winds to 42 mph were recorded in the city.
In 1952…a thunderstorm outflow produced strong southeast winds gusting to 52 mph. Surface visibility at Stapleton Airport was briefly reduced to 2 miles in blowing dust.
In 1963…a nearly stationary…white tornado near Bennett was sighted from Denver. No damage was reported.
In 1989…an early snowfall and the first of the season brought 2 to 3 inches of slush to metro Denver. More snow whitened the foothills west of Denver where 6 inches were measured at Evergreen. The snow fell on leaf laden trees… And sagging branches onto power lines caused outages. Much of Denver’s snow fell during the evening rush hour…creating traffic chaos. Snowfall totaled 2.3 inches at Stapleton International Airport where the maximum snow depth on the ground was only 1 inch due to melting.
In 1994…thunderstorm microburst winds gusted to 67 mph in Boulder. No damage was reported.
In 2002…a severe thunderstorm produced hail as large as 1 inch in diameter near Castle Rock.
13
In 1899…west winds were sustained to 43 mph with gusts to 46 mph.
In 1928…northwest winds were sustained to 41 mph with gusts to 45 mph.
In 1937…an apparent dry microburst produced brief north winds sustained to 31 mph with gusts to 41 mph. There was a trace of rain.
In 1982…torrential rains drenched both the foothills and plains from Denver north. While the heaviest rain occurred north of Denver…just east of Denver 2 1/3 inches of rain fell in 5 hours along with hail that caused minor damage to a few airplanes. Thunderstorm rainfall totaled 0.83 inch at Stapleton International Airport.
In 1993…an upper level system combined with a cold and moist upslope flow to bring the heaviest snowfall to metro Denver for so early in the season. Snowfall from the storm totaled 5.4 inches at Stapleton International Airport; however…most of the snow melted as it fell leaving a maximum of one inch on the ground at any one time. North winds gusted to 21 mph at Stapleton International Airport where a record low temperature of 33 degrees for the date was observed.
In 2002…Friday the 13th proved to be bad luck for several motorists when heavy thunderstorm rainfall caused flooding on I-25 in central Denver. Water rose several feet under the Logan Street overpass…inundating several vehicles. Some motorists were rescued…while others simply waited atop their cars for the flood water to recede. The highway had to be closed in both directions for about 3 hours. The flooding was exacerbated by poor drainage due to the construction along the highway. A 12-foot drainage pipe had not yet been installed beneath the underpass. The deluge also flooded several businesses along Broadway.
In 2009…a severe thunderstorm produced large hail…up to half dollar size in the foothills of Jefferson County…west of Denver.
14
In 1912…snow fell for most of the day…but melted as it fell. Precipitation from melted snow was 0.46 inch. Some sleet was also observed. Total precipitation was 0.61 inch. North winds were sustained to 15 mph with gusts to 17 mph.
In 1934…a moderate dust storm blew into the city at 4:15 pm. North winds were sustained to 35 mph with gusts to 44 mph. By 5:25 pm the winds had decreased and the storm had ended. A trace of rain fell during the evening.
In 1976…a tornado touched down just west of I-25 between Arapahoe Road and Dry Creek Road…tearing the roof from a house. Nearby…a high tension wire fell on a house causing damage…and lightning ripped a hole in the side of a house. Three tornadoes were observed just east of Stapleton International Airport and northeast of Buckley Field. No damage was reported. Dime to quarter size hail fell in northeast Denver with only 1/4 inch hail at Stapleton International Airport. The Colorado state patrol reported golf ball size hail 4 miles west of Franktown. A funnel cloud was sighted 4 miles north of Franktown.
In 1983…a thunderstorm produced winds gusts as high as 56 mph across metro Denver along with thick blowing dust. Power was knocked out in many locations. Thunderstorm winds gusting to 49 mph briefly reduced the visibility to 2 miles in blowing dust at Stapleton International Airport.
In 1996…a 54-year-old woman was struck by lightning near Franktown…as she was preparing an outdoor barbeque. The woman was knocked unconscious…but received only minor injuries. Thunderstorms over southern Jefferson County dumped heavy rain in the buffalo creek area. Some minor roads were washed out by flash flooding…but no other damage was reported. Hail ranging in size from 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter fell at the site of the former Stapleton International Airport.
In 2006…a microburst from a thunderstorm produced sustained winds to 40 mph with gusts to 53 mph at Denver International Airport.
15
In 1921…rainfall of 0.02 inch was the only measurable precipitation of the month.
In 1976…the public reported a funnel cloud and golf ball size hail east of Parker.
15-17
In 2000…unusually hot weather for so late in the season occurred when temperatures climbed into the 90’s setting daily record maximum temperatures on each of the 3 days. The high temperature was 92 degrees on the 15th and 95 degrees on both the 16th and 17th.
15-19
In 1906…rain on 5 consecutive days totaled 1.61 inches. A thunderstorm occurred on the 17th. High temperatures ranged from 48 degrees on the 16th to 65 degrees on the 15th. Low temperatures were in the lower to mid 40’s.