{"id":12391,"date":"2014-01-01T07:27:43","date_gmt":"2014-01-01T14:27:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/?p=12391"},"modified":"2014-01-01T07:31:34","modified_gmt":"2014-01-01T14:31:34","slug":"december-2013-weather-recap-record-setting-hot-and-cold-little-snow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/thornton-weather\/december-2013-weather-recap-record-setting-hot-and-cold-little-snow\/","title":{"rendered":"December 2013 weather recap: Record setting hot and cold, little snow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thornton and the Denver area closed out 2013 with a display of typically highly variable weather.\u00a0 We recorded some record low temperatures followed by unseasonably warm conditions.\u00a0 One thing that was lacking was snow.<\/p>\n

The first three days of the month started out quite mild with highs well above normal.\u00a0 That changed quickly midday on the third as low pressure moved in bringing an extended Arctic blast.<\/p>\n

For six straight days high temperatures remained stubbornly below freezing and lows dipped into the single digits.\u00a0 The cold snap was notable but not record-setting in terms of length.\u00a0 Two daily low temperature records were tied or broken however.<\/p>\n

Warmer weather returned on the 10th as the mercury finally started to climb.\u00a0 Unseasonably warm temperatures became the rule for the next nine days that included a record high temperature on the 18th.<\/p>\n

The last third of the month was a bit more variable with its ups and downs but overall warmer than normal conditions.<\/p>\n

Overall Thornton\u2019s monthly average temperature came in at 29.2 degrees.\u00a0 Out at Denver International Airport where the Mile High City\u2019s official stats are recorded, it was a bit cooler with an average of 28.4 degrees.\u00a0 Both were below Denver\u2019s December average of 30.0 degrees.<\/p>\n

Thornton recorded nine days with high temperatures that failed to reach 32 degrees.\u00a0 On five days, low temperatures dropped below zero.\u00a0 Denver saw eight days with highs below freezing, six with lows below zero.<\/p>\n

The warmest temperature of the month in Thornton came on the 18th when we recorded 66.8 degrees. Our coldest was -9.3 degrees on the 5th.\u00a0 Denver\u2019s warmest day was on the 18th as well with a high of 68 degrees.\u00a0 Its lowest temperature was -15 degrees on the 5th.<\/p>\n

Four temperature records were tied or broken in Denver.<\/p>\n

The low temperature of -13 degrees on December 4th shattered the old record low for the date of -5 degrees last set in 2008.\u00a0 The following day, on December 5th, the low temperature of -15 degrees tied the record low last set in 1972.<\/p>\n

The mild weather December 18 saw two records.\u00a0 The high of 68 degrees broke the previous high temperature record for the date of 66 degrees last set in 1979.\u00a0 Also, the day tied the record high minimum for the 18th of 40 degrees set in 1917.<\/p>\n

Precipitation for the month of December 2013 was not as noteworthy as the temperatures.\u00a0 Thornton recorded only 0.24 inches in our bucket while Denver received 0.25 inches.\u00a0 Both were a good bit below the December average of 0.35 inches.<\/p>\n

Snow was similarly less than extraordinary.\u00a0 Thornton measured 5.7 inches of the white stuff while Denver lagged that with 4.7 inches.\u00a0 Both totals were below the normal for December of 8.5 inches.\u00a0 Seasonal snowfall totals at this point are about half of what they normally are.<\/p>\n

Click here to view Thornton’s December 2013 climate summary.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Thornton's
Thornton’s December 2013 Temperatures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Thornton's
Thornton’s December 2013 Precipitation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
CLIMATE REPORT\r\nNATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOULDER, CO\r\n200 AM MST WED JAN 1 2014\r\n\r\n...................................\r\n\r\n...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE YEAR OF 2013...\r\n\r\nCLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010\r\nCLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2013\r\n\r\nWEATHER         OBSERVED          NORMAL  DEPART  LAST YEAR`S\r\n                 VALUE   DATE(S)  VALUE   FROM    VALUE  DATE(S)\r\n                                          NORMAL\r\n................................................................\r\nTEMPERATURE (F)\r\nRECORD\r\n HIGH             105   06\/26\/2012\r\n                        06\/25\/2012\r\n                        07\/20\/2005\r\n LOW              -29   01\/09\/1875\r\nHIGHEST           100   07\/11        64      36      105  06\/26\r\n                        06\/11                             06\/25\r\nLOWEST            -15   12\/05        36     -51       -6  01\/11\r\nAVG. MAXIMUM     63.9              64.7    -0.8     68.4\r\nAVG. MINIMUM     36.3              36.3     0.0     39.3\r\nMEAN             50.1              50.5    -0.4     53.9\r\nDAYS MAX >= 90     54              39.6    14.4       73\r\nDAYS MAX <= 32     29              20.0     9.0       19\r\nDAYS MIN <= 32    169             156.9    12.1      132\r\nDAYS MIN <= 0      11               5.8     5.2        4 \r\nPRECIPITATION (INCHES) \r\nRECORD \r\n MAXIMUM        23.31   1196 \r\n MINIMUM         7.29   2008 \r\nTOTALS          17.60             14.30    3.30    10.11 \r\nDAILY AVG.       0.05              0.04    0.01     0.03 \r\nDAYS >= .01        82              79.7     2.3       52\r\nDAYS >= .10        42              34.9     7.1       23\r\nDAYS >= .50         8               7.6     0.4        9\r\nDAYS >= 1.00        3               2.3     0.7        1\r\nGREATEST\r\n 24 HR. TOTAL    2.39   MM                       12\/31 TO 12\/31\r\n                                                          12\/31 TO 12\/31\r\n                                                          12\/31 TO 12\/31\r\n STORM TOTAL       MM                                 MM\r\n (MM\/DD(HH))            MM                    12\/31(00) TO 12\/31(00)\r\n                                                 12\/31(00) TO 12\/31(00)1\r\n                                                 12\/31(00) TO 12\/31(00)1\r\n\r\nSNOWFALL (INCHES)\r\nRECORDS\r\n TOTAL             MM   5\r\n 24 HR TOTAL       MM\r\n SNOW DEPTH        MM   MM\r\nTOTALS           74.1              53.8    20.3     38.5\r\n LIQUID EQUIV    7.41              5.40    2.01     3.85\r\nSINCE 7\/1         8.1              22.5   -14.4     12.4\r\n LIQUID 7\/1      0.81              2.20   -1.39     1.24\r\nSNOWDEPTH AVG.      0                MM      MM        0\r\nDAYS >= TRACE      60              33.3    26.7       36\r\nDAYS >= 1.0        20              16.3     3.7       13\r\nGREATEST\r\n SNOW DEPTH         9   02\/25                         11  02\/04\r\n 24 HR TOTAL      9.1   MM                       12\/31 TO 12\/31\r\n                                                          12\/31 TO 12\/31\r\n                                                          12\/31 TO 12\/31\r\n STORM TOTAL       MM                                 MM\r\n (MM\/DD(HH))            MM                    12\/31(00) TO 12\/31(00)\r\n                                                 12\/31(00) TO 12\/31(00)1\r\n                                                 12\/31(00) TO 12\/31(00)1\r\n\r\nDEGREE_DAYS\r\nHEATING TOTAL    6302              6059     243     5198\r\n SINCE 7\/1         MM              2468      MM       MM\r\nCOOLING TOTAL     999                 0     999     1236\r\n SINCE 1\/1        999               769     230     1236\r\n\r\nFREEZE DATES\r\nRECORD\r\n EARLIEST     09\/08\/1962\r\n LATEST       06\/08\/2007\r\nEARLIEST                        10\/07\r\nLATEST                          05\/05\r\n..................................................\r\n\r\nWIND (MPH)\r\nAVERAGE WIND SPEED              9.7\r\nRESULTANT WIND SPEED\/DIRECTION   2\/201\r\nHIGHEST WIND SPEED\/DIRECTION    64\/060    DATE  06\/18\r\nHIGHEST GUST SPEED\/DIRECTION    97\/040    DATE  06\/18\r\n\r\nSKY COVER\r\nPOSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT)   MM\r\nAVERAGE SKY COVER           0.60\r\nNUMBER OF DAYS FAIR           69\r\nNUMBER OF DAYS PC            232\r\nNUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY         64\r\n\r\nAVERAGE RH (PERCENT)     52\r\n\r\nWEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH\r\nTHUNDERSTORM              0     MIXED PRECIP               0\r\nHEAVY RAIN               14     RAIN                      25\r\nLIGHT RAIN               80     FREEZING RAIN              0\r\nLT FREEZING RAIN          4     HAIL                       0\r\nHEAVY SNOW               11     SNOW                      23\r\nLIGHT SNOW               58     SLEET                      0\r\nFOG                     105     FOG W\/VIS <= 1\/4 MILE     33\r\nHAZE                     88\r\n\r\n-  INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.\r\nR  INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.\r\nMM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.\r\nT  INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thornton and the Denver area closed out 2013 with a display of typically highly variable weather.\u00a0 We recorded some record low temperatures followed by unseasonably warm conditions.\u00a0 One thing that was lacking was snow. The first three days of the month started out quite mild with highs well above normal.\u00a0 That changed quickly midday on … Continue reading December 2013 weather recap: Record setting hot and cold, little snow<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,7],"tags":[156],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12391"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12391"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12391\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12393,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12391\/revisions\/12393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}