{"id":17160,"date":"2017-01-18T16:54:19","date_gmt":"2017-01-18T23:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/?p=17160"},"modified":"2017-01-19T05:10:42","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T12:10:42","slug":"2016-thornton-annual-weather-recap-a-warmer-drier-than-normal-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/thornton-weather\/2016-thornton-annual-weather-recap-a-warmer-drier-than-normal-year\/","title":{"rendered":"2016 Thornton annual weather recap: A warmer, drier than normal year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another year in the books for us and as we look back on our overall weather for 2016, we see overall temperatures were warmer than normal while precipitation fell a good bit short of normal.\u00a0 The year did seem to lack any major drama in terms of severe weather or winter storms which is likely a good thing.<\/p>\n

We started out with above normal temperatures for the first quarter of the year.\u00a0 March, as usual, was our snowiest month and also became our wettest month of the year.\u00a0 April followed with some snow and a good bit of rain to be our second wettest and May the third.<\/p>\n

May also saw much cooler than normal temperatures with the biggest departure from normal. From there, drier conditions reigned through November with each month registering below normal precipitation.<\/p>\n

October and November saw our biggest deviations from normal temperatures as high pressure dominated and we saw extraordinarily warm conditions.\u00a0 This changed in December as Arctic air infiltrated the region leading to well below normal temperatures.<\/p>\n

Overall, Thornton\u2019s annual temperature came in at 51.6 degrees.\u00a0 This was 1.1 degrees above Denver\u2019s 30 year average (1981 to 2010) of 50.5 degrees.\u00a0 We saw readings ranging from a high of 100.4 degrees down to a low of 10.7 degrees below zero.\u00a0 Fifty days saw 90 degrees or higher while at the opposite end we saw 169 days with readings at or below freezing.<\/p>\n

Out at DIA where the Mile High City\u2019s official measurements are kept, it was warmer with an annual average of 52.3 degrees.\u00a0 For Denver, that ranks as the 14th warmest year in its 145 year temperature history.<\/p>\n

In terms of precipitation, Denver averages 14.3 inches per calendar year.\u00a0 Both Thornton and Denver fell well short of that mark with 12.98 inches and 11.85 inches respectively.\u00a0 For Denver, that is the 37th driest year on record.<\/p>\n

Thornton saw a very respectable 68.1 inches for the calendar year.\u00a0 At the airport Denver saw less with 61.6 inches. Both were well above the annual average of 53.8 inches.<\/p>\n

Click here to view Thornton\u2019s 2016 climate summary report<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Thornton,
Thornton, Colorado’s annual temperature summary for 2016.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Thornton,
Thornton, Colorado’s annual precipitation summary.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From the National Weather Service:<\/p>\n

CLIMATE REPORT\r\nNATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER\/BOULDER CO\r\n1010 AM MST SUN JAN 1 2017\r\n\r\n................................... \r\n\r\n...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE YEAR OF 2016... \r\n\r\nCLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010\r\nCLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2016\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 06\/25\/2012\r\n                        07\/20\/2005 08\/08\/1878\r\n LOW              -29   01\/09\/1875\r\nHIGHEST           102   07\/10\/2016                   98  08\/15\r\nLOWEST            -15   12\/17\/2016                  -10  01\/04\r\nAVG. MAXIMUM     66.7              64.7     2.0     65.4\r\nAVG. MINIMUM     38.0              36.3     1.7     38.6\r\nMEAN             52.3              50.5     1.8     52.0\r\nDAYS MAX >= 90     55              39.6    15.4       48\r\nDAYS MAX <= 32     14              20.0    -6.0       29\r\nDAYS MIN <= 32    138             156.9   -18.9      126\r\nDAYS MIN <= 0 4 5.8 -1.8 7 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 23.31 1967 MINIMUM 7.29 2008 TOTALS 11.85 14.30 -2.45 18.31 DAILY AVG. 0.03 0.03 0.00 0.05 DAYS >= .01        71              79.7    -8.7      107\r\nDAYS >= .10        32              34.9    -2.9       49\r\nDAYS >= .50         5               7.6    -2.6       10\r\nDAYS >= 1.00        2               2.3    -0.3        2\r\nGREATEST\r\n 24 HR. TOTAL    1.38   2016                5\/26 TO 5\/27\r\n                 1.22   2016                4\/15 TO 4\/16\r\n                 0.77   2016                3\/23 TO 3\/23\r\nSNOWFALL RECORDS JANUARY THROUGH DECEMBER TOTALS\r\n               MAXIMUM           MINIMUM\r\n                115.9   1913       18.9    1887\r\n                112.0   1959       21.5    1888\r\n                 99.2   1929       21.8    1890\r\n 24 HR TOTAL     23.6   12\/24\/1982 TO 12\/24\/1982\r\n\r\nTOTALS           61.6              53.8     7.8     64.4\r\n LIQUID EQUIV    6.16              5.40    0.76     6.44\r\nSINCE 7\/1        11.4              22.5   -11.1     22.6\r\n LIQUID 7\/1      1.14              2.20   -1.06     2.26\r\nSNOWDEPTH AVG.      0                MM      MM        0\r\nDAYS >= TRACE      37              33.3     3.7       51\r\nDAYS >= 1.0        13              16.3    -3.3       25\r\nGREATEST\r\n SNOW DEPTH        10   03\/24                          9  02\/23\r\n 24 HR TOTAL     13.1   03\/23\r\n                 11.8   04\/16\r\n                  6.9   02\/01\r\n\r\n STORM TOTAL     13.1   03\/23\r\n\r\nDEGREE_DAYS\r\nHEATING TOTAL    5415              6059    -644     5479\r\n SINCE 7\/1       2042              2468    -426     5575\r\nCOOLING TOTAL     878               769     109      877\r\n SINCE 1\/1        878               769     109      877\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              10.0\r\nRESULTANT WIND SPEED\/DIRECTION   2\/194\r\nHIGHEST WIND SPEED\/DIRECTION    54\/340    DATE  07\/24\r\nHIGHEST GUST SPEED\/DIRECTION    74\/340    DATE  07\/24\r\n\r\nSKY COVER\r\nPOSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT)   MM\r\nAVERAGE SKY COVER           0.50\r\nNUMBER OF DAYS FAIR           94\r\nNUMBER OF DAYS PC            210\r\nNUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY         62\r\n\r\nAVERAGE RH (PERCENT)     50\r\n\r\nWEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH\r\nTHUNDERSTORM              0     MIXED PRECIP               0\r\nHEAVY RAIN                3     RAIN                      13\r\nLIGHT RAIN               72     FREEZING RAIN              0\r\nLT FREEZING RAIN          0     HAIL                       4\r\nHEAVY SNOW                5     SNOW                      17\r\nLIGHT SNOW               39     SLEET                      0\r\nFOG                      80     FOG W\/VIS <= 1\/4 MILE     26\r\nHAZE                     33\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.\r\n\r\n..........2016 CLIMATE YEAR IN REVIEW........... \r\n\r\nTHE YEAR OF 2016 IN DENVER, THE FRONT RANGE AND NORTHERN COLORADO,\r\nWAS A TRANSITION FROM STRONG EL NINO CONDITIONS OVER TO WEAK LA NINA\r\nAND INTO THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT WHICH IS ENSO NEUTRAL. AS EL NINO\r\nCONDITIONS WEAKENED FROM MID-WINTER THROUGH LATE SPRING 2016,\r\nTEMPERATURES CAME IN WARMER THAN AVERAGE FOR JANUARY THROUGH MARCH\r\nALONG WITH NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE THREE\r\nMONTHS. DENVER`S WETTEST MONTH OF 2016 ARRIVED IN APRIL WITH 2.56\r\nINCHES OF PRECIPITATION ALONG WITH 18.4 INCHES OF SNOW. TEMPERATURES\r\nFOR THEN COOLED TO NEAR AVERAGE FOR APRIL AHEAD OF ABOVE AVERAGE\r\nPRECIPITATION AND FURTHER COOLING INTO MAY. MAY WAS THE SECOND\r\nWETTEST MONTH OF 2016 AND ALSO HAD THE COLDEST MONTHLY DEPARTURE\r\nFROM AVERAGE FOR THE YEAR AT 2.7 DEGREES BELOW DENVER`S MONTHLY MAY\r\nNORMAL.\r\n\r\nWITH WATER TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS RAPIDLY CHANGING IN THE EQUATORIAL\r\nPACIFIC REGION IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2016, NORTHERN COLORADO AND THE\r\nHIGH PLAINS STATES TRANSITIONED INTO A DIFFERENT PATTERN AS WELL.\r\nTHE FIVE MONTHS OF JUNE THROUGH OCTOBER ALL REGISTERED PRECIPITATION\r\nTOTALS BELOW THEIR MONTHLY AVERAGE. AUGUST RECEIVED A MERE 0.22\r\nINCHES OF PRECIPITATION IN DENVER WHICH WAS 1.47 INCHES BELOW\r\nAVERAGE AND WAS THE LOWEST PERCENTAGE OF NORMAL OF ALL MONTHS OF\r\n2016 AT 13 PERCENT.\r\n\r\nAS A LARGE AND STRONG RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE PERSISTED ACROSS THE\r\nCENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ROCKIES FROM MID SUMMER INTO MID FALL,\r\nTEMPERATURES REFLECTED THIS WITH OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER LANDING WELL\r\nABOVE THEIR MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. BOTH OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER\r\nIN DENVER CAME IN WITH MONTHLY TEMPERATURE DEPARTURES OF 6.9 AND 6.8\r\nDEGREES ABOVE AVERAGE RESPECTIVELY. PRECIPITATION ALSO HELD BELOW\r\nNORMAL FOR THESE TWO MONTHS AS WELL WITH 0.26 INCHES IN OCTOBER AND\r\n0.52 INCHES IN NOVEMBER. HOWEVER, WITH TWO MOIST AND WINTER-LIKE\r\nPACIFIC DISTURBANCES IN MID NOVEMBER, THE DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL IN\r\nNOVEMBER WAS ONLY -0.09 OR 85 PERCENT OF AVERAGE.\r\n\r\nAS METEOROLOGISTS OBSERVED THE DEVELOPING NORTHERN HEMISPHERIC\r\nPATTERN FROM LATE NOVEMBER INTO EARLY DECEMBER, IT WAS CLEAR THAT A\r\nCHANGE FOR THE COLDER WAS COMING TO MUCH OF THE UNITED STATES,\r\nINCLUDING DENVER. IN EARLY DECEMBER, WINDS ALOFT BROADLY EXTENDED\r\nLONGITUDINALLY FROM THE ARCTIC REGION NORTH OF SIBERIA, ACROSS THE\r\nNORTH POLE REGION AND INTO SOUTHERN CANADA. FRIGID ARCTIC AIR WAS\r\nBROUGHT SOUTHWARD INTO CANADA AND ACROSS MUCH OF THE CENTRAL UNITED\r\nSTATES AS A RESULT. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER PATTERN OF\r\nPERSISTENT NORTHERLY WINDS ALOFT ACROSS NORTHERN LATITUDES WHICH\r\nUSHERED IN ANOTHER PERIOD OF COLD AND SNOWFALL AHEAD OF THE\r\nCHRISTMAS HOLIDAY. THESE TWO SYSTEMS WERE ENOUGH TO BRING DECEMBER`S\r\nAVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE DOWN TO -2.2 BELOW NORMAL ALONG WITH\r\nABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION AND SNOWFALL.\r\n\r\nWHEN 2016 ENDED, THE AVERAGE ANNUAL TEMPERATURE FOR DENVER FINALIZED\r\nAT 52.3 DEGREES, WHICH IS 1.8 DEGREES ABOVE THE 1981-2010 ANNUAL\r\nAVERAGE OF 50.5 DEGREES. THIS RANKS AS 14TH WARMEST IN DENVER`S 145\r\nYEAR TEMPERATURE HISTORY. THE WARMEST YEAR IN DENVER`S WEATHER\r\nHISTORY WAS IN 1934 WITH AN AVERAGE ANNUAL TEMPERATURE OF 54.8\r\nDEGREES. THE COLDEST YEAR WAS 1912 WITH AN ANNUAL AVERAGE OF 47.6\r\nDEGREES.\r\n\r\nFOR THE PRECIPITATION CATEGORY, 2016 IN DENVER WAS ON THE DRY SIDE\r\nOF THE 1981-2010 ANNUAL AVERAGE. THE YEAR ENDED WITH 11.85 INCHES OF\r\nPRECIPITATION WHICH WAS 2.45 INCHES BELOW THE ANNUAL NORMAL OF 14.30\r\nINCHES, OR 83 PERCENT OF NORMAL. THE ANNUAL TOTAL OF 11.85 INCHES\r\nRANKS AS 37TH DRIEST IN DENVER`S 145 YEAR WEATHER HISTORY. THE\r\nWETTEST YEAR IN DENVER`S WEATHER HISTORY WAS IN 1967 WHEN 23.31\r\nINCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL. DENVER`S DRIEST YEAR OCCURRED IN 2002\r\nWHEN ONLY 7.48 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION WAS RECORDED.<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Another year in the books for us and as we look back on our overall weather for 2016, we see overall temperatures were warmer than normal while precipitation fell a good bit short of normal.\u00a0 The year did seem to lack any major drama in terms of severe weather or winter storms which is likely … Continue reading 2016 Thornton annual weather recap: A warmer, drier than normal year<\/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":[780],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17160"}],"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=17160"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17176,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17160\/revisions\/17176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}