{"id":1747,"date":"2009-08-02T01:01:09","date_gmt":"2009-08-02T08:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/?p=1747"},"modified":"2009-08-02T01:01:27","modified_gmt":"2009-08-02T08:01:27","slug":"august-2-to-august-8-this-week-in-denver-weather-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/thornton-weather\/august-2-to-august-8-this-week-in-denver-weather-history\/","title":{"rendered":"August 2 to August 8 – This week in Denver weather history"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"August
August 2 to August 8 - This week in Denver weather history<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On first glance our look at this week in Denver weather history appears to be less eventful than many we have looked at previously.\u00a0 However, the severity of the events that appear on the historical weather calendar this week are enough to make you stand up and pay attention.\u00a0 While August is typically a pretty quiet weather month, it is clear that severe weather can certainly strike and Thornton is mentioned in more than one significant event.<\/p>\n

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

2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1878…the high temperature reached 100 degrees in downtown Denver.
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\nIn 1911…an apparent dry microburst produced sustained west winds to 42 mph.
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\nIn 1972…one workman was killed and another injured when a strong gust of wind destroyed a partially completed apartment building in south Denver.\u00a0 Hail to 1 3\/4 inch diameter fell in Golden.
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\nIn 1973…hail to 3\/4 inch diameter was reported in Boulder.
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\nIn 1986…a major outbreak of severe thunderstorms occurred along the Front Range.\u00a0 Thunderstorms developed explosively.\u00a0 Some places were hit by large hail twice. Two inch diameter hail broke car windows on I-25 west of Brighton…and up to 1 1\/4 inch hail broke windows in Thornton.\u00a0 Baseball size hail damaged several planes near Watkins.\u00a0 Funnel clouds were sighted around Aurora.\u00a0 Hail over 1\/2 inch in diameter covered the ground 3 to 4 inches deep at Hudson northeast of Denver.\u00a0 Most of the hail fell north of metro Denver…but 3\/4 inch diameter hail was measured at Stapleton International Airport.\u00a0 Total damage from the hail storms this day was estimated at over 10 million dollars.
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\nIn 1991…late afternoon thunderstorms produced heavy rain across metro Denver.\u00a0 Two feet of water covered parts of I-25 in southeast Denver…while one foot of water covered parts of U.S. Highway 285 in Englewood.\u00a0 Thunderstorm rainfall totaled 0.50 inch at Stapleton International Airport.
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\nIn 2001…severe thunderstorms producing heavy rain and hail… Either washed out or damaged several County roads in the Watkins and Bennett areas.\u00a0 A small tornado (f0) touched down near Bennett…but did no damage.\u00a0 Hail as large as 1 3\/4 inches in diameter fell near Watkins.\u00a0 One inch diameter hail was measured near Hudson and Keenesburg.
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\nIn 2008…strong winds blew several trees down in Denver… Damaging homes and downing power lines.\u00a0 A peak wind gust of 67 mph occurred at Centennial Airport…with gusts to 60 mph estimated in Denver.\u00a0 A peak wind gust of 37 mph was measured at Denver International Airport.\u00a0 An elderly man was killed when a wind damaged tree broke free and crushed him while he attempted to remove it.\u00a0 The downed power lines caused outages to about 500 Xcel energy customers.<\/p>\n

2-3\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1876…grasshoppers were in great abundance in the city and caused considerable damage to gardens and to crops in the surrounding farms and ranches.
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\nIn 1951…heavy thunderstorms rumbled across metro Denver through the night.\u00a0 Heavy rain totaled 3.45 inches at Stapleton Airport.\u00a0 This was the greatest 24 hour precipitation ever recorded during the month of august in Denver.
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\nIn 2007…heavy rain caused localized flash flooding near Ft. Lupton.\u00a0 Up to 8 inches of water was reported across County road 18.\u00a0 In addition…several other County roads in the immediate area were washed out.<\/p>\n

3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1878…the high temperature climbed to 100 degrees in downtown Denver.
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\nIn 1900…a thunderstorm produced west winds sustained to 48 mph with gusts to 55 mph…but only a trace of rain.
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\nIn 1903…a thunderstorm produced a trace of rainfall and northwest winds sustained to 45 mph with gusts to 60 mph. The high temperature was 99 degrees.
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\nIn 1927…a thunderstorm produced hail and sustained north winds to 22 mph.
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\nIn 1933…heavy cloudburst rains caused the failure of the Castlewood dam…which resulted in flash flooding on Cherry Creek…the deaths of 7 people in Denver…and flood damage estimated at 1 million dollars.\u00a0 Lower Denver was flooded during the morning by waters pouring down Cherry Creek and its valley from Castlewood Dam…which had broken between midnight and 2:00 am.\u00a0 Heavy rain of 3 to 9 inches in 9 hours in the watershed above the dam resulted in the failure.\u00a0 At 7:30 am…the flow in Cherry Creek was reported at 16 thousand second-feet as compared with a peak flow of 3 thousand second-feet in other years.\u00a0 The flood waters ruined hundreds of acres of crops and drowned scores of farm animals.\u00a0 Six bridges in Denver were swept away. Great deposits of mud were left in the lower sections of the city…including hundreds of basements and lower floors of buildings.\u00a0 At the end of the month…a deadly stench still rose from swampy areas near the lower city limits.
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\nIn 1963…heavy thunderstorm rains in the Parker area caused Cherry Creek to overflow…which damaged roads.
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\nIn 1985…a tornado touched down briefly about 10 miles northeast of Parker.\u00a0 No damage was reported.
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\nIn 1991…upslope northeast winds produced chilly temperature readings and heavy rain across metro Denver.\u00a0 Rainfall… With no thunder…totaled 1.56 inches at Stapleton International Airport where the heavy rain briefly reduced the surface visibility to 7\/8 mile.\u00a0 The mercury climbed to a high of only 63 degrees.
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\nIn 1992…a thunderstorm wind gust to 64 mph was recorded in Brighton.\u00a0 A wind gust to 60 mph was measured near the construction site of the new Denver International Airport. Lightning started a fire in an Evergreen church…causing over 75 thousand dollars in damage.
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\nIn 1998…3\/4 inch hail fell in Jefferson County 15 miles northwest of Arvada.
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\nIn 2006…heavy thunderstorm rainfall caused flash flooding along Leyden Creek in unincorporated Jefferson County. An automated rain gauge on upper Leyden Creek…6 miles northwest of Arvada…measured 2.68 inches of rainfall in less than 2 hours.\u00a0 Two to three feet of water covered the roadway at the intersection of 82nd and Quaker Street.<\/p>\n

3-4\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1988…two inches of rain fell in 3 hours at both Morrison and Wheat Ridge.\u00a0 Thunderstorm rainfall totaled 0.80 inch overnight at Stapleton International Airport.<\/p>\n

4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1889…southwest winds were sustained to 42 mph with an extreme velocity to 52 mph.
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\nIn 1924…0.01 inch of rain fell over downtown Denver.\u00a0 This along with the 0.01 inch of rainfall on the 10th was the only rainfall of the month…the driest august on record.
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\nIn 1963…heavy rains in the foothills above Idaho Springs caused mud and rock slides which closed U.S. Highways 6 and 40 for a time.
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\nIn 1976…hail to 1 inch diameter was reported 12 miles southwest of Denver.\u00a0\u00a0 Hail to 3\/4 inch in diameter was reported in Lakewood.\u00a0 Small hail…1\/4 to 1\/2 inch in diameter…fell at Stapleton International Airport.
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\nIn 1982…heavy rain poured through the roof of a clothing store in Aurora…causing widespread water damage.\u00a0 The roof was being repaired when the storm hit.
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\nIn 1983…hail up to one inch in diameter fell in Aurora where heavy rain produced street flooding.
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\nIn 1984…a Colorado state trooper was struck and injured by lightning in Northglenn.
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\nIn 1989…a microburst wind gust to 52 mph was recorded at Stapleton International Airport.
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\nIn 1997…lightning sparked a small fire in a home in Arvada… Causing minor damage.\u00a0 Several intersections in both Arvada and Westminster were flooded by thunderstorms producing heavy rain.\u00a0 Several cars were damaged by the high waters… And a number of businesses were flooded.
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\nIn 1999…flooding and flash flooding problems developed over metro Denver as slow moving thunderstorms dumped from 2 to 3.5 inches of rainfall in about 3 hours.\u00a0 Near the junction of I-25 and U.S. Highway 36…up to 4 feet of water flooded an auto dealership.\u00a0 About 45 cars were ruined.\u00a0 Damage estimates to the dealership alone totaled nearly a half million dollars.\u00a0 Sections of I-25 and U.S. 36 near the interchange were closed due to floodwaters.\u00a0 Floodwaters… Up to 5 feet deep…forced the evacuation of two mobile home parks in Federal Heights.\u00a0 Railroad tracks were washed out near Federal Blvd. and 64th Avenue.\u00a0 Numerous power outages caused widespread blackouts in Thornton and Littleton.\u00a0 Along Massey Draw near Carr St. and Chatfield Reservoir…4 homes were flood damaged and portions of their backyards washed out.\u00a0 Widespread street flooding was also reported in Boulder where several buildings were flood damaged…including the University of Colorado Memorial Center.
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\nIn 2004…two golfers were shocked when lightning struck the eighth green of the golf course at Castle Pines North of Castle Rock.\u00a0 The two men suffered only minor injuries. Heavy thunderstorm rain from the same storm caused flash flooding.\u00a0 Floodwaters rushed across parts of U.S. Highway 85 near the entrance to the castle pines golf club.\u00a0 The traffic lanes were covered with up to 6 inches of running water.
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\nIn 2008…lightning sparked a grassfire that consumed 300 acres on the northern edge of Green Mountain…in Jefferson County.\u00a0 Gusty winds and very dry conditions allowed the wildfire to quickly spread and threaten several houses. Fortunately…only minor damage was reported to homes due to smoke and melted siding.<\/p>\n

5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1881…the low temperature cooled to only 76 degrees…the record high minimum temperature for the month.
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\nIn 1889…southwest winds were sustained to 42 mph.
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\nIn 1918…hail pelted the city…but was light and caused no damage.\u00a0 Precipitation totaled 0.25 inch.\u00a0 Northwest winds were sustained to 31 mph.
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\nIn 1964…lightning struck two boys in Denver while playing ball.\u00a0 One was treated and released from the hospital…but the other boy suffered second degree electrical shock and cardiac arrest and was hospitalized in critical condition for several days.
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\nIn 1969…two tornadoes touched down briefly in an open field southeast of Buckley Field in Aurora.\u00a0 No damage was reported.
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\nIn 1970…heavy rain in the Indian Hills area in the foothills west of Denver caused flash flooding…which washed out roads and damaged other property.\u00a0 Hail accumulated to a 3 inch depth with stones up to golf ball size; however…most of the damage was from flooding.
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\nIn 1982…2.38 inches of rain fell in an hour in Arvada… Causing minor flooding on Ralston Creek.\u00a0 In Westminster… 1 1\/2 inches of rain fell…causing damage to streets and culverts.\u00a0 In addition…lightning caused some minor power outages across metro Denver.
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\nIn 1983…very heavy thunderstorms hit the southern portion of metro Denver.\u00a0 Heavy rainfall…as much as 2.89 inches in 38 minutes…caused widespread street flooding in southeast Denver.\u00a0 Two feet of water covered a section of I-25.\u00a0 Hail up to golf ball size accompanied the storm in Littleton and Englewood…along with 60 mph winds.
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\nIn 1984…a heavy thunderstorm drenched Littleton with up to 2.35 inches of rain in an hour…along with small hail that piled up to 2 inches deep.\u00a0 Flood waters were up to 4 feet deep in parts of town with many basements flooded.\u00a0 There were some power outages caused by lightning.
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\nIn 1990…a thunderstorm dumped 1.25 inches of rain in 12 minutes near Tower and Smoky Hill roads in southeast Aurora.\u00a0 Minor street flooding was reported in the area.
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\nIn 1992…a pilot reported two funnel clouds near Cheery Creek Reservoir.\u00a0 Both dissipated quickly.\u00a0 Dime size hail fell near Franktown.
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\nIn 1994…one inch diameter hail fell near Strasburg.\u00a0 No damage was reported.
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\nIn 1999…a dog kennel east of Denver International Airport… Was flooded when a small dam…upstream in Elbert County… Was breached.\u00a0 The floodwaters…up to 4 feet deep…washed away some 6-foot fences and other small buildings.\u00a0 Ten of the 70 dogs boarded at the kennel drowned.
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\nIn 2002…a mail carrier was struck by lightning as he inserted a key into a multi-unit mailbox in Bailey. The shock knocked the man back against the mail truck. He suffered minor injuries.\u00a0 Lightning struck a residence in Commerce City.\u00a0 The resulting fire destroyed the roof of a detached garage and damaged much of its contents. Hail as large as 1 3\/4 inches in diameter pelted pine. One inch diameter hail fell in Arvada and southwest Denver. Heavy rain triggered a mudslide along U.S. Highway 285 near bailey.\u00a0 Both lanes of traffic had to be closed until debris could be removed from the highway.\u00a0 Several residences in the Bailey and Glenisle areas were also flooded.
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\nIn 2004…heavy thunderstorm rainfall caused localized flash flooding in Virginia Canyon near Idaho Springs.\u00a0 Sections of the Virginia Canyon Road had to be closed due to the floodwaters.
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\nIn 2008…a severe thunderstorm produced large hail…up to 1 1\/4 inches in diameter…northeast of Parker.\u00a0 Several automobiles were damaged.<\/p>\n

6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1877…a severe rain…hail…and wind storm struck Denver. The storm produced a one minute sustained wind speed of 75 mph.\u00a0 Rainfall totaled 1.00 inch in 25 minutes.\u00a0 The hail storm damaged vegetable gardens in the city.
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\nIn 1954…an unconfirmed tornado was reported in Westminster. A funnel cloud was sighted in the area…but it was not certain if it had touched down.\u00a0 No damage was reported.
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\nIn 1980…the temperature reached 100 degrees…setting a new record high for the date.
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\nIn 1982…3\/4 inch diameter hail was reported in north Denver. Heavy rain caused street flooding in central Denver where 4 to 5 feet of water inundated I-25…closing the freeway for a while.\u00a0 Rainfall across metro Denver ranged up to 2.35 inches in just over an hour.\u00a0 An estimated 2000 basements were flooded.\u00a0 Only 0.01 inch of rain fell at Stapleton International Airport.
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\nIn 1991…heavy rain caused flooding at the junction of I-25 and I-70.\u00a0 Dime size hail was reported northeast of Boulder near Niwot.
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\nIn 1995…microburst winds gusting as high as 58 mph caused minor damage to an apartment complex in Broomfield.\u00a0 Some homes under construction were also damaged when the winds knocked over 2 by 4 wood beams along with some insulation and roofing materials…which broke a few windows. Microburst winds also overturned a camper near Barr Lake.
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\nIn 1996…hail ranging in size from 1 to 1 1\/2 inches fell near Bennett.
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\nIn 2001…3\/4 inch hail fell in the foothills near Conifer.
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\nIn 2008…a record daily rainfall record was set at Denver International Airport.\u00a0 The record of 1.29 inches in 24 hours broke the previous record of 1.10 inches set in 1929.<\/p>\n

7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1948…a brief west moving tornado was sighted 3 miles north-northeast of Stapleton Airport.\u00a0 The white funnel silhouetted against a gray cloud background was very narrow…nearly vertical…and estimated at nearly 5 thousand feet high.\u00a0 A dust cloud formed on the ground around the funnel.\u00a0 No damage was reported.
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\nIn 1952…a thunderstorm wind gust to 52 mph was recorded at Stapleton Airport.<\/p>\n

8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1874…swarms of grasshoppers invaded the city.\u00a0 Millions of them were seen cruising through the air.\u00a0 The insects were apparently picked up by a thunderstorm gust front and carried into the city.\u00a0 The grasshoppers had ravaged crops in surrounding counties for the last month.
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\nIn 1878…the highest temperature ever recorded in Denver…105 degrees…occurred at 3:20 pm.\u00a0 This temperature was equaled on July 20th in 2005.
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\nIn 1969…the temperature reached 100 degrees at Stapleton International Airport.
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\nIn 1976…in Thornton…a 13 year old boy riding a bicycle was struck and killed by lightning.
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\nIn 2000…lightning struck three homes in central Arapahoe County east of Denver.\u00a0 Damage was estimated at 47 thousand dollars.
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\nIn 2003…hail to 1 inch in diameter pelted Denver.\u00a0 Hail to 7\/8 inch was measured in Boulder.
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\nIn 2008…heavy rain also caused flash flooding over south Denver and its nearby suburbs. Heavy rain…from 2.5 to 4 inches…fell in less than 90 minutes.\u00a0 Firefighters rescued 20 people as the water quickly rose along creeks…flooded roadways…and stranded motorists.\u00a0 Three people had to be rescued along Cherry Creek when the bike path flooded.\u00a0 In Evergreen…a man suffered minor injuries when he was struck by lightning.\u00a0 It entered his finger…traveled down his body… And exited his foot.<\/p>\n

8-10\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1979…heavy thunderstorm rains on each of three consecutive days dumped a total of 2.22 inches of rain at Stapleton International Airport.\u00a0 The heaviest rain… 0.95 inches…fell on the 9th.\u00a0 Small hail to 1\/8 inch diameter fell on the 8th.<\/p>\n

8-13\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1875…clouds of grasshoppers were seen flying through the air on the prevailing winds during each day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On first glance our look at this week in Denver weather history appears to be less eventful than many we have looked at previously.\u00a0 However, the severity of the events that appear on the historical weather calendar this week are enough to make you stand up and pay attention.\u00a0 While August is typically a pretty … Continue reading August 2 to August 8 – This week in Denver weather history<\/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":[7,63],"tags":[81,106,62,741],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1747"}],"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=1747"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1750,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1747\/revisions\/1750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}