{"id":21763,"date":"2021-08-22T05:05:03","date_gmt":"2021-08-22T11:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/?p=21763"},"modified":"2021-08-23T05:08:31","modified_gmt":"2021-08-23T11:08:31","slug":"august-22-to-august-28-this-week-in-denver-weather-history-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/weather-history\/august-22-to-august-28-this-week-in-denver-weather-history-2\/","title":{"rendered":"August 22 to August 28: This week in Denver weather history"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/This-Week-in-Denver-Weather-History.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-20209\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/This-Week-in-Denver-Weather-History-590x331.jpg\" alt=\"This Week in Denver Weather History\" width=\"590\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/This-Week-in-Denver-Weather-History-590x331.jpg 590w, https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/This-Week-in-Denver-Weather-History-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/This-Week-in-Denver-Weather-History-450x253.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/This-Week-in-Denver-Weather-History-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/This-Week-in-Denver-Weather-History.jpg 849w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Lightning is a very real danger here in Colorado.\u00a0 The outdoor-centric lifestyle we lead oftentimes puts us in situations when we are better off heading for cover.\u00a0 The dangers of not properly taking shelter when lightning is in the area are highlighted by a number of events in our look back at this week in Denver weather history.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ThorntonWeather\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Join us on Facebook for all the latest!<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>19-30<\/p>\n<p>In 1875\u2026grasshoppers appeared in great numbers at 10:00 am on the 19th.\u00a0 Thousands landed on the ground.\u00a0 The streets were literally covered with them.\u00a0 Swarms of grasshoppers were seen on each day.\u00a0 All gardens in the city were devastated\u2026and in the countryside the grasshoppers were very destructive to ripened grain.\u00a0 On the 30th the grasshoppers were so numerous as to almost darken the sun.<\/p>\n<p>22<\/p>\n<p>In 1898\u2026an apparent thunderstorm produced southwest sustained winds to 40 mph with gusts to 43 mph.<\/p>\n<p>In 1903\u2026a late afternoon thunderstorm produced rain\u2026hail\u2026 And east winds sustained to 40 mph with gusts to 44 mph.<\/p>\n<p>In 1904\u2026the lowest recorded temperature in August\u202640 degrees\u2026occurred.\u00a0 The same temperature also occurred on three consecutive days\u2026August 24\u202625\u2026and 26 in 1910.<\/p>\n<p>In 1965\u2026heavy rain and hail caused some damage from flooding over northern Douglas County from Castle Rock to Franktown.<\/p>\n<p>In 1981\u2026thunderstorms moved across metro Denver.\u00a0 At least 5 funnel cloud sightings were reported.\u00a0 Funnel clouds were seen at 96th Ave. And Sheridan Blvd. and at 92nd Ave. and Federal Blvd. In Westminster and 7 miles north of Stapleton International Airport.\u00a0 Lightning injured two people in Boulder.\u00a0 A quarter inch of rain fell in just 5 minutes in Brighton.\u00a0 Up to 3\/4 inch of rain doused Parker in 30 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>In 1983\u20263\/4 inch diameter hail was reported at Kittredge\u2026 Along with 0.60 inch of rain in 25 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>In 1984\u2026a thunderstorm dumped 4 inches of rain on Brighton in 90 minutes\u2026causing extensive street flooding in the downtown area.<\/p>\n<p>In 1987\u2026over an inch of rain fell in 24 hours throughout most of metro Denver.\u00a0 A public library suffered water damage to the ceiling\u2026carpet\u2026and a few books.\u00a0 Rainfall was 0.76 inch at Stapleton International Airport.<\/p>\n<p>In 1990\u2026lightning knocked out power to about 2500 homes in Lakewood for about an hour.<\/p>\n<p>In 1991\u2026National Weather Service personnel at Stapleton International Airport sighted an apparent tornado briefly on the ground 3 miles west-northwest of the airport.\u00a0 No damage was reported.<\/p>\n<p>In 1995\u2026lightning struck 3 electrical power substations in Louisville.\u00a0 Residences of more than 4500 people were without power from 30 minutes to more than an hour.<\/p>\n<p>In 1996\u2026between 1 and 3 inches of rain fell across metro Denver.\u00a0 As a result\u2026several low lying areas were flooded. A bicyclist was swept into a fast moving creek when he tried to cross a flooded bike path.\u00a0 The man was washed downstream about 15 feet before getting snagged by a tree stump.\u00a0 He and a man who tried to rescue him received minor injuries.\u00a0 The heavy rain caused numerous power outages\u2026false fire alarms\u2026and traffic accidents. In Lakewood\u2026telephone service to around 60 thousand residents was knocked out when a switching center was flooded.\u00a0 Funnel clouds were sighted near Chatfield Reservoir and Highlands Ranch.<\/p>\n<p>In 2000\u2026lightning sparked a blaze which gutted a 10-unit apartment building in Highlands Ranch.\u00a0 Twenty-eight people were left homeless.\u00a0 Damage was estimated at 2 million dollars.<\/p>\n<p>In 2007\u2026severe thunderstorms produced large hail\u2026up to 1 1\/4 inches in diameter\u2026in the vicinities of Castle Rock\u2026 Elizabeth and Franktown.<\/p>\n<p>In 2013&#8230;flash flooding occurred in central Douglas County with numerous road closures reported. One of the closures occurred at the Tomah Road exit along I-25&#8230;south of Castle Rock. The closure backed up all I-25 the way to Castle Rock. At Denver International Airport&#8230;1.94 inches of precipitation was recorded&#8230;which set a new record rainfall for the date. The old record was 0.75 inches&#8230; set back in 1953.<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"more-2911\"><\/span>22-24<\/p>\n<p>In 1987\u2026some locations in metro Denver had a total 3-day rainfall of 2 to 4 inches.\u00a0 Rainfall totaled 0.96 inch at Stapleton International Airport.<\/p>\n<p>23<\/p>\n<p>In 1900\u2026northwest winds were sustained to 42 mph with gusts to 49 mph.<\/p>\n<p>In 1921\u2026a thunderstorm cloudburst produced 2.20 inches of rainfall in an hour over downtown Denver.\u00a0 This is the greatest 1 hour rainfall on record at the official observing site in the city.\u00a0 Precipitation totaled 2.93 inches\u2026which is the greatest calendar day precipitation ever recorded in August.<\/p>\n<p>In 1941\u2026one man was killed by lightning about 2 miles from the official weather station in downtown Denver.<\/p>\n<p>In 1962\u2026a home near Boulder was destroyed by a lightning- caused fire.<\/p>\n<p>In 1968\u2026strong winds buffeted Boulder briefly during the early morning hours.\u00a0 At the National Center for Atmospheric Research\u2026winds averaged 55 mph with gusts to 85 mph.\u00a0 Damage was minor.\u00a0 Northwest winds gusted to 31 mph at Stapleton International Airport.<\/p>\n<p>In 1977\u2026lightning damaged at least 6 homes in Aurora.<\/p>\n<p>In 2008\u2026a landspout touched down near Westcreek in Douglas County.\u00a0 One man was seriously injured when he tried to escaped several falling trees in his ATV.\u00a0 One of the trees struck his back and broke two vertebrae.\u00a0 Another camper narrowly escaped injury.\u00a0 Seconds after he back up his truck\u2026a tree came down where it had been parked.<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->24<\/p>\n<p>In 1880\u2026a thunderstorm produced vivid lightning and heavy rainfall\u2026which caused flooding over the eastern part of the city including the brick yards.\u00a0 There was no rainfall recorded in downtown Denver.<\/p>\n<p>In 1910\u2026an apparent dry cold front caused a remarkable drop in temperature.\u00a0 From 3:00 pm until midnight the temperature fell from a high of 93 degrees to a low of 40 degrees. Northeast winds were sustained to 44 mph during the late afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>In 1946\u2026heavy rain near Idledale caused flooding on bear creek at Morrison\u2026which resulted in one death when a woman was swept from her stranded car and drowned.<\/p>\n<p>In 1973\u2026strong winds blew down a few power lines and hail up to 3\/4 inch diameter fell in southeast Aurora.<\/p>\n<p>In 1984\u2026heavy rain hit the south Denver area.\u00a0 Over an inch fell in less than an hour at both Castle Rock and Sedalia.<\/p>\n<p>In 1992\u2026heavy rains caused flash flooding across parts of metro Denver.\u00a0 Rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches fell with the hardest hit areas being the southwest and central parts of metro Denver.\u00a0 Bear Creek rose above bankfull near Idledale with flood waters moving into southwest metro Denver.\u00a0 Mud and rock slides along Colorado Highway 74 west of Morrison were reported.\u00a0 The confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River in downtown Denver also went out of its banks\u2026flooding bike paths.\u00a0 Rainfall totaled 1.98 inches at Stapleton International Airport where light to moderate rain fell most of the day.\u00a0 Heavy rain and fog briefly reduced the surface visibility to 1 1\/2 miles.\u00a0 The temperature climbed to a high of only 58 degrees\u2026which was a record low maximum for the date.<\/p>\n<p>In 2002\u2026hail to 7\/8 inch in diameter was measured in southwest Denver.<\/p>\n<p>In 2008\u2026several landspout tornadoes developed along a boundary to the southeast of the Denver metropolitan area during the Democratic National Convention.\u00a0 In northwest Elbert County\u2026 Minor damage was reported.\u00a0 The damage consisted of downed power lines\u2026broken windows and an out building.\u00a0 Severe thunderstorms also produced very heavy rain and large hail\u2026 Up to one inch in diameter.\u00a0 In southwest Douglas County\u2026 Heavy rain caused flash flooding near the town of Westcreek. A mudslide closed State Highway 67.\u00a0 The road in the YMCA Camp Shady Brook was also washed out and some bridges were damaged.<\/p>\n<p>24-26<\/p>\n<p>In 1910\u2026the lowest temperature ever recorded in August\u202640 degrees\u2026occurred on each of these days and on August 22\u2026 1904.\u00a0 The unusually cold weather for so early in the season brought sub-freezing minimum temperatures to much of the Colorado northeastern plains.<\/p>\n<p>25<\/p>\n<p>In 1951\u2026a microburst produced a southwest wind gust to 50 mph at Stapleton Airport.\u00a0 Only a trace of rain was observed.<\/p>\n<p>In 1964\u2026thunderstorm winds gusted to 59 mph and caused some blowing dust at Stapleton International Airport.<\/p>\n<p>In 1994\u2026lightning struck a power pole in Louisville and caused a two-hour power outage.<\/p>\n<p>In 2008\u2026an unoccupied home was struck by lightning in Aurora\u2026 Causing 75 thousand dollars in damage to the roof.<\/p>\n<p>26<\/p>\n<p>In 1944\u2026one of the most destructive hailstorms in the city in a decade caused damage estimated at nearly one million dollars.\u00a0 The storm occurred within a period of 10 to 30 minutes\u2026between 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm.\u00a0 The hail varied in size from very small to as large as 1 1\/2 inches in diameter.\u00a0 Hail covered the ground to a depth of 5 to 6 inches in some sections of the city.\u00a0 Several people were cut by broken glass.\u00a0 The hail and heavy rain flooded underpasses to a depth of 6 feet\u2026and the occupants of stalled autos had to be rescued.\u00a0 Sewers were unable to handle the sudden amount of water and water backed up and flooded a number of basements.\u00a0 A few first floors of buildings were flooded.\u00a0 The water department had a busy time replacing manhole covers that had been displaced by the water pressure.\u00a0 Trees were stripped\u2026one was severely broken\u2026and telephone lines were downed.\u00a0 Roofs\u2026windows\u2026 Automobiles\u2026awnings\u2026and gardens were severely damaged. Flowers and gardens in some sections of the city were a total loss.\u00a0 Greenhouses were extensively broken with an estimated 20 carloads of glass shattered.\u00a0 Vegetable and truck crops in and around the city were severely shredded. The next day the American Red Cross was designated by the war agency to grant any and all priorities needed to obtain materials and supplies to replace and repair the damage. In downtown Denver\u2026the thunderstorm produced 0.95 inch of rain and heavy hail along with sustained northwest winds to 25 mph.<\/p>\n<p>In 1961\u2026strong winds blew in the walls of a warehouse under construction in Denver.\u00a0 Two workmen suffered a fractured foot and body bruises.<\/p>\n<p>In 2014&#8230;two men in central Denver were struck by lightning as they sat under a tree to avoid a heavy downpour. One of the men was unconscious and had no pulse when emergency responders arrived. He was immediately taken to Denver Health was listed in critical condition. The other victim suffered less severe injuries. He was treated at the scene and hospitalized&#8230;then released a few hours later.<\/p>\n<p>26-27<\/p>\n<p>In 1980\u2026two heavy thunderstorms hit Arvada and Westminster\u2026 Dumping up to 1.50 inches of rain in less than an hour. At least two streets were washed out and a number of homes and cars were damaged when a creek flooded.\u00a0 Three homes in Arvada sustained minor lightning damage.<\/p>\n<p>27<\/p>\n<p>In 1910\u2026a thunderstorm produced south winds sustained to 40 mph.<\/p>\n<p>In 1961\u2026strong thunderstorm winds and heavy rain occurred at 79th and Federal Blvd. In Westminster.\u00a0 The strong winds blew the roofs off lumber sheds onto parked cars.<\/p>\n<p>In 1967\u2026a young woman was killed by lightning while horseback riding in the suburbs just west of Denver.\u00a0 Her horse died several hours after the incident.\u00a0 A young man and another young woman were also knocked from their horses by the impact of the lightning and required hospitalization.<\/p>\n<p>In 1991\u2026heavy thunderstorm rainfall totaled 0.91 inch at Stapleton International Airport\u2026where 1\/4 inch diameter hail was measured.<\/p>\n<p>In 1996\u2026localized street flooding occurred in the Fort Lupton area when 2 to 3 inches of rain fell in 45 minutes. The roof of a community college began leaking\u2026which caused damage to ceiling tiles.\u00a0 The roof was under repair from hail damage which had occurred earlier in the summer.\u00a0 A weak tornado (f0) was sighted near Fort Lupton.\u00a0 No damage was reported.<\/p>\n<p>In 1999\u2026a slow moving thunderstorm dumped 5 inches of rain in 2 hours near Dacono.\u00a0 A severe thunderstorm produced 3\/4 inch diameter hail in Castle Rock.<\/p>\n<p>In 2002\u2026severe thunderstorms spread large hail over metro Denver.\u00a0 Hail as large as 2 inches in diameter fell in Jefferson County 5 to 11 miles northwest of Golden.\u00a0 Other large hail reports included:\u00a0 1 1\/2 inches near Golden and in Lakewood; 1 1\/4 inches in Nederland; 1 inch hail near Elizabeth\u2026Louviers\u2026Rollinsville\u2026and Blackhawk; 7\/8 inch hail near Acequia in Douglas County.\u00a0 A thunderstorm produced a trace of rain and a microburst wind gust to 52 mph at Denver International Airport.<\/p>\n<p>In 2003\u2026lightning struck a house and sparked a fire in Arvada.\u00a0 Damage to the roof and ceiling was extensive.<\/p>\n<p>In 2005\u2026lightning struck an unoccupied home in Parker. The resulting fire damaged the roof\u2026attic\u2026and second floor bedroom.\u00a0 Damage was estimated at 15 thousand dollars.<\/p>\n<p>27-28<\/p>\n<p>In 2004\u2026a brief chilly spell resulted in three temperature records.\u00a0 The high temperature of 55 degrees on the 27th was a record low maximum for the date.\u00a0 The low temperature of 48 degrees on the 27th equaled the record minimum for the date.\u00a0 The low temperature of 42 degrees on the 28th was a record minimum for the date.<\/p>\n<p>28<\/p>\n<p>In 1887\u2026a dry thunderstorm produced north winds to 48 mph but only a trace of rainfall.<\/p>\n<p>In 1968\u2026one man was seriously injured by lightning while riding on a roller coaster at a Denver amusement park.\u00a0 An airline employee was injured when lightning struck a jetliner he was servicing at Stapleton International Airport.\u00a0 A lightning-caused fire did extensive damage to one house and minor damage to several others in the city of Denver.<\/p>\n<p>In 1970\u2026a microburst wind gust to 53 mph was recorded at Stapleton International Airport.<\/p>\n<p>In 2002\u2026a severe thunderstorm produced 3\/4 inch diameter hail near Parker.<\/p>\n<p>In 2005\u2026lightning sparked a small fire near Jamestown.\u00a0 The blaze was quickly contained and consumed less than an acre.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lightning is a very real danger here in Colorado.\u00a0 The outdoor-centric lifestyle we lead oftentimes puts us in situations when we are better off heading for cover.\u00a0 The dangers of not properly taking shelter when lightning is in the area are highlighted by a number of events in our look back at this week in &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/weather-history\/august-22-to-august-28-this-week-in-denver-weather-history-2\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">August 22 to August 28: This week in Denver weather history<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/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":[63],"tags":[26,81,106,62,741],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21763"}],"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=21763"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21766,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21763\/revisions\/21766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}