{"id":3261,"date":"2011-01-06T19:17:32","date_gmt":"2011-01-07T02:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/?p=3261"},"modified":"2011-01-09T09:14:26","modified_gmt":"2011-01-09T16:14:26","slug":"thorntons-2010-weather-year-in-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/colorado-weather\/thorntons-2010-weather-year-in-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Thornton&#8217;s 2010 weather year in review"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure style=\"width: 288px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Thornton's 2010 Weather Year in Review\" src=\"http:\/\/lh5.ggpht.com\/_qM6V6-HRzM0\/TSZ2Ig2o95I\/AAAAAAAAELU\/Jr6Zf1hF4dc\/s288\/2010inreview.jpg\" alt=\"2010 was a relatively uneventful year for weather in Thornton.\" width=\"288\" height=\"192\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">2010 was a relatively uneventful year for weather in Thornton.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Many years in Colorado are marked by significant weather events.\u00a0 The Christmas Blizzards of 2006, the severe thunderstorms that dominated June of 2009 or reaching even further back the Thornton Tornado of 1981.\u00a0 The same can&#8217;t entirely be said about 2010 as we experienced a relatively quiet year without any truly major events.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Also see: <a title=\"January 6, 2011\" rel=\"bookmark\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/colorado-weather\/denvers-2010-weather-month-by-month-narrative\/\">Denver\u2019s 2010 weather \u2013 Month by month narrative<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Temperatures<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In terms of temperatures the year was slightly warmer than the historical average of 50.1 degrees.\u00a0 In 2010 Denver officially recorded an annual average of 51.2 degrees at Denver International Airport.\u00a0 Thornton was actually spot on Denver&#8217;s historical average at 50.1 degrees.<\/p>\n<p>Denver temperatures ranged from a high of 102 degrees on July 17th down to -16 on January 7th.\u00a0 The July high was a record for the date but the January low didn&#8217;t fall far enough to set a record.\u00a0 Thornton&#8217;s high temperature for the year was 101.6 degrees and our low was -9.7 degrees &#8211; both occurring on the same dates as Denver&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<p>The average high temperature for the year was 65.3 degrees &#8211; 1.1 degrees above normal.\u00a0 The average low was 37.0 degrees, 1.2 degrees above normal.\u00a0 Thornton&#8217;s average highs and lows were very close to Denver&#8217;s at 65.7 degrees and 36.8 degrees respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>DIA reported 47 days with temperatures at or above 90 degrees &#8211; 16 above normal.\u00a0 Thornton stayed cooler recording only 38 days.\u00a0 Low temperatures dipped below freezing on 158 days in Denver (2 above normal) while Thornton had one more with 159 days.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Snowfall<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The first half of the 2010 to 2011 snowfall season was dismal as Denver recorded a mere 4.8 inches and Thornton recorded 4.9 inches.\u00a0 This is the second lowest total on record for the period with the only year with less snow being 1888 when 3.8 inches was recorded.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->Through the end of December only two days with measureable snowfall were seen with most of it falling right at the end of the year on December 30th and 31st.\u00a0 For comparison the snowiest half-season was in 1913 when 72.8 inches was recorded!<\/p>\n<p>Reaching back to January and looking at the entire calendar year snowfall was poor over the period as well.\u00a0 The year finished with only 27.8 inches recorded at DIA.\u00a0 Thornton fared quite a bit better with 37.68 inches.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Precipitation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Denver averages 15.81 inches of precipitation per year.\u00a0 In 2010 we fell well short of that mark having recorded 12.86 inches &#8211; 2.95 below normal.\u00a0 Like with the snowfall, Thornton did much better than DIA on the precipitation front recorded 15.09 inches.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While dry, the year was not one of the top 10 driest on record.\u00a0 The 10th driest occurred in 1901 when 9.10 inches was recorded and the wettest was in 1967 when 23.31 inches of precipitation fell into the bucket.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>July 2010 was the wettest month of year with 3.7 inches of precipitation measured at DIA.\u00a0 The month just barely missed making the top 10 wettest Julys by 0.01 inch.\u00a0 Highlighting the vast differences that occur over a relatively small distance, Thornton recorded 1.35 inch in July.\u00a0 Our wettest month was actually June with 3.1 inches.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Two months later September brought the driest month of the year when only 0.06 inch of precipitation was recorded tying it for the 5th driest September on record.\u00a0 January was similarly dry when only 0.07 inch of precipitation was recorded tying the mark for the 6th driest January.\u00a0 In the dry months Thornton matched closely to Denver with 0.09 recorded in September and 0.06 in January.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Records for the year<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Denver set or tied 14 records during 2010.\u00a0 Nine record highs were set or tied, 3 high minimum temperatures were set or tied, one 24 hour precipitation record was set and 2 maximum wind gust records were set.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Severe weather<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2782\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2782\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2782\" title=\"The Memorial Day tornado in Baca County, Colorado near Campo was the highlight of a week of storm chasing but it wasn\u2019t the only exciting thing to happen. (Tony Hake \/ ThorntonWeather.com)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/2010-06-08_104346-300x184.jpg\" alt=\"The Memorial Day tornado in Baca County, Colorado near Campo was the highlight of a week of storm chasing but it wasn\u2019t the only exciting thing to happen. (Tony Hake \/ ThorntonWeather.com)\" width=\"300\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/2010-06-08_104346-300x184.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/2010-06-08_104346-150x92.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/2010-06-08_104346.jpg 325w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2782\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Memorial Day tornado in Baca County, Colorado was arguably one of the most picturesque tornadoes of the year in the entire nation. (Tony Hake \/ ThorntonWeather.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There was really very little drama in the Denver metro area in terms of severe weather in 2010.\u00a0 There were a few damaging hail events, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/thornton-weather\/severe-weather-strikes-large-hail-heavy-rain-fall-on-thornton\/\">including one in Thornton in June<\/a>, but they were not particularly extraordinary.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For Colorado as a whole 66 tornadoes were reported during the year.\u00a0 For comparison, 58 were reported in 2009, 39 in 2008 and 53 in 2007.\u00a0 Since 1950 Colorado has averaged around 30 tornadoes per year. \u00a0The most ever recorded was 98 in 1996.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Arguably one of the most picturesque tornadoes of the year in the entire nation occurred on Memorial Day near Campo, Colorado.\u00a0 The long-lived tornado tore across open ranchland for more than 20 minutes.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/colorado-weather\/storm-chase-2010-wraps-up-chasers-experience-it-all-from-sunsets-to-tornadoes\/\">Click here for more details<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Climate summary for 2010<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Following is the official climate summary for 2010 from the National Weather Service for Denver.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/climatedatayearout.html\">Click here to view the Thornton 2010 climate report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<pre>...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE YEAR OF 2010...\r\n\r\nCLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1971 TO 2000\r\nCLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2010\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\nHIGH             105   07\/20\/2005\r\n                       08\/08\/1878\r\nLOW              -29   01\/09\/1875\r\nHIGHEST           102   07\/17        64      38       98  08\/23\r\nLOWEST            -16   01\/07        36     -52      -17  12\/09\r\nAVG. MAXIMUM     65.3              64.2     1.1     63.5\r\nAVG. MINIMUM     37.0              35.8     1.2     36.0\r\nMEAN             51.2              50.1     1.1     49.7\r\nDAYS MAX &gt;= 90     49              33.1    15.9       18\r\nDAYS MAX &lt;= 32     13              22.2    -9.2       26\r\nDAYS MIN &lt;= 32    158             156.1     1.9      161\r\nDAYS MIN &lt;= 0       5               9.0    -4.0        7 \r\n\r\nPRECIPITATION (INCHES)\r\nRECORD\r\n MAXIMUM        23.31   1967\r\n MINIMUM         7.48   2002\r\nTOTALS          12.86             15.81   -2.95    18.12\r\nDAILY AVG.       0.03              0.04   -0.01     0.05\r\nDAYS &gt;= .01     71                89.1   -18.1     94\r\nDAYS &gt;= .10     24                MM      MM       45\r\nDAYS &gt;= .50      9                MM      MM       12\r\nDAYS &gt;= 1.00     3                MM      MM        3\r\nGREATEST\r\n24 HR. TOTAL    1.84    07\/04 TO 07\/04\r\n\r\nSNOWFALL (INCHES)\r\nRECORDS\r\nTOTAL             118.7  1908-09\r\n24 HR TOTAL        23.6  12\/24\/1982\r\nSNOW DEPTH         MM     MM\r\nTOTALS             27.8                MM      MM     63.7\r\nLIQUID EQUIV        2.78               MM      MM     6.37\r\nSINCE 7\/1           4.8                MM      MM     37.6\r\nLIQUID 7\/1          0.48               MM      MM     3.76\r\nSNOWDEPTH AVG.     LESS THAN 0.1       MM      MM     0\r\nDAYS &gt;= TRACE      42 (SINCE 01\/01)    MM      MM    49\r\nDAYS &gt;= 1.0        10 (SINCE 01\/01)    MM      MM    19\r\nGREATEST\r\nSNOW DEPTH          8   03\/24                    7  03\/27\r\n24 HR TOTAL        10.8 03\/23 TO 3\/24            8.3 03\/26 TO 3\/27\r\n\r\nDEGREE_DAYS\r\nHEATING TOTAL    5774              6128    -354     5994\r\nSINCE 7\/1        2072               2486    -414     2739\r\nCOOLING TOTAL     870                696     174      533\r\nSINCE 1\/1         870                696     174      533\r\n\r\nFREEZE DATES\r\nRECORD\r\nEARLIEST     09\/08\/1962\r\nLATEST       06\/08\/2007\r\nEARLIEST                        10\/07\r\nLATEST                          05\/05\r\n.................................................................\r\n\r\nWIND (MPH)\r\nAVERAGE WIND SPEED              9.6\r\nRESULTANT WIND SPEED\/DIRECTION  2\/195\r\nHIGHEST WIND SPEED\/DIRECTION   52\/220    DATE  05\/24\r\nHIGHEST GUST SPEED\/DIRECTION   64\/220    DATE  05\/24\r\n\r\nSKY COVER\r\nPOSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT)   MM\r\n\r\nNUMBER OF DAYS FAIR           91\r\nNUMBER OF DAYS PC            219\r\nNUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY         55\r\n\r\nAVERAGE RH (PERCENT)     52\r\n\r\nWEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH\r\nTHUNDERSTORM             48     MIXED PRECIP               0\r\nHEAVY RAIN               10     RAIN                      21\r\nLIGHT RAIN               63     FREEZING RAIN              0\r\nLT FREEZING RAIN          2     HAIL                       5\r\nHEAVY SNOW                4     SNOW                      13\r\nLIGHT SNOW               47     SLEET                      1\r\nFOG                      97     FOG W\/VIS &lt;= 1\/4 MILE     38\r\nHAZE                     61\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":"<p>Many years in Colorado are marked by significant weather events.\u00a0 The Christmas Blizzards of 2006, the severe thunderstorms that dominated June of 2009 or reaching even further back the Thornton Tornado of 1981.\u00a0 The same can&#8217;t entirely be said about 2010 as we experienced a relatively quiet year without any truly major events.\u00a0 Also see: &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/colorado-weather\/thorntons-2010-weather-year-in-review\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Thornton&#8217;s 2010 weather year in review<\/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":[12,6,7],"tags":[480],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3261"}],"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=3261"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3289,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3261\/revisions\/3289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}