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NOUS45 KBOU 240859
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COZ030>051-242300-
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
259 AM MDT SAT OCT 24 2026
..TODAY IN METRO DENVER WEATHER HISTORY
23-24 IN 1887...THE FIRST MEASURABLE SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON TOTALED
3.1 INCHES. NORTH WINDS TO 20 MPH WERE RECORDED ON THE
23RD. THIS WAS THE ONLY MEASURABLE SNOW OF THE MONTH.
IN 1932...POST-FRONTAL SNOWFALL FROM THE LATE EVENING OF THE
23RD CONTINUED THROUGH THE LATE AFTERNOON OF THE 24TH AND
TOTALED 6.2 INCHES. SOUTHEAST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 25
MPH WITH GUSTS TO 26 MPH ON THE 23RD. TEMPERATURES COOLED
FROM A HIGH OF 68 DEGREES ON THE 23RD TO A LOW OF 25
DEGREES ON THE 24TH...THE COLDEST READING OF THE MONTH THAT
YEAR. MANY TREES THAT HAD NOT SHED THEIR LEAVES BECAME
HEAVILY LADEN BY THE WET SNOW. MANY BRANCHES WERE BROKEN...
AND A FEW TREES TOPPLED UNDER THE WEIGHT OF THE SNOW. THE
LANDSCAPE BECAME ONE OF RARE BEAUTY.
23-25 IN 2020...AFTER SEVERAL WEEKS OF WARM...WINDY AND DRY WEATHER
THAT FUELED THE TWO LARGEST WILDFIRES IN THE STATE'S
HISTORY; A POWERFUL STORM SYSTEM BROUGHT WELCOME RELIEF AS
IT PRODUCED HEAVY SNOW AND FRIGID TEMPERATURES DENVER AND
THE FRONT RANGE. IN THE FRONT RANGE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS...
STORM TOTALS RANGED FROM 10 TO 20 INCHES. ALONG THE URBAN
CORRIDOR...STORM TOTALS FROM 4 TO 12 INCHES WERE OBSERVED...
WITH THE HEAVIEST AMOUNTS ALONG AND GENERALLY WEST OF I-25
AND OVER WELD COUNTY...WHERE LOCALIZED BANDS OF HEAVY SNOW
SOME STORM TOTALS INCLUDED 14.3 INCHES NEAR ALLENSPARK;
AND 12.9 INCHES IN SOUTHEAST BOULDER AND NEDERLAND...WITH
12.8 INCHES NEAR LOVELAND. AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT...4.0 INCHES OF SNOWFALL WAS OBSERVED.
24 IN 1956...SOUTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 56 MPH AND PRODUCED SOME
BLOWING DUST AT STAPLETON AIRPORT. A COLD FRONT PRODUCED
A THUNDERSTORM WITH 1/8 INCH HAIL. RAIN LATER CHANGED TO
SNOW. PRECIPITATION TOTALED ONLY 0.11 INCH AND SNOWFALL
ONLY 0.3 INCH.
IN 1973...STRONG WINDS RAKED THE EASTERN FOOTHILLS...CAUSING
DAMAGE IN BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES. THE HEAVIEST
DAMAGE OCCURRED IN THE BOULDER AREA WHERE 20 TO 25 MOBILE
HOMES WERE HIT...SOME POWER AND TELEPHONE LINES WERE BLOWN
DOWN...AND A STORE WAS DAMAGED. A WIND GUST TO 76 MPH WAS
RECORDED IN BOULDER AT THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS.
NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 46 MPH AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT.
24-25 IN 1921...RAINFALL TOTALED 0.35 INCH OVERNIGHT BEHIND AN
APPARENT COLD FRONT. NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 40 MPH
WITH GUSTS TO 46 MPH ON THE 25TH. TEMPERATURES PLUNGED
FROM A HIGH OF 73 DEGREES ON THE 24TH TO A LOW OF 39
DEGREES ON THE 25TH.
IN 1923...RAIN OVERNIGHT CHANGED TO SNOW DURING THE MORNING.
THE HEAVY SNOWFALL ACCUMULATED TO 12.0 INCHES BEFORE ENDING
ON THE MORNING OF THE 25TH. POST-FRONTAL NORTH WINDS WERE
SUSTAINED TO 22 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 23 MPH ON THE 24TH.
IN 1997...ONE OF THE WORST AND DEADLIEST BLIZZARDS OF THE
DECADE DEVELOPED OVER EASTERN COLORADO AS DEEP EAST TO
NORTHEAST FLOW ASSOCIATED WITH A VIGOROUS UPPER LEVEL LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE FOUR CORNERS...COMBINED WITH A
STRONG ARCTIC AIR MASS OVER THE CENTRAL GREAT PLAINS.
SNOWFALL TOTALS ACROSS METRO DENVER RANGED FROM 14 TO 31
INCHES. THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL OCCURRED IN THE FOOTHILLS
WEST AND SOUTHWEST OF DENVER WHERE 2 TO 4 FEET OF SNOW
WERE MEASURED. SUSTAINED WINDS TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS AS
HIGH AS 60 MPH PRODUCED ZERO VISIBILITIES AND EXTREMELY
COLD WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES FROM 25 BELOW TO 40 BELOW
ZERO. WINDS WHIPPED THE SNOW INTO DRIFTS 4 TO 10 FEET
DEEP. SEVERAL MAJOR AND INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS WERE CLOSED
AS TRAVEL BECAME IMPOSSIBLE. RED CROSS SHELTERS WERE SET
UP FOR HUNDREDS OF TRAVELERS WHO BECAME STRANDED WHEN
THEY HAD TO ABANDON THEIR VEHICLES. FOUR PEOPLE DIED IN
NORTHEASTERN COLORADO AS A RESULT OF THE BLIZZARD. NONE OF
THE DEATHS WERE IN METRO DENVER. AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT...4 THOUSAND TRAVELERS WERE STRANDED WHEN THE AIRPORT
WAS FORCED TO SHUT DOWN. AT LEAST 120 CARS WERE ABANDONED
ALONG PENA BLVD....THE ONLY ARTERIAL LEADING INTO AND OUT
OF DIA. THE BLIZZARD COST AIR CARRIERS AT LEAST 20 MILLION
DOLLARS. THOUSANDS OF CATTLE DIED IN THE STORM OVER
NORTHEASTERN COLORADO...RESULTING IN LOSSES TOTALING 1.5
MILLION DOLLARS. SOME OF THE MORE IMPRESSIVE SNOWFALL
TOTALS INCLUDED: 51 INCHES AT COAL CREEK CANYON; 48
INCHES AT SILVER SPRUCE RANCH...NEAR WARD; 42 INCHES AT
INTERCANYON...IN THE FOOTHILLS SOUTHWEST OF DENVER; 37 INCHES
AT SEDALIA; 35 INCHES AT ASPEN SPRINGS AND CONIFER IN THE
FOOTHILLS WEST OF DENVER; 31 INCHES AT ELDORADO SPRINGS...
SOUTHEAST AURORA...AND ENGLEWOOD; AND 30 INCHES ON TABLE MESA
IN BOULDER. SNOWFALL TOTALED 21.9 INCHES AT THE SITE OF
THE FORMER STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...SETTING A NEW
24-HOUR SNOWFALL RECORD OF 19.1 INCHES FOR THE MONTH.
SNOWFALL TOTALED ONLY 14 INCHES AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT WHERE NORTH WINDS GUSTED TO 39 MPH ON THE 24TH.
HIGH TEMPERATURE OF ONLY 21 DEGREES ON THE 25TH EQUALED
THE RECORD LOW MAXIMUM FOR THE DATE FIRST SET IN 1873.
LOW TEMPERATURE OF ONLY 3 DEGREES ON THE 26TH SET A NEW
RECORD MINIMUM FOR THE DATE.
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