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NOUS45 KBOU 260859
PNSBOU
COZ030>051-262300-
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
259 AM MDT WED AUG 26 2026
..TODAY IN METRO DENVER WEATHER HISTORY
19-30 IN 1875...GRASSHOPPERS APPEARED IN GREAT NUMBERS AT 10:00 AM
ON THE 19TH AND CONTINUED THROUGH THE 30TH. THOUSANDS
LANDED ON THE GROUND. THE STREETS WERE LITERALLY COVERED
WITH THEM. SWARMS OF GRASSHOPPERS WERE SEEN ON EACH DAY.
ALL GARDENS IN THE CITY WERE DEVASTATED...AND IN THE
COUNTRYSIDE THE GRASSHOPPERS WERE VERY DESTRUCTIVE TO RIPENED
GRAIN. ON THE 30TH THE GRASSHOPPERS WERE SO NUMEROUS AS TO
ALMOST DARKEN THE SUN.
24-26 IN 1910...THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED IN AUGUST...40
DEGREES...OCCURRED ON THE 24TH...25TH AND 26TH...AS WELL AS ON
AUGUST 22...1904. THE UNUSUALLY COLD WEATHER FOR SO EARLY IN
THE SEASON BROUGHT SUB-FREEZING MINIMUM TEMPERATURES TO MUCH
OF THE COLORADO NORTHEASTERN PLAINS.
26 IN 1944...ONE OF THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE HAILSTORMS IN THE CITY
IN A DECADE CAUSED DAMAGE ESTIMATED AT NEARLY ONE MILLION
DOLLARS. THE STORM OCCURRED WITHIN A PERIOD OF 10 TO 30
MINUTES...BETWEEN 2:00 PM AND 3:00 PM. THE HAIL VARIED IN
SIZE FROM VERY SMALL TO AS LARGE AS 1 1/2 INCHES IN
DIAMETER. HAIL COVERED THE GROUND TO A DEPTH OF 5 TO 6
INCHES IN SOME SECTIONS OF THE CITY. SEVERAL PEOPLE WERE
CUT BY BROKEN GLASS. THE HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN FLOODED
UNDERPASSES TO A DEPTH OF 6 FEET...AND THE OCCUPANTS OF
STALLED AUTOS HAD TO BE RESCUED. SEWERS WERE UNABLE TO
HANDLE THE SUDDEN AMOUNT OF WATER AND WATER BACKED UP
AND FLOODED A NUMBER OF BASEMENTS. A FEW FIRST FLOORS OF
BUILDINGS WERE FLOODED. THE WATER DEPARTMENT HAD A BUSY
TIME REPLACING MANHOLE COVERS THAT HAD BEEN DISPLACED BY
THE WATER PRESSURE. TREES WERE STRIPPED...ONE WAS SEVERELY
BROKEN...AND TELEPHONE LINES WERE DOWNED. ROOFS...WINDOWS...
AUTOMOBILES...AWNINGS...AND GARDENS WERE SEVERELY DAMAGED.
FLOWERS AND GARDENS IN SOME SECTIONS OF THE CITY WERE A
TOTAL LOSS. GREENHOUSES WERE EXTENSIVELY BROKEN WITH AN
ESTIMATED 20 CARLOADS OF GLASS SHATTERED. 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...THE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCED 0.95 INCH OF
RAIN AND HEAVY HAIL ALONG WITH SUSTAINED NORTHWEST WINDS TO
25 MPH.
IN 1961...STRONG WINDS BLEW IN THE WALLS OF A WAREHOUSE UNDER
CONSTRUCTION IN DENVER. TWO WORKMEN SUFFERED A FRACTURED
FOOT AND BODY BRUISES.
IN 2014...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...THEN RELEASED A FEW HOURS LATER.
26-27 IN 1980...OVERNIGHT FROM THE 26TH TO THE 27TH...TWO STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS HIT ARVADA AND WESTMINSTER...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. THREE HOMES IN ARVADA SUSTAINED MINOR
LIGHTNING DAMAGE.
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