890
NOUS45 KBOU 200959
PNSBOU
COZ030>051-202300-
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
259 AM MST THU NOV 20 2025
..TODAY IN METRO DENVER WEATHER HISTORY
18-20 IN 1930...A MAJOR STORM DUMPED A TOTAL OF 13.6 INCHES OF
SNOWFALL OVER DOWNTOWN DENVER. MOST OF THE SNOW...9.4
INCHES...FELL ON THE 19TH WHEN NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED
TO 23 MPH. THIS WAS THE ONLY MEASURABLE SNOW OF THE
MONTH. TEMPERATURES HOVERED IN THE 20'S AND LOWER 30'S.
IN 1956...AN INTENSE WINTER STORM DUMPED 12.8 INCHES OF
SNOWFALL ON METRO DENVER. STRONG NORTH-NORTHEAST WINDS
GUSTING TO 33 MPH AT STAPLETON AIRPORT FREQUENTLY REDUCED
THE VISIBILITY TO 1/2 MILE IN SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ON THE
19TH. MOST OF THE SNOWFALL...10.7 INCHES...OCCURRED ON THE
19TH.
19-21 IN 1979...A HEAVY SNOWSTORM BURIED MOST OF COLORADO UNDER AT
LEAST A FOOT OF SNOW. SNOWFALL AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT TOTALED 17.7 INCHES...THE GREATEST SNOW DEPTH SINCE
1946. WINDS TO 60 MPH PRODUCED 5-FOOT DRIFTS PARALYZING
THE CITY AS TEMPERATURES HOVERED IN THE 20'S. WHILE SMALL
AIRPORTS CLOSED...STAPLETON REMAINED OPEN...BUT WITH LONG
DELAYS THAT SNARLED THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY TRAFFIC. SCHOOLS
AND BUSINESSES CLOSED AND POSTAL DELIVERIES WERE DELAYED.
ALMOST ALL MAJOR HIGHWAYS LEADING OUT OF DENVER WERE CLOSED
TO TRAFFIC FOR PERIODS OF TIME ON THE 20TH AND 21ST. MOST
OF THE SNOW...13.5 INCHES...FELL ON THE 20TH. AT STAPLETON
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...NORTH WINDS GUSTED TO 35 MPH ON THE
20TH AND TO 38 MPH ON THE 21ST.
20 IN 1871...THE FIRST OFFICIAL WEATHER OBSERVATION IN DENVER...
WAS TAKEN BY HENRY FENTON...OBSERVER SERGEANT OF THE UNITED
STATES ARMY SIGNAL SERVICE AT 5:43 AM. THE OFFICE WAS
LOCATED ON THE 2ND FLOOR OF A BUILDING AT THE CORNER OF
LARIMER AND G STREETS...NOW 16TH STREET. THE DAILY WEATHER
JOURNAL HAND WRITTEN ENTRY FOR THE DAY FOLLOWS: "SNOW
FELL HEAVILY DURING PAST NIGHT. AT 5:43 AM IT WAS SNOWING
LIGHT AND CONTINUED UNTIL 8 AM. WIND DURING SNOW STORM
GENTLE AND A LITTLE WEST OF SOUTH...AND CONTINUED THERE
DURING THE REMAINDER OF THE DAY. SKY CLEAR AFTER 8 AM.
VERY COLD WEATHER PREVAILED ALL DAY AND NIGHT. THERMOMETER
AT 9:43 PM 14 DEGREES. RAIN GAUGE AND SELF-REGISTERING
THERMOMETER NOT IN POSITION OWING TO SEVERE STORM LAST
WEEK. BAROMETER FALLING DURING THE MORNING AND RISING
RAPIDLY AT NIGHT."
IN 1894...NORTHWEST CHINOOK WINDS SUSTAINED TO 40 MPH WITH
GUSTS TO 45 MPH WARMED THE TEMPERATURE TO A HIGH OF 58
DEGREES IN THE CITY.
IN 1909...STEADY AND VERY STRONG WINDS IN BOULDER CAUSED
3 THOUSAND DOLLARS IN DAMAGE.
IN 1915...POST-FRONTAL NORTHEAST WINDS SUSTAINED TO 40 MPH
WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 42 MPH PRODUCED ONLY A TRACE OF
SNOW. IT WAS WINDY MOST OF THE DAY.
IN 1923...WEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 42 MPH WITH GUSTS
TO 44 MPH BEFORE DAYBREAK. THE STRONG WINDS PERSISTED
IN THE CITY FOR ONLY ABOUT 3 HOURS.
IN 1993...A WIND GUST TO 72 MPH WAS RECORDED AT TABLE MESA IN
SOUTHWEST BOULDER.
IN 1994...WINDS GUSTED TO 77 MPH ATOP SQUAW MOUNTAIN WEST
OF DENVER. WEST WINDS GUSTED TO 40 MPH AT STAPLETON
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
20-21 IN 1898...SNOWFALL TOTALED 4.0 INCHES IN DOWNTOWN DENVER.
NORTHEAST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 48 MPH WITH GUSTS AS
HIGH AS 60 MPH BEHIND AN APPARENT COLD FRONT ON THE 20TH...
WHEN TEMPERATURES PLUNGED FROM A HIGH OF 66 DEGREES TO A
LOW OF 9 DEGREES. ON THE 21ST THE HIGH WAS ONLY 24 DEGREES
AND THE LOW WAS 2 DEGREES.
IN 1970...A WIND GUST TO 94 MPH WAS RECORDED AT GOLD HILL IN
THE FOOTHILLS WEST OF BOULDER. STRONG WINDS ALSO SWEPT
ACROSS METRO DENVER. WIND GUSTS REACHED 59 MPH IN DOWNTOWN
BOULDER...WHILE AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WEST-
NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 43 MPH ON THE 21ST. DAMAGE WAS
MINOR.
IN 1992...A LARGE CANADIAN AIR MASS MOVED INTO THE STATE AT
THE SAME TIME AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM APPROACHED FROM
THE WEST. THE COMBINATION OF COLD AIR AT THE SURFACE AND
VERY MOIST AIR ALOFT PRODUCED HEAVY SNOW ACROSS THE ENTIRE
STATE. SNOWFALL TOTALED 6.3 INCHES AT STAPLETON
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...WHERE NORTH WINDS GUSTED TO 23 MPH
ON THE 20TH. SNOW WAS HEAVIER IN THE FOOTHILLS...WITH 14
INCHES AT WONDERVU...13 INCHES AT ASPEN SPRINGS...CONIFER...
BOULDER...AND GROSS RESERVOIR...8 INCHES AT ROLLINSVILLE...
AND 10 INCHES AT GOLDEN GATE CANYON AND MORRISON.
IN 2007...A STORM SYSTEM BROUGHT MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOWFALL
TO PORTIONS OF THE URBAN CORRIDOR. STORM TOTALS INCLUDED:
7 INCHES...3 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF FORT COLLINS...WITH 6
INCHES IN BOULDER AND AT HORSETOOTH INLET BAY. ELSEWHERE...
STORM TOTALS RANGED FROM 2 TO 5 INCHES. SNOWFALL
TOTALED 2.0 INCHES AT THE SITE OF THE FORMER STAPLETON
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
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