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NOUS45 KBOU 260859
PNSBOU
COZ030>051-262300-
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
259 AM MDT TUE MAY 26 2026
..TODAY IN METRO DENVER WEATHER HISTORY
18-26 IN 2023...SMOKE AND HAZE FROM MASSIVE WILDFIRES IN CANADA
SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED AIR QUALITY AND VISIBILITY ACROSS
DENVER AND THE REST OF NORTHEAST COLORADO.
20-27 IN 2002...LIGHTNING SPARKED A WILDFIRE NEAR DECKERS THE
CONTINUED FROM THE 20TH TO THE 27TH. EXTREMELY DRY
CONDITIONS AND VERY STRONG WINDS THE FOLLOWING DAY ALLOWED
THE FIRE...KNOWN AS THE SCHOONOVER...TO CONSUME 3850 ACRES
BEFORE IT COULD BE CONTAINED. THIRTEEN STRUCTURES WERE
DESTROYED...INCLUDING 4 HOMES...RESULTING IN 2.2 MILLION
DOLLARS IN DAMAGE.
24-26 IN 1996...FROM THE 24TH TO THE 26TH...A LATE SPRING STORM
DUMPED 4 TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW OVER THE FRONT RANGE
FOOTHILLS. CONIFER PICKED UP 10 INCHES OF NEW SNOW;
ASPEN SPRINGS...9 INCHES; AND CENTRAL CITY...8 INCHES.
THE STICKY...HEAVY SNOW CLUNG TO POWER LINES AND PULLED
TREE BRANCHES DOWN...CAUSING POWER OUTAGES TO ABOUT
1200 HOMES IN THE CONIFER AREA. IT TOOK
UP TO 6 HOURS TO RESTORE POWER TO SOME RESIDENCES.
LIGHTNING STRUCK A TELEPHONE DATA CABINET IN CONIFER ON
THE 25TH...WHICH KNOCKED OUT PHONE SERVICE TO ABOUT 1500
CUSTOMERS. WIDESPREAD RAIN FELL ACROSS METRO DENVER...
WHERE RAINFALL TOTALED 2.07 INCHES AT THE SITE OF THE
FORMER STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND 1.66 INCHES AT
DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE NORTH WINDS GUSTED TO
24 MPH ON THE 26TH.
IN 2010...FROM THE 24TH TO THE 26TH...HIGH WINDS PRECEDING A
COLD FRONT...SWEPT ACROSS THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS AND
URBAN CORRIDOR. IN AURORA...THE WIND DAMAGED THE ROOF OF
RANGEVIEW HIGH SCHOOL. IN CONIFER AND DENVER...THE WIND
DOWNED TREES AND POWER LINES AND CAUSED SEVERAL BRIEF
OUTAGES. THE DOWNED POWER LINES ALSO CAUSED SEVERAL CARS
TO CATCH FIRE IN THE VICINITY OF 1590 COOK ST. IN DENVER.
PEAK WIND GUSTS INCLUDED: 82 MPH AT HIGHLANDS RANCH...67
MPH...4 MILES EAST OF FRANKTOWN AND LONGMONT; 65 MPH IN
BOULDER...64 MPH IN CENTENNIAL AND DENVER INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT...62 MPH NEAR PARKER AND 60 MPH IN ARVADA.
25-26 IN 1950...FROM THE 25TH TO THE 26TH...A MAJOR STORM DUMPED 10.0
INCHES OF SNOWFALL DOWNTOWN AND 10.7 INCHES AT STAPLETON
AIRPORT WHERE NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 30 MPH ON THE 25TH.
THE STORM CAUSED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO UTILITY WIRES AND
TREES WHICH WERE IN FULL LEAF. A DAILY RECORD MINIMUM
TEMPERATURE OF 31 DEGREES OCCURRED ON THE 25TH. THIS WAS
THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE ON THIS DATE IN 79 YEARS AND FOR SO
LATE IN THE SEASON.
IN 1989...FROM THE 25TH TO THE 26TH...A LATE SEASON STORM
DROPPED SNOW AS LOW AS 6 THOUSAND FEET ALONG THE FRONT RANGE.
MOST PLACES IN THE FOOTHILLS HAD 2 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW.
OVERNIGHT RAINFALL TOTALED 0.33 INCH AT STAPLETON
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE NORTH WINDS GUSTED TO 37 MPH ON
THE 25TH.
IN 1994...OVERNIGHT FROM THE 25TH TO THE 26TH...LIGHTNING
STRUCK A TELEVISION TRANSMITTER ON LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN NEAR
GOLDEN AND BURNED OUT A SWITCHER...WHICH DISRUPTED CABLE
SERVICE FOR 2 HOURS.
26 IN 1897...APPARENT POST-FRONTAL NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO
42 MPH WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 48 MPH.
IN 1942...THE ALL-TIME HIGHEST RECORDED TEMPERATURE IN MAY...95
DEGREES...OCCURRED.
IN 1978...TWO CHILDREN WERE STRUCK AND KILLED BY LIGHTNING ON
A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL PLAYGROUND IN PARKER.
IN 1987...1 INCH DIAMETER HAIL FELL NEAR BOULDER AND
BENNETT. THE HAIL WAS FAIRLY SOFT AND CAUSED NO DAMAGE.
IN 1993...DRY THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCED WIND GUSTS TO 81 MPH AT
JEFFERSON COUNTY AIRPORT NEAR BROOMFIELD. SEVERAL TREES
WERE BLOWN DOWN BY THE STRONG WINDS. MICROBURST WINDS
GUSTED TO 51 MPH AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
IN 1995...A WOMAN WAS INJURED IN LITTLETON WHEN THE CAR SHE
HAD JUST ENTERED WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. ALL OF THE
WINDOWS IN THE CAR WERE BLOWN OUT BY THE STRIKE. A FUNNEL
CLOUD WAS SIGHTED NEAR LITTLETON.
IN 2000...A STRONG MICROBURST WIND GUST TO 92 MPH FLIPPED A
SMALL AIRPLANE ON ITS BACK AND BLEW A DC-3 LOOSE FROM ITS
MOORINGS...WHICH ALLOWED IT TO ROLL ONTO A GRASSY FIELD AT
FRONT RANGE AIRPORT NEAR WATKINS.
IN 2010...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POUNDED PARTS OF THE URBAN
CORRIDOR WITH VERY LARGE HAIL...HEAVY RAIN...DAMAGING WINDS
AND A TORNADO. THE HAIL...RANGING IN SIZE FROM 1 INCH TO
2 3/4 INCHES IN DIAMETER...STRUCK BRIGHTON...COMMERCE CITY
AND NORTHEAST DENVER THE HARDEST. THE STORMS CONTINUED TO
SPREAD DESTRUCTION TO THE NORTH AND EAST...IMPACTING
BYERS...HUDSON...DEER TRAIL AND PROSPECT VALLEY. THE
COMBINATION OF HAIL AND WIND STRIPPED THE BARK AND
BRANCHES FROM TREES. NUMEROUS ACCIDENTS WERE REPORTED
AS THE HAIL ACCUMULATED UP TO A FOOT DEEP. SNOWPLOWS
WERE CALLED OUT TO CLEAR THE ROADWAYS. FLASH FLOODING
OCCURRED ALONG STATE HIGHWAY 52 BETWEEN HUDSON AND
KEENESBURG...AND FORCING THE CLOSURE OF THE HIGHWAY.
WIDESPREAD CROP DAMAGE WAS ALSO REPORTED AS THE AREA
WAS INUNDATED WITH UP TO 18 INCHES OF WATER. EXTENSIVE
DAMAGE TO HOMES...BUSINESSES AND AUTOMOBILES WAS
REPORTED WITH THE DAMAGE ESTIMATED TO BE AROUND 70
MILLION DOLLARS. A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR DENVER
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...BUT DID NO DAMAGE. LIGHTNING
STRUCK A CHILD IN COMMERCE CITY WHILE SHE WAS WATCHING
TELEVISION. SHE SUFFERED MINOR INJURIES TO HER LEG.
AT THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL WILDLIFE REFUGE...A
LIGHTNING STRIKE KILLED A BISON. AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT...ONLY 0.01 INCH OF RAINFALL WAS OBSERVED...ALONG
WITH A PEAK WIND GUST TO 48 MPH FROM THE SOUTHEAST.
IN 2016...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCED HAIL UP TO ONE INCH
IN DIAMETER NEAR CASTLE ROCK...THE PINERY AND WATKINS.
IN 2019...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS BROKE OUT ACROSS PARTS OF
ADAMS...ARAPAHOE...DENVER...AND SOUTHERN WELD COUNTIES DURING
THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. THE HAIL RANGED
FROM 1 TO 1 1/2 INCH IN DIAMETER. AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT...UP TO 3 INCHES OF HAIL ACCUMULATED ON RUNWAY
SURFACES. CONSEQUENTLY...DOZENS OF FLIGHTS WERE EITHER
DELAYED OR CANCELLED SO RUNWAYS COULD BE CLEARED AND
AIRCRAFT INSPECTED FOR HAIL DAMAGE. A PEAK WIND GUST
TO 44 MPH WAS OBSERVED FROM THE WEST AT DENVER
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...WITH 0.65 INCH OF RAINFALL.
26-31 IN 1995...FROM THE 26TH THROUGH THE 31ST...A COOL PERIOD
WITH LIGHT MORNING SHOWERS AND MODERATE TO HEAVY
AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS PUSHED RIVERS
ALREADY SWOLLEN FROM MOUNTAIN SNOW MELT OVER THEIR BANKS
CAUSING MINOR FLOODING. STREAMS AND RIVERS SUCH AS THE
SOUTH PLATTE AND BOULDER CREEK FLOODED MEADOWLANDS...BIKE
PATHS...ROADS NEAR STREAMS...AND OTHER LOW LYING AREAS.
NO SIGNIFICANT PROPERTY DAMAGE WAS REPORTED AND CROP
DAMAGE WAS UNKNOWN. RAINFALL TOTALED 1.79 INCHES AT THE
SITE OF THE FORMER STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND
ONLY 1.51 INCHES AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
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