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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
259 AM MST THU JAN 8 2026
..TODAY IN METRO DENVER WEATHER HISTORY
7-8 IN 1911...GALE FORCE WINDS OCCURRED IN BOULDER CAUSING MINOR
INJURIES.
IN 1937...COLD ARCTIC AIR PLUNGED TEMPERATURES BELOW ZERO
FOR AN ESTIMATED 56 CONSECUTUVE HOURS. TWO TEMPERATURE
RECORDS WERE SET. HIGH TEMPERATURES OF 8 DEGREES BELOW
ZERO ON THE 7TH AND 3 DEGREES ON THE 8TH WERE RECORD LOW
MAXIMUM READINGS FOR THOSE DATES. LOW TEMPERATURES
PLUNGED TO 12 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON THE 7TH AND 11 DEGREES
BELOW ZERO ON THE 8TH. SNOWFALL WAS 1.4 INCHES IN DOWNTOWN
DENVER.
IN 1969...A VIOLENT EVENING WINDSTORM STRUCK BOULDER AND THE
ADJACENT FOOTHILLS. A WIND GUST TO 130 MPH WAS RECORDED
AT THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH. WINDS
REACHED 96 MPH IN DOWNTOWN BOULDER. THE BOULDER AIRPORT
WIND RECORDER WAS BLOWN AWAY AFTER MEASURING A WIND GUST
TO 80 MPH. THE WINDSTORM CAUSED OVER ONE MILLION DOLLARS
IN DAMAGE AND ONE FATALITY IN BOULDER. ABOUT 25 HOMES IN
SOUTH BOULDER HAD ROOFS BLOWN OFF OR WERE SEVERELY
DAMAGED. ROOFS WERE BLOWN OFF BUILDINGS HOUSING
SCIENTIFIC LABORATORIES AND OFFICES OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCE SERVICES ADMINISTRATION...NOW NOAA...IN BOULDER...AND
INSTALLATIONS OF SEVERAL SCIENTIFIC MEASURING SITES NEAR
BOULDER RECEIVED HEAVY DAMAGE. GRASS FIRES DRIVEN BY THE
HIGH WINDS ENDANGERED MANY AREAS...BUT WERE CONTROLLED BY
VOLUNTEER FIREMEN. ONE MAN DIED FROM INJURIES RECEIVED
WHEN HE WAS BLOWN FROM A FIRE TRUCK. ONE MAN WAS KILLED
AND ANOTHER INJURED WHEN THE TRUCK CAMPER IN WHICH THEY
WERE RIDING WAS BLOWN OFF I-25 ABOUT 10 MILES NORTH OF
DENVER. IN THE SAME AREA A MOBILE HOME AND A TRUCK
TRAILER WERE BLOWN OFF THE HIGHWAY AND DEMOLISHED. AT
LEAST 20 PEOPLE IN THE BOULDER AREA RECEIVED LIGHT TO
SERIOUS INJURIES FROM FLYING DEBRIS OR FROM BEING BLOWN
INTO OBSTRUCTIONS. POWER LINES AND TREES WERE DOWNED
OVER A WIDE AREA. DAMAGE WAS RELATIVELY LIGHT IN THE
CITY OF DENVER...WHERE NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 62 MPH
AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON THE 8TH. MANY
WINDOWS WERE BROKEN IN ARVADA...ENGLEWOOD...AND LITTLETON.
A 27-YEAR-OLD FIRE LOOKOUT TOWER ON SQUAW MOUNTAIN...WEST
OF DENVER...WAS BLOWN AWAY...AND SEVERAL RADIO RELAY TOWERS
AT THAT LOCATION WERE TOPPLED. TRUCKS WERE OVERTURNED
NEAR GEORGETOWN. MOBILE HOMES WERE OVERTURNED IN SEVERAL
AREAS WITH OCCUPANTS RECEIVING INJURIES IN SOME CASES.
THE STRONG CHINOOK WINDS ALSO BROUGHT WARM WEATHER. THE
MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 69 DEGREES ON THE 7TH BROKE THE
OLD RECORD OF 65 DEGREES SET IN 1948. THE TEMPERATURE
ALSO REACHED 65 DEGREES ON THE 8TH...BUT WAS NOT A RECORD.
IN 1992...AN INTENSE BLIZZARD BURIED EASTERN PARTS OF METRO
DENVER. AT TIMES SNOW FELL AT RATES OF 2 TO 3 INCHES AN
HOUR. WINDS INCREASED FROM THE NORTH AT SPEEDS OF 25 TO
45 MPH. DRIFTS OF 4 TO 8 FEET WERE COMMON. I-70 WAS
CLOSED EAST OF DENVER...AND I-25 WAS CLOSED FROM DENVER
SOUTH. SNOWFALL TOTALS RANGED FROM A COUPLE OF INCHES IN
THE FOOTHILLS WEST OF DENVER TO AS MUCH AS 2 FEET ON THE
EAST SIDE OF METRO DENVER. THE HEAVIEST SNOW FELL ON THE
7TH IN A BAND FROM THE NORTHERN SUBURBS OF WESTMINSTER AND
THORNTON THROUGH AURORA AND EAST DENVER TO SOUTHEAST OF
PARKER. SNOWFALL TOTALS INCLUDED: 22 INCHES IN SOUTHEAST
AURORA...14.8 INCHES AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...13
INCHES IN NORTHGLENN...10 INCHES IN PARKER...AND 9 INCHES IN
WESTMINSTER. THE 14.5 INCHES OF SNOWFALL MEASURED ON THE
7TH INTO THE 8TH IS THE GREATEST 24 HOUR SNOWFALL EVER
RECORDED IN THE CITY DURING THE MONTH OF JANUARY. NORTH
WINDS GUSTING TO 46 MPH CAUSED MUCH BLOWING SNOW AT
STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
IN 2000...HIGH WINDS DEVELOPED IN AND NEAR THE FRONT RANGE
FOOTHILLS. THE STRONGEST WINDS WERE GENERALLY CONFINED
TO FOOTHILLS AREAS NORTH OF I-70. A WIND GUST TO 76 MPH
WAS REPORTED IN GOLDEN GATE CANYON. WEST WINDS GUSTED TO
37 MPH AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON THE 8TH.
7-10 IN 1962...A MAJOR WINTER STORM DUMPED 13.5 INCHES OF SNOW ON
METRO DENVER. A FOOT OF THE SNOW FELL ON THE 8TH WHEN
NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTED TO 30 MPH. THE STORM WAS FOLLOWED
BY AN INTENSE BLAST OF VERY COLD ARCTIC AIR. MINIMUM
TEMPERATURE READINGS OF 24 DEGREES BELOW ZERO OCCURRED ON
BOTH THE 9TH AND 10TH. THE TEMPERATURE NEVER REACHED ABOVE
ZERO ON THE 9TH WHEN A MAXIMUM READING OF 1 DEGREE BELOW
ZERO WAS RECORDED. TEMPERATURES WERE BELOW ZERO FOR 37
CONSECUTIVE HOURS.
8 IN 1912...NORTHWEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS
TO 45 MPH IN DOWNTOWN DENVER.
IN 1971...WIND GUSTS TO 52 MPH WERE RECORDED IN DOWNTOWN
BOULDER. NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 28 MPH AT STAPLETON
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
IN 1990...HIGH WINDS GUSTING FROM 50 TO 90 MPH ALONG THE
FRONT RANGE PRODUCED MUCH DAMAGE FROM BLOWING DUST AND
GRAVEL THROUGHOUT THE DAY. WIND GUSTS TO 92 MPH WERE
RECORDED IN THE TABLE MESA AREA OF SOUTHWEST BOULDER.
THE WINDS CAUSED SPORADIC POWER OUTAGES. CLOUDS OF
DUST AND GRAVEL WHIPPED BY 70 TO 90 MPH GUSTS BLINDED
COMMUTERS ON THE DENVER-BOULDER TURNPIKE NEAR BROOMFIELD
DURING THE MORNING RUSH HOUR. FLYING GRAVEL SHATTERED
WINDOWS ON 50 VEHICLES PARKED NEAR A BOULDER HIGH SCHOOL.
HIGH WINDS WERE ALSO BLAMED FOR PARTIALLY DISMANTLING A
HOUSE UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN BOULDER...AS WELL AS TOPPLING
A NUMBER OF FENCES...BILLBOARDS...SIGNS...AND POWER POLES.
THE STRONG CROSS-WINDS JACK-KNIFED AND OVERTURNED SEMI-
TRACTOR TRAILERS ON I-70 NEAR GOLDEN AND JUST SOUTH OF
BOULDER ON STATE HIGHWAY 93. SEVERAL COUNTY AIRPORTS WERE
CLOSED DUE TO STRONG WINDS AND BLOWING DUST REDUCING
VISIBILITIES. WIND DELAYS UP TO 30 MINUTES OCCURRED AT
STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE WEST WINDS GUSTED TO
48 MPH. EIGHTY MPH WINDS IN GEORGETOWN...EMPIRE...AND IDAHO
SPRINGS WERE BLAMED FOR POWER AND TELEPHONE OUTAGES.
WINDOWS WERE BLOWN OUT OF A SHERIFF'S CAR ALONG I-70 EAST
OF GEORGETOWN. THE STRONG CHINOOK WINDS WARMED THE
TEMPERATURE TO A HIGH OF 60 DEGREES IN DENVER.
IN 2007...STRONG WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH AN INTENSE UPPER LEVEL
JET...AND A VERY STRONG SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT...DEVELOPED
IN AND NEAR THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS. PEAK WIND GUSTS
RANGED FROM 77 MPH TO 115 MPH. THE STRONG WINDS COUPLED
WITH FRESHLY FALLEN SNOW RESULTED IN WHITEOUT CONDITIONS
AND SEVERAL HIGHWAY CLOSURES DUE TO BLOWING AND DRIFTING
SNOW. ROAD CLOSURES INCLUDED: STATE HIGHWAY 93 BETWEEN
GOLDEN AND BOULDER...STATE HIGHWAY 128 FROM WADSWORTH
BOULEVARD TO STATE HIGHWAY 93...U.S. HIGHWAY 36...THE DENVER
BOULDER TURNPIKE FROM BROOMFIELD TO SOUTH BOULDER ROAD...AND
STATE HIGHWAY 74 NEAR EVERGREEN BETWEEN COUNTY ROAD 65 AND
LEWIS RIDGE ROAD. MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE WERE STRANDED IN
THEIR CARS BETWEEN GOLDEN AND BOULDER AS BLOWING AND DRIFT-
ING SNOW MADE THE HIGHWAY IMPASSABLE. SNOW DRIFTS ALONG
STATE HIGHWAY 93 WERE OVER 6 FEET IN DEPTH. AS A RESULT...
THE AMERICAN RED CROSS OPENED A SHELTER AT ARVADA WEST HIGH
SCHOOL FOR THE STRANDED COMMUTERS. UP TO TWENTY CARS WERE
ALSO ABANDONED ALONG THE DIAGONAL HIGHWAY...BETWEEN BOULDER
AND LONGMONT. THIRTY VEHICLES WERE STRANDED ALONG STATE
HIGHWAY 128. THE HIGH WINDS ALSO CAUSED INTERMITTENT
POWER OUTAGES IN BOULDER. WEST WINDS GUSTED TO 40 MPH AT
DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
8-9 IN 1891...HEAVY DRY SNOWFALL TOTALED 9.7 INCHES OVER DOWNTOWN
DENVER. MOST OF THE SNOW...6.5 INCHES...OCCURRED ON THE 8TH
WHEN NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 12 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 20
MPH.
IN 1939...HEAVY SNOWFALL TOTALED 6.7 INCHES IN DOWNTOWN DENVER.
THE SNOWFALL WAS THE HEAVIEST OVERNIGHT...PARTICULARLY
DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. THE MOIST SNOW ADHERED TO
THE NORTH SIDE OF THE INSTRUMENT SHELTER AND OTHER OBJECTS
TO A DEPTH OF 2 INCHES. SNOW ACCUMULATED ON FENCES AND
TREES TO SEVERAL INCHES. THIS WAS THE GREATEST SNOWFALL
OF THE MONTH THAT YEAR. THE GREATEST DEPTH ON THE GROUND
WAS 6.5 INCHES. NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED
TO 24 MPH ON THE 8TH AND TO 27 MPH ON THE 9TH.
8-10 IN 1983...WINDS OF 70 TO 90 MPH HOWLED THROUGH BOULDER.
A WIND GUST TO 100 MPH WAS RECORDED ON FRITZ PEAK NEAR
ROLLINSVILLE. A TREE BLOWN DOWN BY THE WIND DAMAGED A
HOUSE IN EASTERN BOULDER COUNTY. THE STRONG WINDS
DEVELOPED BEHIND A COLD FRONT LATE ON THE 8TH AND CONTINUED
THROUGH THE 10TH. AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...WEST
TO NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 49 MPH ON THE 8TH...TO 45 MPH
ON THE 9TH...AND TO 48 MPH ON THE 10TH.
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