791
NOUS45 KBOU 120045
PNSBOU
COZ030>051-122300-
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
645 PM MDT SAT OCT 11 2025
..THIS WEEK IN METRO DENVER WEATHER HISTORY
10-12 IN 1969...FROM THE 10TH TO THE 12TH...THE SECOND HEAVY SNOWSTORM
IN LESS THAN A WEEK DUMPED NEARLY A FOOT OF SNOW ACROSS
METRO DENVER AND PLUNGED THE AREA INTO EXTREMELY COLD
TEMPERATURES FOR SO EARLY IN THE SEASON. SNOWFALL TOTALED
11.0 INCHES AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. NORTH WINDS
GUSTING TO 26 MPH PRODUCED DRIFTS UP TO 2 FEET DEEP.
TEMPERATURES DIPPED FROM A HIGH OF 52 DEGREES ON THE 10TH TO
A RECORD LOW FOR THE DATE OF 10 DEGREES ON THE 12TH. THERE
WAS ADDITIONAL DAMAGE TO TREES AND POWER AND TELEPHONE LINES
FROM HEAVY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS AND ICING. TRAVEL WAS
RESTRICTED OR BLOCKED BY DRIFTING SNOW IN BOTH THE
MOUNTAINS AND ON THE PLAINS EAST OF DENVER.
11-12 IN 1901...AN APPARENT COLD FRONT PRODUCED NORTHEAST WINDS
SUSTAINED TO 42 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 48 MPH ON THE 11TH.
GENERAL RAIN CHANGED TO SNOW OVERNIGHT AND TOTALED 2.0
INCHES ON THE 12TH. THIS WAS THE FIRST SNOWFALL OF THE
SEASON. TOTAL PRECIPITATION WAS 0.32 INCH.
11-13 IN 1892...FROM THE 11TH TO THE 13TH...APPARENT POST-FRONTAL
RAINFALL TOTALED 3.33 INCHES IN DOWNTOWN DENVER OVER THE
3-DAY PERIOD. A TRACE OF SNOW ON THE 12TH MELTED AS IT
FELL. RAINFALL OF 2.58 INCHES ON THE 12TH INTO THE 13TH
WAS THE GREATEST 24-HOUR PRECIPITATION EVER RECORDED
DURING THE MONTH OF OCTOBER. NORTHWEST WINDS WERE
SUSTAINED TO 48 MPH WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 55 MPH ON
THE 12TH.
12 IN 1873...SMOKE FROM SEVERAL VERY LARGE FOREST FIRES WAS
SIGHTED ALONG THE MOUNTAINS.
IN 1923...POST-FRONTAL RAIN CHANGED TO SNOW AND TOTALED
4.0 INCHES. NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 14 MPH.
IN 1978...NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTING TO 35 MPH WITH A STRONG
COLD FRONT BRIEFLY REDUCED VISIBILITY TO 2 MILES IN
BLOWING DUST AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
12-13 IN 2001...OVERNIGHT FROM THE 12TH TO THE 13TH...PEAK WIND
GUSTS TO 82 MPH AND 70 MPH WERE MEASURED ATOP NIWOT
RIDGE AND SQUAW MOUNTAIN...RESPECTIVELY.
12-14 IN 1969...FROM THE 12TH TO THE 14TH...RECORD BREAKING
EXTREMELY COLD TEMPERATURES FOR SO EARLY IN THE SEASON
OCCURRED. THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 26 DEGREES ON THE 13TH
WAS TWO DEGREES LOWER THAN THE PREVIOUS RECORD MINIMUM
TEMPERATURE OF 28 DEGREES FOR THE DATE SET IN 1885. THE
HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 24 DEGREES ON THE 12TH EXCEEDED THE
RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE (22 DEGREES SET IN 1885) FOR THE
DATE BY ONLY 2 DEGREES. IN ADDITION...3 NEW RECORD LOW
TEMPERATURES FOR THE DATES WERE SET. THE LOW
TEMPERATURE DIPPED TO 10 DEGREES ON THE 12TH BREAKING
THE OLD RECORD (22 DEGREES IN 1885) BY 12 DEGREES. ON
THE 13TH THE MERCURY PLUNGED TO A LOW OF 3 DEGREES
BREAKING THE OLD RECORD (28 DEGREES IN 1885) BY 25
DEGREES. ON THE 14TH THE TEMPERATURE REACHED A MINIMUM
OF 4 DEGREES BREAKING THE OLD RECORD (25 DEGREES IN 1966)
BY 21 DEGREES.
13 IN 1990...STRONG DOWNSLOPE WINDS STIRRED UP CLOUDS OF DUST AND
GRAVEL...RATTLED WINDOWS...AND STRIPPED AUTUMN-COLORED LEAVES
FROM TREES IN BOULDER. A WIND GUST TO 78 MPH WAS CLOCKED
IN SOUTHWEST BOULDER...WHILE A 96 MPH GUST WAS RECORDED IN
NORTHWEST BOULDER. WEST WINDS GUSTED TO ONLY 36 MPH AT
STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
13-14 IN 1910...THE 13TH THROUGH THE 14TH...LIGHT SMOKE FROM NEARBY
FOREST FIRES DRIFTED OVER THE CITY.
IN 1966...THE FIRST MEASURABLE SNOW OF THE SEASON CAUSED
WIDESPREAD DAMAGE TO TREES AND SHRUBS. THE HEAVY WET SNOW
TOTALED 6.9 INCHES AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
WHERE NORTH-NORTHWEST WINDS SUSTAINED AT 20 TO 25 MPH AND
GUSTING TO 45 MPH CAUSED MUCH BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW.
SOUTH AND EAST OF DENVER...UP TO A FOOT OF SNOW FELL. HEAVY
WET SNOW ACCUMULATIONS FOLLOWED BY FREEZING TEMPERATURES AND
STRONG WINDS RESULTED IN EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO TREES...CARS...
AND UTILITY LINES BY FALLING LIMBS. A WOMAN WAS KILLED BY
A FALLING SNOW LADEN TREE LIMB IN DENVER. SEVERAL OTHER
PEOPLE RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES FROM FALLING TREE LIMBS.
IN 1987...RAIN DRENCHED METRO DENVER. THE SOUTH PLATTE CANYON
AREA SOUTHWEST OF DENVER RECEIVED THE MOST WITH 1.11
INCHES AT KASSLER AND 1.49 INCHES UPSTREAM AT STRONTIA
SPRINGS. AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...0.62 INCH
OF RAIN WAS MEASURED...NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 29 MPH...AND
THUNDER WAS HEARD.
IN 2007...A NEW 24-HOUR RECORD OF 2.65 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION
WAS SET AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FOR THE MONTH OF
OCTOBER; BREAKING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 2.58 INCHES SET IN
1892.
13-16 IN 1873...THE 13TH THROUGH THE 16TH...SMOKE FROM SEVERAL LARGE
FOREST FIRES IN THE MOUNTAINS MADE THE AIR VERY HAZY IN THE
CITY.
14 IN 1952...THE FIRST MEASURABLE SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON LEFT 1.2
INCHES OF SNOW AT STAPLETON AIRPORT. NORTH WINDS GUSTED TO
38 MPH.
IN 1974...RAIN CHANGED TO SNOW EARLY IN THE DAY...BUT SNOWFALL
TOTALED ONLY 1.0 INCH AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
WHERE NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTED TO 20 MPH.
IN 2021...VERY STRONG WIND GUSTS DEVELOPED OVER THE HIGHER
MOUNTAIN AREAS. PEAK WIND GUSTS ATOP BERTHOUD PASS RANGED
FROM 90 TO 104 MPH. AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...A
PEAK WIND GUST TO 41 MPH WAS OBSERVED FROM THE NORTHWEST.
15 IN 1871...A TERRIBLE WIND OCCURRED DURING A SNOW STORM IN THE
FOOTHILLS ABOVE BOULDER. DAMAGE WAS MINOR.
IN 1878...HIGH WINDS REACHED SUSTAINED SPEEDS OF 60 MPH AT
TIMES.
IN 1911...POST-FRONTAL NORTHWEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO
41 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 43 MPH.
IN 1948...STRONG WINDS STRUCK THE BOULDER AREA. WINDS
AVERAGED 50 MPH AT VALMONT JUST EAST OF BOULDER. WIND
GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH WERE RECORDED AT THE BOULDER
AIRPORT. WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH BRIEFLY REDUCED THE
VISIBILITY TO 1 1/2 MILES IN BLOWING DUST AT STAPLETON
AIRPORT.
IN 1980...A RARE OCTOBER TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN BOULDER...
DAMAGING A VOCATIONAL TRAINING BUILDING AND THROWING THREE
NEARBY CARS TOGETHER DAMAGING THEM EXTENSIVELY. A MILE AND
HALF AWAY SEVERAL CAMPER VEHICLES WERE THROWN 200 FEET.
THE STORM ALSO PRODUCED 1 INCH DIAMETER HAIL IN THE BOULDER
AREA.
15-16 IN 1928...A THUNDERSTORM PRODUCED HAIL SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT
ON THE 15TH. RAIN CHANGED TO SNOW BY EVENING. THROUGH THE
AFTERNOON OF THE 16TH...THE HEAVY SNOWFALL TOTALED 7.3 INCHES
IN THE CITY. NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 23 MPH ON THE
15TH.
IN 1984...THE HEAVIEST OCTOBER SNOWSTORM IN SEVERAL YEARS HIT
EASTERN COLORADO WITH A VENGEANCE. THE STORM WAS KNOWN AS
THE "BRONCO BLIZZARD" SINCE IT OCCURRED DURING A NATIONALLY
TELEVISED MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL GAME IN DENVER; THEY HELD
ON AND DEFEAT GREEN BAY BY A SCORE OF 17-14. ONE TO TWO
FEET OF SNOW FELL NEAR THE FOOTHILLS IN WEST METRO DENVER
WITH 2 TO 3 FEET IN THE FOOTHILLS. WIND GUSTS UP TO
55 MPH WHIPPED THE SNOW INTO DRIFTS AS HIGH AS 4 FEET.
THE STORM CLOSED SCHOOLS...ROADS...AND AIRPORTS. I-70
WAS CLOSED BOTH EAST AND WEST OF DENVER. I-25 WAS CLOSED
SOUTH TO COLORADO SPRINGS. FLIGHTS WERE DELAYED FOR
SEVERAL HOURS AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. POWER
OUTAGES WERE WIDESPREAD. SNOWFALL TOTALED 9.2 INCHES AT
STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE NORTH WINDS GUSTING
AS HIGH AS 40 MPH CAUSED FREQUENT SURFACE VISIBILITIES OF
1/4 TO 1/2 MILE IN MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW
OVERNIGHT. THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF ONLY 35 DEGREES ON THE
15TH WAS A RECORD LOW MAXIMUM FOR THE DATE.
15-17 IN 1989...THE 15TH TO THE 17TH...AN AUTUMN SNOWSTORM HIT METRO
DENVER WITH 2 TO 6 INCHES OF SNOW. SNOWFALL TOTALED 4.4
INCHES AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE THE
MAXIMUM SNOW DEPTH ON THE GROUND WAS ONLY 3 INCHES DUE TO
MELTING AND NORTH WINDS GUSTED TO 25 MPH ON THE 15TH. THE
HEAVY WET SNOW CAUSED LEAFY BRANCHES TO SAG ONTO POWER
LINES...RESULTING IN A NUMBER OF POWER OUTAGES. FIVE
THOUSAND HOMES WERE BLACKED OUT IN BOULDER ON THE 16TH.
UP TO A FOOT OF SNOW FELL IN THE HIGHER FOOTHILLS WITH 19
INCHES RECORDED AT ECHO LAKE.
16 IN 1878...HIGH WINDS REACHED SUSTAINED SPEEDS OF 60 MPH.
IN 1998...ONE OF THE COSTLIEST HAIL STORMS TO EVER HIT METRO
DENVER CAUSED AN ESTIMATED TOTAL OF 87.8 MILLION DOLLARS IN
DAMAGE TO HOMES...COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS...AND MOTOR VEHICLES.
AT THE TIME THE STORM WAS RANKED AS THE 7TH COSTLIEST EVER.
THE HAILSTORM...RARE FOR SO LATE IN THE SEASON...BEGAN OVER
PORTIONS OF ARVADA...WHEAT RIDGE...AND NORTHWEST DENVER
WHERE MOSTLY PEA SIZED HAIL ACCUMULATED UP TO A DEPTH OF
6 INCHES NEAR I-70. SEVERAL ACCIDENTS WERE ATTRIBUTED...
AT LEAST IN PART...TO THE HAILSTORM. SNOWPLOWS HAD TO BE
CALLED OUT TO CLEAR SEVERAL CITY STREETS. THE STORM
INTENSIFIED AS IT MOVED TO THE EAST...INTO THE DENVER AND
AURORA AREAS. LARGE HAIL...UP TO 2.00 INCHES IN DIAMETER
POUNDED EAST AND SOUTHEAST METRO DENVER. TWO INCH DIAMETER
HAIL FELL IN THE CITY OF DENVER AND AT BUCKLEY FIELD. HAIL
AS LARGE AS 1 1/2 INCHES WAS MEASURED IN SOUTH DENVER WITH
1 INCH DIAMETER HAIL IN NORTHERN AURORA.
IN 1999...UPSLOPE CONDITIONS PRODUCED SNOW ACROSS METRO DENVER
WITH HEAVY AMOUNTS IN THE NEARBY FOOTHILLS. SNOWFALL TOTALS
INCLUDED: 9 INCHES AT ELDORADO SPRINGS; 8 INCHES AT GENESEE...
GOLDEN GATE CANYON...LITTLETON AND NEAR MORRISON; 7 INCHES
NEAR NEDERLAND; AND 6 INCHES IN LOUISVILLE. SNOWFALL
TOTALED 3.6 INCHES AT THE SITE OF THE FORMER STAPLETON
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
16-17 IN 1990...STRONG DOWNSLOPE WINDS RAKED THE EASTERN FOOTHILLS.
WIND GUSTS FROM 60 TO 75 MPH WERE COMMON. STRONG WINDS IN
METRO DENVER RESULTED IN WAVE DAMAGE TO A DOCK USED TO MOOR
SEVERAL PRIVATE SAIL BOATS AT CHERRY CREEK RESERVOIR.
DAMAGE WAS CONFINED TO THE DOCK AND TWO ANCHOR CABLES.
A NORTHWEST WIND GUST TO 43 MPH WAS RECORDED AT STAPLETON
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
17 IN 1878...STRONG WINDS REACHED SUSTAINED SPEEDS OF 48 MPH.
IN 1988...A WIND GUST TO 62 MPH WAS RECORDED IN CENTRAL
BOULDER. THE STRONG WINDS CAUSED A FEW BRIEF POWER
OUTAGES. AN OLD SMOLDERING BRUSH FIRE IN THE FOOTHILLS
WEST OF BOULDER WAS RE-IGNITED BY THE WIND GUSTS.
IN 1994...WINDS GUSTED TO 85 MPH ATOP SQUAW MOUNTAIN...5 MILES
SOUTH OF IDAHO SPRINGS.
IN 2006...A POTENT STORM SYSTEM BROUGHT HEAVY SNOWFALL TO THE
MOUNTAINS AND EASTERN FOOTHILLS. SNOWFALL TOTALS IN THE
FOOTHILLS INCLUDED: 14 INCHES AT BLACKHAWK...13.5 INCHES
NEAR IDAHO SPRINGS...13 INCHES AT CABIN CREEK...12.5 INCHES
AT ASPEN SPRINGS AND ECHO LAKE...11.5 INCHES AT GEORGETOWN
AND ROLLINSVILLE...10.5 INCHES NEAR JAMESTOWN...AND 10 INCHES
AT GRANT AND LAKE ELDORA. LESSER SNOW AMOUNTS...FROM 4 TO 9
INCHES...WERE RECORDED ELSEWHERE IN THE FOOTHILLS. SNOWFALL
TOTALED ONLY 3.5 INCHES IN THE DENVER STAPLETON AREA. AT
DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...NORTH WINDS GUSTED TO 31 MPH.
IN 2012...A BRIEF BUT POWERFUL WINDSTORM ASSOCIATED WITH A
FAST MOVING COLD FRONT ACROSS THE URBAN CORRIDOR AND
ADJACENT PLAINS DURING IN THE EVENING. PEAK WIND GUSTS
RANGING FROM 58 TO 71 MPH DOWNED TREES AND POWER LINES
WHICH DAMAGED HOMES AND VEHICLES. SEVERAL TEMPORARY
STRUCTURES WERE ALSO DAMAGED. APPROXIMATELY FIFTY THOUSAND
WERE LEFT WITHOUT POWER IN THE DENVER...FORT COLLINS AND
GREELEY AREAS. SOME SCHOOLS WERE CLOSED THE FOLLOWING DAY
UNTIL POWER COULD BE RESTORED. AROUND THE DENVER AREA...PEAK
WIND GUSTS INCLUDED: 69 MPH IN GOLDEN...64 MPH AT LITTLETON...
62 MPH AT BUCKLEY AFB AND IN DENVER...NEAR THE INTERSECTON OF
WALNUT ST. AND INTERSTATE 25...AND LONGMONT; 59 MPH AT
CENTENNIAL AIRPORT...58 MPH AT DENVER CITY PARK...HIGHLANDS
RANCH. AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...A PEAK WIND GUST TO
35 MPH WAS OBSERVED FROM THE NORTHWEST.
17-19 IN 1908...A MOIST...HEAVY...WET SNOWFALL TOTALED 13.0 INCHES IN
DOWNTOWN DENVER OVER THE 3 DAYS. RAIN FROM EARLY MORNING
ON THE 17TH CHANGED TO SNOW BY LATE AFTERNOON AND CONTINUED
THROUGH THE LATE MORNING OF THE 19TH. DUE TO TEMPERATURES
IN THE 30'S AND MELTING...THE MOST SNOW ON THE GROUND WAS
ONLY 5.0 INCHES AT 6:00 PM ON THE 18TH. NORTHWEST TO
NORTHEAST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED BETWEEN 12 AND 20 MPH DURING
THE STORM. PRECIPITATION TOTALED 1.82 INCHES.
18 IN 1875...THE HAZE WAS SO DENSE THAT THE MOUNTAINS WERE NOT
VISIBLE FROM DOWNTOWN DENVER FOR MOST OF THE DAY.
IN 1937...A VIGOROUS COLD FRONT PRODUCED NORTH WINDS SUSTAINED
TO 32 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 41 MPH. RAIN AND SNOW TOTALED
0.16 INCH. POST-FRONTAL SNOWFALL OF 0.8 INCH WAS THE
ONLY SNOWFALL OF THE MONTH.
IN 1960...POST-FRONTAL UPSLOPE RAIN CHANGED TO SNOW.
SNOWFALL WAS 2.2 INCHES AT STAPLETON AIRPORT WHERE
PRECIPITATION (RAIN AND MELTED SNOW) TOTALED 1.58 INCHES.
IN 1971...WIND GUSTS TO 48 MPH WERE RECORDED IN DOWNTOWN
BOULDER. WEST WINDS GUSTED TO 30 MPH AT STAPLETON
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
IN 1999...HEAVY SNOW DEVELOPED IN THE FOOTHILLS WEST OF METRO
DENVER WITH LESSER AMOUNTS ACROSS THE CITY. SNOWFALL TOTALS
INCLUDED: 7 INCHES NEAR NEDERLAND...6 INCHES IN BOULDER...AND
5 INCHES AT CHIEF HOSA. ONLY 1.2 INCHES OF SNOW WERE
MEASURED AT THE SITE OF THE FORMER STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT.
18-23 IN 2003...AN EXTENDED WARM SPELL RESULTED IN 5 NEW TEMPERATURE
RECORDS. THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 84 DEGREES ON THE 18TH
EQUALED THE RECORD HIGH FOR THE DATE. HIGH TEMPERATURES
OF 86 DEGREES ON THE 19TH...83 DEGREES ON THE 21ST...AND 84
DEGREES ON THE 22ND WERE RECORD HIGHS FOR THE DATES. LOW
TEMPERATURE OF 49 DEGREES ON THE 23RD WAS A RECORD HIGH
MINIMUM FOR THE DATE. LOW TEMPERATURES DURING THE PERIOD
WERE IN THE 40'S AND LOWER 50'S.
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