Issued by NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
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000 NOUS45 KBOU 240859 PNSBOU COZ030>051-242300- PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 259 AM MDT FRI APR 24 2009 ...TODAY IN METRO DENVER WEATHER HISTORY... 23-24 IN 1883...SNOWFALL TOTALED 7.6 INCHES IN DOWNTOWN DENVER. IN 1904...A THUNDERSTORM PRODUCED HAIL DURING THE LATE EVENING OF THE 23RD. APPARENT POST-FRONTAL RAIN CHANGED TO SNOW DURING THE EARLY MORNING OF THE 24TH...BUT TOTALED ONLY 2.0 INCHES. PRECIPITATION CONSISTING OF RAIN...MELTED HAIL...AND SNOW TOTALED 0.60 INCH. NORTHEAST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 41 MPH WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 52 MPH ON THE 24TH. IN 1905...RAIN CHANGED TO SNOW AND TOTALED 8.0 INCHES. MUCH OF THE SNOW MELTED AS IT FELL WITH ONLY 2.5 INCHES MEASURED ON THE GROUND. PRECIPITATION TOTALED 1.88 INCHES. NORTHEAST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 20 MPH ON THE 23RD. IN 1942...THE SOUTH PLATTE RIVER REACHED FLOOD CONDITIONS IN THE CITY. AS MANY AS 15 THOUSAND RESIDENTS WERE WARNED TO EVACUATE THEIR HOMES TEMPORARILY. TWO LIVES WERE LOST IN THE CITY. FOUR BRIDGES WERE WASHED OUT BY THE FLOOD WATERS AND OTHER BRIDGES WERE ENDANGERED. THE DAMAGE WAS GENERALLY LIMITED TO BRIDGES THAT WERE IN POOR CONDITION. HOWEVER...THE FLOOD WATERS DID NOT OVERFLOW THEIR CHANNEL BANKS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS. IN 1980...HEAVY RAIN BEGAN IN THE EASTERN FOOTHILLS ON THE NIGHT OF THE 23RD AND TURNED TO HEAVY WET SNOW ON THE 24TH. UP TO A FOOT AND A HALF OF SNOW FELL IN THE FOOTHILLS WEST OF DENVER. AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PRECIPITATION TOTALED 1.58 INCHES...BUT ONLY 3.7 INCHES OF SNOW FELL FROM THE STORM. EAST WINDS GUSTED TO 24 MPH. IN 1997...LOCATIONS IN AND NEAR THE FOOTHILLS RECEIVED THE GREATEST SNOW OF THE YEAR AS A WINTER-LIKE STORM SYSTEM MOVED INTO METRO DENVER. EAST TO SOUTHEAST WINDS AT SPEEDS OF 15 TO 35 MPH WERE COMMON WITH EVEN STRONGER GUSTS ABOVE 9 THOUSAND FEET. SNOW FELL AT A RATE OF 2 TO 3 INCHES AN HOUR AS DEEP UPSLOPE COMBINED WITH A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS. THE SNOW BEGAN IN THE FOOTHILLS ABOVE 7500 FEET DURING THE EVENING OF THE 23RD. BY SUNRISE THE SNOW LEVEL HAD DROPPED TO 5000 FEET. THE HARDEST HIT AREAS EXTENDED FROM I-25 INTO THE FOOTHILLS. SNOWFALL TOTALS IN THE FOOTHILLS RANGED FROM 1 1/2 TO OVER 3 1/2 FEET. IN THE CITY...SNOWFALL RANGED FROM 8 TO 18 INCHES. SOME SNOWFALL AMOUNTS INCLUDED: 36 INCHES AT COAL CREEK CANYON; 31 INCHES AT NEDERLAND AND WONDERVU; 20 TO 24 INCHES NEAR BLACKHAWK... AT ECHO LAKE...AND NORTH TURKEY CREEK CANYON; 15 TO 19 INCHES AT BOULDER...CENTRAL CITY...CONIFER...EVERGREEN...GEORGETOWN... AND LOUISVILLE; 8 TO 14 INCHES IN ARVADA...BROOMFIELD... WESTMINSTER...WHEAT RIDGE...CASTLE ROCK...AND KEN CARYL RANCH. ONLY 2.3 INCHES OF SNOW FELL AT THE SITE OF THE FORMER STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON THE 24TH. EAST WINDS GUSTED TO 36 MPH AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON THE 24TH. IN 2003...A STRONG AND DEEP NORTHERLY FLOW CIRCULATING AROUND A CLOSED UPPER LOW PRESSURE CENTER ALLOWED HEAVY SNOW TO FALL IN THE MOUNTAINS AND EASTERN FOOTHILLS. SNOWFALL TOTALED 14 INCHES IN IDAHO SPRINGS. RAIN WAS MIXED WITH SNOW AND THUNDER ACROSS METRO DENVER. SNOWFALL WAS ONLY 0.9 INCH OVERNIGHT AT THE SITE OF THE FORMER STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. PRECIPITATION TOTALED 1.34 INCHES AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...WHERE NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 55 MPH ON THE 23RD. IN 2007...A STORM SYSTEM INTENSIFIED OVER SOUTHEAST COLORADO... ALLOWING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND RAIN TO DEVELOP OVER MUCH OF NORTH-CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST COLORADO. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRECEDED THE STORM SYSTEM ON THE 23RD...AFFECTING THE URBAN CORRIDOR. NICKEL SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED IN BOULDER AND A SMALL LANDSPOUT TOUCHED DOWN NEAR BYERS. ON THE 24TH...HEAVY SNOW FELL IN THE FOOTHILLS WEST OF DENVER AND BOULDER...WHERE STORM TOTALS RANGED FROM 1 TO 2 FEET. HEAVY SNOW ALSO OCCURRED ALONG THE PALMER DIVIDE...WITH STORM TOTALS OF 10 TO 16 INCHES. ELSEWHERE...A STEADY MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL WAS REPORTED. DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT MEASURED 2.09 INCHES OF RAINFALL...WHICH SHATTERED THE PREVIOUS 24-HR RECORD OF 1.29 INCHES FOR THE 24TH OF APRIL. THE HEAVY WET SNOW CAUSED SEVERAL POWER OUTAGES. IN SOME INSTANCES IT TOOK SEVERAL DAYS TO RESTORE POWER. SEVERAL ROAD CLOSURES WERE REPORTED...INCLUDING INTERSTATES 25 AND 70. A JACKNIFED SEMI-TRAILER BACKED UP TRAFFIC FOR NEARLY 20 MILES...ON SOUTHBOUND I-25...BETWEEN DENVER AND COLORADO SPRINGS. IN ADDITION...A 50-TON BOULDER BLOCKED THE SOUTHBOUND LANE OF STATE HIGHWAY 285...NEAR PARMALEE GULCH. CREWS HAD TO USE EXPLOSIVES TO BREAK UP THE BOULDER AND CLEAR THE DEBRIS. STRANDED BUSES AND IMPASSABLE ROADWAYS ALSO FORCED SEVERAL SCHOOL CLOSURES. 23-25 IN 1935...HEAVY WET SNOW FELL ACROSS METRO DENVER. THE STORM STARTED AS RAIN ON THE 23RD AND CHANGED TO SNOW EARLY ON THE MORNING OF THE 24TH. THERE WAS CONTINUOUS PRECIPITATION FOR A PERIOD OF 48 HOURS. SNOWFALL TOTALED 19.0 INCHES OVER THE CITY AND 20.0 INCHES AT DENVER MUNICIPAL AIRPORT. HOWEVER... DUE TO WARM TEMPERATURES IN THE 30`S...MUCH OF THE SNOW MELTED AS IT FELL AND DID NOT SERIOUSLY DISRUPT TRAFFIC. THE GREATEST SNOW ACCUMULATION ON THE GROUND DOWNTOWN WAS 12 INCHES...BUT IT QUICKLY MELTED. THE HIGHEST SUSTAINED WIND SPEED RECORDED DURING THE STORM WAS 28 MPH FROM THE NORTH ON THE 23RD. THE STORM CONTAINED 3.16 INCHES OF MOISTURE. 24 IN 1959...WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH RECORDED IN DOWNTOWN BOULDER CAUSED VERY LIMITED MINOR DAMAGE. WEST WINDS GUSTED TO 38 MPH AT STAPLETON AIRPORT. IN 1986...A WIND GUST TO 60 MPH WAS CLOCKED AT GOLDEN GATE CANYON. IN 1989...1 3/4 INCH DIAMETER HAIL WAS REPORTED IN LAFAYETTE. BOULDER AND LOUISVILLE REPORTED 3/4 INCH HAIL. 24-25 IN 1890...RAIN CHANGED TO SNOW AND TOTALED 7.0 INCHES IN DOWNTOWN DENVER. IN 1931...HEAVY SNOWFALL TOTALED 9.3 INCHES OVER DOWNTOWN DENVER. WINDS WERE LIGHT DURING THE STORM. IN 1996...THE SECOND WIND STORM IN LESS THAN A WEEK DEVELOPED EAST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE AND SPREAD OVER METRO DENVER. HIGH WINDS GUSTED FROM 60 TO 90 MPH. SEVERAL POWER LINES AND POLES WERE DOWNED. SOME OF THE STRONGER WIND GUSTS INCLUDED: 91 MPH ATOP SQUAW MOUNTAIN WEST OF DENVER...90 MPH ATOP TABLE MESA NEAR BOULDER...85 MPH IN GOLDEN GATE CANYON...AND 82 MPH AT WONDERVU. NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 41 MPH AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON THE 25TH. 24-26 IN 1924...POST-FRONTAL RAIN CHANGED TO SNOW...WHICH BECAME HEAVY AND TOTALED 10.2 INCHES OVER DOWNTOWN DENVER. THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF SNOW ON THE GROUND WAS 6.0 INCHES ON THE 25TH DUE TO MELTING. NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 38 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 42 MPH ON THE 24TH. $$