... Today in Metro Denver weather history...
19-21 in 1875... smoke from several large Forest fires in the
mountains was visible from the city on each of these days.
20 in 1888... northwest winds were sustained to 44 mph.
In 1956... a microburst caused a brief wind gust to 58 mph at
Stapleton Airport.
In 1964... hail up to 1 inch in diameter was reported 1 mile
north of Stapleton International Airport. A 3 minute hail
storm at both Stapleton International Airport and Lowry
field piled small hail to one half inch deep.
In 1967... a strong thunderstorm dumped 1.95 inches of rain in
less than an hour at Stapleton International Airport and
produced a wind gust to 54 mph. The storm caused some
flooding in east Denver and Aurora. There was widespread
flooding to streets... basements... and store buildings and
automobiles. Hail stones to 3/4 inch in diameter were
measured at Buckley field in Aurora. A tornado touched
down just south of Littleton... damaging a barn and killing
several head of cattle.
In 1985... a wind gust to 61 mph was reported at Golden Gate
Canyon in the foothills west of Denver.
In 1986... a man was killed by lightning at Highlands Ranch
south of Denver.
In 1987... several tornadoes were sighted across Metro
Denver. A tornado touched down briefly 5 miles west of
Parker. A tornado was sighted just north of Chatfield
Reservoir. A tornado just northwest of Watkins was on the
ground for 15 minutes. A tornado near Barr Lake was taped
by a television news crew. It had a double vortex and was
on the ground for about 10 minutes. In addition to the 4
tornadoes... severe thunderstorms dumped large hail across
Metro Denver. One inch hail was reported in southeast
aurora; 3/4 inch hail fell at the Denver technology
center... Buckley field... and Franktown.
In 1992... several short-lived tornadoes occurred in the
vicinity of Barr Lake. No injuries or damages were
reported. A water spout was sighted over the southern end
of Barr Lake. Funnel clouds were also sighted on the
grounds of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal by National Weather
Service observers at Stapleton International Airport.
In 1994... hail up to dime size covered I-25 south of Denver
and near Sedalia. Heavy rain caused local flooding on the
Interstate Highway.
In 1996... strong thunderstorm winds downed several large tree
limbs in Boulder on the University of Colorado Campus. A
stop light in the city was also blown down.
In 1999... lightning sparked an oil tank fire near Brighton.
In 2001... large hail driven by strong thunderstorm winds raked
Denver international and Front Range airports. Wind gusting
to 54 mph along with hail as large 2 inches in diameter
punched at least 14 thousand holes and cracks in the flat
roofs of several buildings at Denver International Airport.
In addition... 93 planes and hundreds of cars were damaged.
About 100 flights had to be cancelled... stranding 1500
travelers. The Airport was completely shut down for about
20 minutes. The storm also damaged a ground avoidance radar
used to track planes on the ground to prevent collisions.
Damage was estimated at 10 million dollars... not counting the
damage to the 93 airliners. The storm moved south and
struck Watkins with hail as large as 2 1/2 inches in
diameter and winds gusting to 60 mph. A least 30 private
planes at Front Range Airport were destroyed. The radome
protecting the National Weather Service Doppler radar... which
was tracking the storm... also sustained damage. The large
hail... damaging winds... and heavy rain pummeled a Mobile Home
Park near Watkins. In the park... 52 Mobile homes... 14
recreational vehicles... 3 homes... and a commercial building
were damaged. Siding was riddled with holes and windows
were broken. Vehicles sustained extensive damage and car
windows were shattered. A handful of people were treated
for minor cuts and bruises. The strong winds also flipped
a tractor trailer along I-70 near Watkins. The storm caused
power outages... which affected about 1200 residents.
Excluding the damage at Denver International Airport... damage
estimates totaled 49 million dollars... making the storm the
costliest in the last 3 years and the 10th costliest since
1984. A small tornado touched down just east of Brighton...
but did no damage. Hail as large as 2 inches in diameter
fell near Fort Lupton with 3/4 inch hail measured in
Bennett. Precipitation from the storm totaled only 0.23
inch at Denver International Airport.
In 2002... heavy rain fell near the Hayman wildfire burn area.
Flash flooding washed out a 40-foot section of the access
Road to cheeseman Reservoir. Some debris was washed against
a gate... blocking the Road. Hail to 1 1/2 inches in diameter
fell near Central City with 3/4 inch hail near Blackhawk.
In 2003... hail as large as 1 inch in diameter fell near Bennett
and Strasburg with 3/4 inch hail measured in Denver... Golden...
at Centennial Airport... and near Parker. Hail as large as
7/8 inch was reported in Arvada.
In 2004... a severe thunderstorm produced hail to 3/4 inch in
diameter in and near Brighton.
In 2005... severe thunderstorms produced large hail near the
Palmer Divide. Hail to 1 inch in diameter was measured
near Larkspur with 7/8 inch hail near Sedalia and 3/4 inch
hail in Greenland. An apparent thunderstorm outflow produced
a wind gust to 59 mph at Denver International Airport during
the evening hours.
In 2010... lightning struck a home in centenniel and sparked a
fire which caused extensive damage.
20-21 in 1897... high winds raked the city overnight. Southeast winds
were sustained to 60 mph with gusts as high as 72 mph on the
20th. Southeast winds were sustained to 57 mph with gusts
to 60 mph on the 21st.
In 2007... a brief hot spell produced two temperature records.
The high temperature of 97 degrees was tied on the 20th.
A new record high temperature of 99 degrees was established
on the 21st.
