National Weather Service National Headquarters

• Home
• Site Map
• News
• Organization
• Search for: NWS All NOAA 

000
NOUS45 KBOU 180859
PNSBOU
COZ030>051-182300-

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO
259 AM MDT THU APR 18 2024

...Today in metro Denver weather history...

16-18 In 2009...from the 16th to the 18th...a potent spring storm
        brought heavy snow to locations in and near the Front Range
        Foothills.  A deep easterly upslope produced nearly 5 feet
        of snow in parts of the foothills.  The heavy snow resulted
        in the closure of Interstate 70...from Golden west to Vail...
        for approximately 16 hours.  The heavy snow snapped power
        lines in Evergreen and Nederland.  The ensuing outages
        affected 14200 residents.  In the Front Range Foothills...
        storm totals included:  56 inches...3 miles south of
        Rollinsville; 54 inches...3 miles southeast of Pinecliffe;
        43 inches at Aspen Springs...42 inches at Evergreen...38
        inches near Conifer...37 inches at St. Mary`s Glacier...and
        34 inches near Nederland. Along the Urban Corridor and
        Palmer Divide...the heaviest snow occurred above 5500 feet
        on the 17th.  Storm totals included:  22 inches...8.5 miles
        southwest of Franktown; 18 inches...10 miles south-southeast
        of Buckley Air Force Base; 17 inches near Cherry Creek and
        7 miles south of Sedalia...16 inches...6.5 miles southwest of
        Castle Rock; 15 inches near Beverly Hills...12 inches near
        Highlands Ranch and Lafayette...with 11 inches in Broomfield.
        Elsewhere storm totals ranged from 4 to 10 inches.
        Only 2.6 inches of snow was observed at Denver International
        Airport. The 24-hr precipitation for the day however was
        1.16 inches...which established a new record for April 17th.
17-18 In 1878...the wind blew violently all day on the 17th with
        a maximum sustained velocity of 40 mph.  Dust hung over
        the city like a cloud.  The relative humidity was zero
        nearly all day.  A terrific gale blew overnight.  There
        was much damage to buildings...signs...fences...etc.  Some
        wind gusts were so strong as to jar buildings to their
        foundations.  The station anemometer recorded sustained
        winds to 50 mph with higher gusts before it was damaged
        by the winds.  The winds moderated during the day on the
        18th and ended at sunset.
      In 1894...post-frontal rain changed to snow on the 17th
        around sunrise and continued through 9:00 AM on the 18th.
        Snowfall totaled 10.5 inches...but most of the snow melted
        as it fell.  The high temperature warmed to only 35 degrees
        on the 17th after a high of 76 on the 16th.  Northeast
        winds were sustained to 30 mph with gusts to 32 mph on
        the 17th.
      In 1998...from the 17th to the 18th...more spring snow fell
        across metro Denver and in the foothills.  Snowfall totals
        included:  11 inches at Golden Gate Canyon...10 inches at
        Highlands Ranch...9 inches at Elizabeth...8 inches at
        Broomfield and Morrison...and 7 inches at Chief Hosa...
        Evergreen...Littleton...and Sedalia. Snowfall totaled only
        3.2 inches at the site of the former Stapleton
        International Airport.  North winds gusted to 22 mph at
        Denver International Airport.
17-19 In 1920...snow fell across the city continuously for 57 hours...
        from the early morning of the 17th until 11:40 AM on the
        19th.  The heavy wet snowfall totaled 18.2 inches with the
        greatest accumulation on the ground of 12 inches.  Winds
        during the storm were strong with sustained speeds in
        excess of 27 mph for over 40 consecutive hours...which
        created near-blizzard conditions.  The highest recorded
        wind speeds were 44 mph with gusts to 50 mph from the
        north on the 17th and 39 mph with gusts to 48 mph from
        the northwest on the 18th.  The strong winds piled the
        snow into high drifts which stopped all Denver traffic.
        Railroads were blocked with only one train entering the
        city on the 19th.  All interurban trains were blocked...as
        were the 13 trolley lines.  Thus...many workers were unable
        to get home at night and filled all of the downtown hotels
        to capacity.  No grocery or fuel deliveries were possible...
        except milk and coal to hospitals and to families with
        babies.  No lives were lost in the city...but several people
        perished in surrounding districts.  Stock losses were heavy
        on the plains.  Temperatures during the storm were in the
        20`s.
18    In 1877...strong winds blew all day with an average sustained
        velocity of 36 mph.  The maximum sustained velocity was
        60 mph.  No significant damage was reported.
      In 1903...northwest winds were sustained to 48 mph with gusts
        to 53 mph.
      In 1936...light dust spread over the city from the east on
        southeast winds gusting to 25 mph.  The surface visibility
        was reduced to about 2 miles at times.
      In 1940...this date marked the start of the longest period
        without snow...200 days...through November 3...1940.  A trace
        of snow fell on both April 17...1940...and November 4...1940.
      In 1963...strong winds were prevalent all day across metro
        Denver.  West-northwest winds gusting to 60 mph produced
        some blowing dust at Stapleton Airport.
      In 1971...a microburst wind gust to 59 mph produced some
        blowing dust at Stapleton International Airport.
      In 1978...high winds caused much blowing dust over the plains.
        Wind gusts from 80 to 96 mph were reported in Boulder with
        80 mph measured on Lookout Mountain.  Northwest winds
        gusted to 43 mph at Stapleton International Airport.
      In 2000...high winds developed in the foothills of Boulder
        County.  Peak wind gusts included 71 mph at the National
        Center for Atmospheric Research Mesa Lab near Boulder.
        In Aurora...three workers were injured when strong winds
        caused a home under construction to partially collapse.
        Two received minor injuries...while the third worker had
        to be hospitalized with severe back injuries.  South
        winds gusted to 47 mph at Denver International Airport.
      In 2002...strong northeast winds behind a cold front gusted
        to 53 mph at Denver International Airport where some
        blowing dust briefly reduced the visibility to 3 miles.
18-19 In 1884...a major storm dumped 13.8 inches of snowfall on
        downtown Denver.  Most of the snow...10.0 inches...fell on
        the 18th.  Light rain on the early morning of the 18th
        changed to heavy snow at 8:00 AM and became light after
        2:00 PM but continued until 4:00 AM on the 19th.  The
        snow melted nearly as fast as it fell.  There were only
        3 inches on the ground early on the morning of the 19th.
      In 1941...from the 18th to the 19th...heavy snowfall totaled
        8.4 inches over downtown Denver.  Northeast winds were
        sustained to 17 mph.
      In 1993...from the 18th to the 19th...sporadic high winds
        occurred across metro Denver. Peak wind gusts included
        97 mph at Rollinsville...80 mph in southwest Boulder...and
        55 mph at Stapleton International Airport.  The strong
        winds snapped a pine tree top...about 15 feet long and 8
        inches in diameter...which crashed through the roof of a
        church in Evergreen...causing one thousand dollars in damage.
        Wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph damaged 3 homes under
        construction in Broomfield.  Northwest winds gusted to 55
        mph at Stapleton International Airport.
      In 1995...from the 18th to the 19th...the second spring storm
        of the month dumped heavy snow in the foothills.  The upslope
        flow along with areas of thunder snow dropped 6 to 12 inches
        of snow in the foothills west of Denver and Boulder. Snowfall
        totaled 4.6 inches at the site of the former Stapleton
        International Airport...but most of the snow melted as it fell.
        East winds gusted to 29 mph at Denver International Airport
        on the 18th.
18-20 In 1966...from the 18th to the 20th...sub-freezing temperatures
        caused thousands of dollars in damage to fruit trees across
        metro Denver.  Minimum temperatures were in the teens each
        morning and failed to reach above freezing on the 19th.  The
        low temperature of 13 on the 20th set a new record minimum
        for the date.  Snowfall totaled 5.7 inches at Stapleton
        International Airport during the period.

$$