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Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO
259 AM MDT SUN JUN 16 2024

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

12-17 In 2000...two large wildfires developed in the Front Range
        foothills on the 12th and continued through the 17th...as
        careless campers and very dry conditions proved to be a
        dangerous combination.  Strong winds gusting in excess of
        60 mph on the 13th fanned the flames...spreading both
        wildfires out of control.  Winds gusted to 78 mph atop
        Niwot Ridge near the Continental Divide west of Boulder.
        The Hi Meadows Wildfire...about 35 miles southwest of Denver...
        consumed nearly 11 thousand acres and 80 structures...mostly
        high priced homes.  The Bobcat Wildfire...located about 12
        miles southwest of Fort Collins...consumed nearly 11
        thousand acres and 22 structures.  Late on the 16th...a
        strong cold front moved south over the Great Plains into
        northeastern Colorado.  Low level upslope developed in
        the wake of the front...producing 2 to 4 inches of snowfall
        overnight at elevations above 8 thousand feet.
        Firefighters were able to contain both fires shortly
        thereafter.
15-16 In 1963...heavy rain and hail ravaged metro Denver.  In
        southeast Denver...heavy rain flooded homes and streets.
        Hail to a depth of 4 inches on the ground stripped trees
        and plants and drifted to depths of 3 to 4 feet in some
        areas.  Flood waters on the Valley Highway were 19 feet
        deep in places...trapping many cars.  Many creeks were
        running over their banks.  On the 15th...the main
        thunderstorm cell passed over south Denver...dumping as
        much as 4 inches of rain in 90 minutes.  Precipitation
        at Stapleton Airport totaled 0.91 inch on the 15th and
        1.31 inches on the 16th.  A funnel cloud was sighted
        briefly 4 miles to the south-southeast of Stapleton
        Airport on the 15th.  Damage from hail and flooding
        amounted to near a million dollars.
15-17 In 2021...the temperature in Denver reached 100 degrees for
        three consecutive days:  101...100...100 respectively.  Each
        established a new record high for the day.  It was also the
        earliest occurrence of such a streak. A record high minimum
        of 68 also occurred on the 17th.
16    In 1950...very heavy rain and hail storms in southwest Denver
        caused an estimated 750 thousand dollars in hail and flood
        damage.  Thunderstorms produced 2.06 inches of rain at
        Stapleton Airport with 2.23 inches of rain measured in
        downtown Denver.
      In 1965...a tornado...15 miles south-southeast of Denver...
        touched down and damaged two houses in northern Douglas
        County.  Three golfers at a country club and a women who
        lived north of Castle Rock were injured by falling
        structures.
      In 1983...a microburst wind gust to 54 mph was recorded at
        Stapleton International Airport.
      In 1984...a tornado touched down briefly in Parker.  No damage
        was reported.
      In 1986...lightning injured 5 people just north of the Denver
        city limits in Adams county.  The victims were members of
        a drum and bugle corps and were standing near a metal
        scaffold.  Heavy rain from the storm also caused street
        flooding in the metro area.
      In 1991...hail to golf ball size fell at Conifer.
      In 1992...a rare mid-June high wind event wrecked havoc
        over metro Denver when a Pacific cold front moved across
        the Rocky Mountains.  Strong winds at speeds of 40 to 50
        mph were common along the Front Range foothills.  Winds
        reaching 107 mph in the foothills west of Denver and 79 mph
        at Longmont...caused damage ranging from trees being toppled
        to large trucks being rolled over.  Strong winds estimated
        at 75 mph rolled a 35-foot truck carrying building supplies
        on U.S. Highway 36 north of Boulder.  The truck driver and
        a passenger as well as the driver of another car were
        slightly injured.  The winds downed power lines.  The
        gambling towns of Central City and Blackhawk were without
        power for a couple of hours.  West winds reached 43 mph at
        Stapleton International Airport.
      In 1996...a small tornado touched down in the foothills
        southwest of Boulder near Pinecliffe...knocking down
        50 to 100 large pine trees.  A house nearby sustained
        damage when shingles were ripped from the roof.  The tornado
        also picked up a 17-foot sailboat with attached trailer and
        carried it 25 feet into a nearby tree.  In addition...
        thunderstorm wind gusts to 46 mph were measured at Denver
        International Airport.
      In 2004...hail as large as 1 inch in diameter fell near Castle
        Rock.  Hail to 3/4 inch was measured near Bennett.
      In 2005...severe thunderstorms produced hail as large as 1 inch
        in diameter in Centennial.
      In 2011...severe thunderstorms produced and damaging across
         parts of metropolitan Denver. In Lakewood...a tree blew down
         and landed on at least five cars. At Centenniel Airport...a
         section of a roof on a hangar was ripped off the strong
         winds.  A peak wind gust of 46 mph was recorded at
         Centenniel Airport and Denver International Airport in
         the evening.
      In 2022...severe thunderstorms produced large hail across
         parts of Boulder and Weld counties. The hail ranged from
         1 to 1 1/2 inches at Allenspark...Ft. Lupton...Hudson and
         Lochbuie.
16-17 In 1965...on the afternoon and evening of the 16th...violent
        thunderstorms produced extremely heavy cloudbursts of rain
        over the Palmer Divide and sent a wall of water as high as
        20 feet down both branches of Plum Creek into the South
        Platte River and through metro Denver.  The heavy rainfall
        produced the most devastating flood in the history of
        Denver.  Rainfall totaled 14.0 inches in 3 hours at both
        Larkspur and Palmer Lake with 12.0 inches recorded in Castle
        Rock.  The flood waters caused extensive damage to roads and
        bridges in Larkspur...Castle Rock...and Sedalia...including
        washing out the I-25 bridge over East Plum Creek in Castle
        Rock.  The citizens of metro Denver received reports of the
        flooding to the south and had a few hours to initiate
        evacuation procedures along the South Platte River...greatly
        limiting the loss of life.  By evening...the flood reached
        Littleton where an heroic effort was made to save nearly
        150 horses at the Centennial Racetrack...which was
        completely inundated by the flood waters.  As the flood
        proceeded through the City of Denver...the river became more
        than 1/2 mile wide and destroyed all homes...trailer courts...
        and businesses in its path.  The waters contained debris
        ranging from refrigerators to old cars.  As many as 26
        bridges were damaged or destroyed...including the 6th Avenue
        freeway bridge across the South Platte.  Both Public Service
        Company power plants were shut down by the flood.  The King
        Soopers grocery chain bakery was inundated.  About midnight...
        the torrent crested at 25 feet above normal with flow
        exceeding 40 times normal and is the record flood on the
        South Platte and many of its tributaries.  The flood caused
        230 million dollars in damage and 8 deaths along the entire
        South Platte River basin.  The intense rain also caused
        flooding along Cherry Creek in Denver...on Toll Gate and Sand
        Creeks in east metro Denver...and on Kiowa and Bijou Creeks
        to the east of Denver.  The South Platte River flood closed
        nearly every major east-west highway into Denver...nearly
        isolating the city.  The flood caused heavy damage to state
        and county roads in the area.  Railroads were also hard hit
        with the main yards in lower downtown inundated.  Sewerage...
        water supply facilities...and irrigation works also received
        heavy flood damage.  The flood crest did not reach Nebraska
        until the 20th.

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