Public Information Statement Issued by NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
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NOUS45 KBOU 180859
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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.
$$