From October to August

One last day of cool temperatures and wet weather (Denver dropped into the 40s last night...). Beginning tomorrow the warm-up is on! Temperatures will climb back into the 80s over the next days, and the atmosphere will dry. The chance of rain will also greatly diminish, with only scattered storms in the forecast for the weekend.

Cheers!

Strong Cold Front Means More Rain

A cold front is digging south, and is poised to bring big changes to the area in the next hours. The National Weather Service is calling for a 60% chance of rain this evening and tonight... Some thunderstorms as well.

The next days will stay cool... cloudy... and most likely wet before warming back into the upper 80s by the end of the week.

What a difference a year makes!

This summer is shaping up to be like one we have not seen in quite some time. Think back to July, 2008 when we were flirting with many hot records... Here are just a few of the stats from the National Weather Service Climatology Report:

...JULY 2008 BECAME DENVER'S 3RD WARMEST JULY...
...JULY 2008 BECAME DENVER'S 3RD DRIEST JULY...
...JULY 2008 BROKE CONSECUTIVE 90 DEGREE STREAK RECORD...

Yesterday we officially reached 93 degrees at the airport, though many neighborhoods here in town were well into the upper 90s. That said, we were nowhere near record breaking heat. That 93 degree mark is the hottest we have been all year.

The "flow" continues to poor in from the north this summer. After a more traditional mid-summer flow yesterday, we are returning to a cooler/wetter pattern today. Best chance of rain looks to be tomorrow and Monday, but don't count out an afternoon shower today by any means.

Last Night's Storm...

Like after any wild night, the next day there is usually plenty to talk about. Not to mention the hangover. Today that is no different after a wild summer storm ripped through Denver during the overnight hours. The suburbs to the north and west of Denver received the brunt of the action. One witness to the cleanup today put it best: "Arvada is destroyed!!" Unfortunately he was in Alaska, and missed it all going down.

So what happened?

A combination of all the right things is the long story short. Warm temperatures, a cold front, moisture in air, instability... You name it. Similar to our potent winter storms, the winds shifted out of the north and east giving us an upslope flow, causing the hot air to rise rapidly, giving way too the storm.

The damage produced by the extraordinary downdrafts associated with the storm is the big story. Oh, and the half foot of hail that fell in many locations.

Here are some images courtesy of ABCNews and 9News of the storm and damage (click to enlarge).















For those of you who have not checked in recently - keep reading! There have been several new posts in the last week.

Cheers!

Noctilucent Clouds

A few days ago there was an article posted on 9news about noctilucent cloud sightings. Apparently this particular cloud that is usually only seen between 50 and 70 degrees latitude have been seen much further south than normal... and with that the experts are telling us to keep an eye to the sky during the early evening hours.

They are the highest clouds in the atmosphere (some 40+ miles above the earths surface), and are composed of ice crystals. They become visible during twilight when illuminated from below by the setting sun, when the lower atmosphere is shaded by the earth's shadow.

Scientists have struggled to explain these clouds. The first time anyone recorded seeing them was in 1885, coinciding with the industrial revolution. Many believe that global climate change has led to not only an increase in frequency of this phenomena, but also possibly why they are being spotted much further south than ever before.

Anyway - keep your eyes to the skies during the late twilight hours, you never know what you will see! I think Denver is just a little too far south for seeing them... but you never know.

Rainybugs

With all the moisture we have seen in the last months green is not the only rare color we are seeing plenty of these days. That's right, many Coloradans are seeing plenty of red (and not just in their banks statements) as multiple stories have surfaced in the last week about the recent ladybug invasions seen throughout the state. Chris Vanderveen of 9news testified that "a few dozen decided to take up residence in [his] hair" while recently reporting on one of the largest infestations "somewhere in Jefferson County". Here is a picture snagged from a Mother Nature Network blog on Chris's story:


The chance of storms remain will in the forecast. The likelihood of any storms developing is much lower than this past weekend, but still the chance for an isolated storm to roll through Denver proper remains. Many of the storms that develop over the next days, however, will likely remain east of the area.

p.s. This week's weather fact will blow your mind. Check it out.

Afternoon Storms

This afternoon we could see some slow moving storms. Expect heavy rain, lightning, and wind in many locations across the front range this afternoon and evening.

Heat Wave

We are seeing the hottest temperatures so far this year this week. Tomorrow we will be flirting with the century mark in many locations throughout the metro area. Thursday we will drop back into the upper 80s with a slight chance of showers reintroduced. Warm weather with slight chances of showers through the extended period appears to be in store.

Monster Storm

Heavy rain ripped through Denver late this afternoon. Wunderground's radar showed anywhere from 7/10s to nearly two inches falling in about an hour period. Check out this video footage looking southeast over downtown. Around 35 seconds is a great shot of the massive lightning bolts associated with this storm.

Seeing Green

As the first few days of July get underway, I thought it would be quite appropriate to look back at our wet and soggy June, 2009. Just how abnormal was it? A recent article in the Denver Post summed it up quite well. In a nutshell, it was the second wettest June on record, only one tenth of an inch behind the record set in 1882. This June we officially logged 4.86 inches of rain out at DIA, with several spotter locations around the area breaking 5 inches. This is an impressive 3.52 inches above normal for the month of June. Thanks to a wet Spring, we have logged 10.38 inches of precipitation so far this year, which is 2.51 inches above normal. It has been a long time since this has been the case.

It looks like this stormy trend will continue for awhile longer. A chance of rain remains in the forecast for each of the next several days before drying out a bit again early next week. July can be a very interesting month for weather, so stay tuned for a look at what could be in store for the coming weeks.