####018007853#### NOUS45 KBOU 170859 PNSBOU COZ030>051-172300- Public Information Statement National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 259 AM MDT FRI MAY 17 2024 ...Today in metro Denver weather history... 14-18 In 1996...from the 14th to the 18th...a period of unusually warm weather resulted in 4 record maximum temperatures in 5 days. The record high temperatures were 87 degrees on the 14th...89 degrees on the 15th...and 93 degrees on both the 16th and 18th. The temperature climbed to only 81 degrees on the 17th which was not a record. 16-17 In 1981...from the 16th to the 17th...a heavy rain storm dumped 1 to 2 1/2 inches of rain across metro Denver. Rainfall totaled 1.27 inches at Stapleton International Airport where north winds gusted to 38 mph on 17th. In 1983...from the 16th to the 17th...a very strong late spring storm dumped heavy snow over the Front Range. Strong winds with the storm produced blizzard conditions at times. Sustained winds were 20 to 40 mph with a peak gust to 55 mph at Stapleton International Airport. The foothills received 1 to 2 feet of snow with 4 to 12 inches along the foothills. Howling winds whipped the snow into drifts several feet deep...closing schools and highways. Stapleton International Airport was forced to reduce flight operations...closing 2 of 4 runways and stranding hundreds of travelers. Most of the damage and inconvenience caused by the storm was in power outages...which occurred when wind and heavy wet snow caused hundreds of power poles to snap and topple. About 20 square miles of Denver were blacked out. Precipitation from the storm totaled 1 to 3 inches. At Stapleton International Airport...snowfall totaled 7.1 inches with a maximum snow depth on the ground of only 2 inches due to melting. The high temperature of 40 degrees on the 17th was a record low maximum for the date. Due to the heavy moisture content of the storm...widespread street flooding occurred on the 18th when much of the snow melted under the warm May sun and temperatures climbed to a high of 57 degrees. In 1995...from the 16th to the 17th...significant moisture and upslope flow caused flooding across metro Denver. Moderate to heavy rains...which began on the evening of the 16th... developed in the foothills and spread eastward over metro Denver throughout the night. The heavy rains brought many creeks and small streams to bankfull or slightly over. Locations along the foothills received between 3 and 4 inches of rainfall from the storm. Boulder received 3.60 inches of rainfall for the 24-hour period...causing minor street flooding near small streams. To the northwest of Boulder...a bridge which crossed Fourmile Creek was washed out. Numerous rock and mudslides occurred in foothills canyons...closing portions of U.S. Highways 6 and 40 and State Highway 119 for a few hours at a time. Rocks were piled 6 feet deep on a stretch of State Highway 119 along with boulders as large as cars on U.S. Highway 6. A parking lot near a creek in Golden caved in leaving a hole the size of an 18-wheeler. Rushing water washed out a 50-foot stretch of a road in Westminster. Rainfall totaled 1.75 inches at Denver International Airport...but only 1.42 inches at the site of the former Stapleton International Airport. 17 In 1903...southwest winds were sustained to 42 mph with gusts to 45 mph from an apparent microburst which produced only a trace of rain. In 1960...hail to 3/4 inch diameter was measured in Thornton. Golf ball size hail fell in Arvada. In 1972...microburst winds gusted to 51 mph at Stapleton International Airport. In 1975...hail 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter fell over western metro Denver. In 1978...a small tornado touched down in south Aurora damaging 40 homes...6 to a considerable extent. One garage was demolished and blown across the street. Parts of roofs were completely blown away. Several 2x4-inch boards were blown into the sides of houses. Another small tornado in Parker damaged two airplanes. Other funnel clouds were sighted over Northglenn and near Golden. In 1985...a thunderstorm produced a total of 1.50 inches of rain in Brighton where 0.72 inches fell in 40 minutes. Small hail covered the ground...and there was some street and basement flooding. In 1987...small hail piled up 4 inches deep in southwest Aurora. There was also widespread street flooding and a few power outages. Hail as large as 3/4 inch in diameter fell at Castle Rock. In 2000...high winds occurred along and east of the Front Range foothills...as a deep surface low pressure center formed over the northeast plains of Colorado. An amusement park in north Boulder received about 25 thousand dollars in property damage. Peak wind reports included: 88 mph at the National Wind Technology Center...84 mph in Boulder...and 80 mph at the National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesa Laboratory. A powder keg of severe weather...including tornadoes and thunderstorms producing large hail...damaging winds and heavy rain...occurred over the plains to the northeast of Denver. The only severe weather reported across metro Denver was 1 inch diameter hail in Littleton. 17-19 In 2017...a strong spring storm dropped across the Great Basin... and then moved eastward across Colorado. Isolated but strong thunderstorms preceded the system on the 17th with hail up to nickel size near Boulder Airport and Brighton. Significant snow fell across the Front Range mountains and foothills over the next couple of days. Along the Interstate 25 Corridor... rain turned to snow on the morning of the 18th...heaviest from around Broomfield northward. The heavy wet snow snapped the limbs of fully leaved trees and caused scattered power outages. A barns collapsed in northeast Loveland. Fifty-five head of cattle were inside the collapsed barn; three were injured and later euthanized. Numerous branches and trees snapped in the foothills. Elsewhere...several scattered smaller power outages were reported. Three to nearly five inches of liquid precipitation occurred...as rain or a mix of rain and snow...fell around Greeley. Storm totals in the Front Range mountains and foothills included: 42.0 inches near Allenspark...41.5 inches near Ward...36 inches at Estes Park... 32 inches near Pinecliffe...30.5 inches northwest of Golden... 30 inches near Nederland...26 inches near Breckenridge...25 inches near Aspen Springs and Bear Lake State Park...14 inches at Aspen Springs...with 9.5 inches near Evergreen. On the west side of the Interstate 25 Corridor...storm totals included: 10 inches near Superior and Louisville...6 to 8 inches in and around Fort Collins...6 inches in Lafayette... 5 inches in Broomfield and Loveland...and 4 inches near Niwot. $$