Are this week's temps normal for Denver this time of year? (snow, birthday parties)

[nelumbo]

You can find previous years' daily highs and lows using the "Denver Monthly Weather Summary" tool in the middle of this page: Denvers Climatological Information
For example, if you choose February 2006, you will see that there was a high of 7F on Feb 18 and a high of 77F on Feb 28. There is also precip, snow depth, wind data, and statistics.

There are several causes of warm winter temperatures along the front range. Two of the common ones are:
1. westerly/downslope winds (similar to santa ana)
2. big ridge in the jet stream
Right now, CA is under a big ridge, and CO is along the eastern edge of the ridge. The northern plains are under a big trough (cold). See this picture:
Unisys Weather: Initial GFSx 500 mb Hght/SLP Plot
The blue colors are generally cold, the yellows and oranges are warm (it isn't temperature, but a related field)
The troughs and ridges are waves in the jet stream, they move around and grow and die every few days. This animation shows why the temperature changes a lot on a daily basis:
Unisys Weather: GFSx 500 mb Hght/SLP Plot
(the linked images will be updated every 6 hours and may no longer show what I describe if you read this more than a day after this posts)

[Charles]

Originally Posted by nelumbo

You can find previous years' daily highs and lows using the "Denver Monthly Weather Summary" tool in the middle of this page: Denvers Climatological Information
For example, if you choose February 2006, you will see that there was a high of 7F on Feb 18 and a high of 77F on Feb 28. There is also precip, snow depth, wind data, and statistics.

There are several causes of warm winter temperatures along the front range. Two of the common ones are:
1. westerly/downslope winds (similar to santa ana)
2. big ridge in the jet stream
Right now, CA is under a big ridge, and CO is along the eastern edge of the ridge. The northern plains are under a big trough (cold). See this picture:
Unisys Weather: Initial GFSx 500 mb Hght/SLP Plot
The blue colors are generally cold, the yellows and oranges are warm (it isn't temperature, but a related field)
The troughs and ridges are waves in the jet stream, they move around and grow and die every few days. This animation shows why the temperature changes a lot on a daily basis:
Unisys Weather: GFSx 500 mb Hght/SLP Plot
(the linked images will be updated every 6 hours and may no longer show what I describe if you read this more than a day after this posts)

Very cool links.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by suzco

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO - Product Viewer

According to National Weather Service records, the normal high the first week of February is 45; by the last week in February our normal high is 50. There are only 2 dates in February where the record high is not in the 70's. The record for February 27 (today's date) is 73º, set in 2006.

That's not to say we don't have cold snaps. Every date in February has a record low well below 0; the record cold for any February date is -25º.

Be forewarned. March is our snowiest month.

I've heard this March stat before. This will be my 6th March in Denver and I have yet to see much of any snow in March. All the March's I've spent here tend to be dry and have what I call "pre-Spring", where it warms up to the 60s and 70s for a long stretch before the damp, cool rains and snows of April begin.

[BlueWillowPlate]

March can be a doozy sometimes.
This photo is from the March 2003 blizzard. We got extra spring break out of that one.

[denverian]

And how long did that take to melt?? So far the only blizzard I've seen in Denver was the December '06 blizzard. I'm assuming when they happen in March/April or October, they melt away much faster!

[tfox]

Originally Posted by denverian

And how long did that take to melt?? So far the only blizzard I've seen in Denver was the December '06 blizzard. I'm assuming when they happen in March/April or October, they melt away much faster!

Yeah, I remember March 2003. It was mostly gone in about 3-4 days, with the piled up heaps lasting about 10 days or so.

[suzco]

Originally Posted by denverian

And how long did that take to melt?? So far the only blizzard I've seen in Denver was the December '06 blizzard. I'm assuming when they happen in March/April or October, they melt away much faster!

The storm itself lasted 3 days. It was a wet, heavy storm that caused tremendous damage throughout the state. The years blur memory of course, but I remember Boulder Valley Schools were closed for the week.

Winter Hazards in Colorado

Blizzard - March 17 - 20, 2003 - A major snowstorm dumped more than 2 feet of snow in the Rockies on and closed highways in Colorado and wide sections of Wyoming. Wind gusting about 30 mph reduced visibility across Denver, including the boulevard leading to Denver International Airport. Avalanche warnings were issued for Colorado mountain areas where up to 29 inches of snow fell. This late season snowstorm stranded hundreds of people and resulted in a presidential emergency declaration to help ease the burden of clean-up costs.

[jazzlover]

As meteorologists like to say, "Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get." All "normal" means is a measure of central tendency (average or median, usually) of a number of periods (months, years, etc.) of data. The old story holds well here: If you stand with the upper half your body outside on a zero degree day and the lower half in a tub of 160 degree water, the average temperature surrounding your body is about 80 degrees. That really doesn't mean much, nor does it mean you will be comfortable. So it is with "normal" temperature--there really isn't such a thing as a normal temperature or normal weather--it's just a question of whether the temperature that particular day is close to a computed average or not. Temperatures of 70 or zero on a February day are quite aways from the "average," but both would still be considered a relatively "typical" February temperature in Denver--they both occur with a fair amount of frequency.

[DenverAztec]

Originally Posted by denverian

And how long did that take to melt?? So far the only blizzard I've seen in Denver was the December '06 blizzard. I'm assuming when they happen in March/April or October, they melt away much faster!

The 2003 March storm was a record setter, rare and would have melted quickly if it had not fallen continuously for three or four days. The airport was shut down for 4 days, 300 roofs on homes and business collasped and one person was killed. He lived in the unit above Vinyl Night Club. Spring storm usually melt the next day.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by denverian

And how long did that take to melt?? So far the only blizzard I've seen in Denver was the December '06 blizzard. I'm assuming when they happen in March/April or October, they melt away much faster!

I can't remember how long that snow took to melt.
Our neighbors on Gilpin Street who lost their roof to it might have a better memory.
It took out half of another neighbor's elm, as well.
These things happen. They are not always a huge calamity, but mother nature can be a force to reckon with everywhere.