The Weather Wire

June 2006                                                                                                            Volume 14 Number 6

May 2006

Avg High 76.5

Avg Low 44.2

Snow - 0.2"

Season Snow - 30.4"

Precipitation - 0.94"

June

Avg High 82.1

Avg Low 53.0

Avg Snow -  0.0"

Avg Precip - 1.56"

Downright Toasty and Drrrryyyy!!!

If the first week of June is any indication we are in for a hot and very dry summer along the Front Range.  As of May 31^st we have receive only 2.60 inches of rain over that 5 month period.  Our spring snows failed to materialize and now we been seeing nothing, but dry thunderstorms.  Normal by this time of year is 6.53 inches.  In the scheme of things 6.53 inches is really not that much so when you are 3.93 inches below normal it makes a big difference.  If it were not for a thunderstorm that produced 0.44 inches of rain over DIA on the last day of May we would actually be drier than we were in 2003 when Denver had its driest year ever.

 Our one saving grace has been the large amounts of snow that fell in the northern and central mountains that filled many of the reservoirs that we use along the Front Range.  Had those snows missed the high country, we would be in for more restrictions on water use.  Our latest 30 day forecasts which cover the month of June indicate an above normal month for temperatures and a below normal month for precipitation, not what we really want to see.  With all the hot and dry weather, fire danger along most of the Front Range is very high and climbing. 

Now of course we are going to see numerous articles in the months to come blaming global warming for our dry conditions and for the heat.  The media seems convinced that global warming is a fore gone conclusion and that we should be buy beach front property right here in Colorado, because the oceans will be rising and inundating our coastal areas.  Yes overall (globally) average temperatures have risen slightly less than one degree in the past 60 years.  But, as I’ve said numerous time in previous articles, by its’ very nature our climate constantly changes.  It is either warming or cooling in cycles that can last decades or even centuries.  When I was in college in the 70s, the major concern at that time was that we were going into another ‘Ice Age’  and that something had to be done before we were hip deep in snow!!  So much for that theory!!

There was an interesting article in the Denver Post on Monday June 5^th.  In that article Bill Gray the hurricane forecaster at Colorado State University calls this global warming hysteria a “hoax”.  Gray acknowledges that we have had some warming in the past 30 years. “And humans might have caused a very slight amount of this warming.  But this warming trend is not going to keep going.  My belief is that three, four years from now, the globe will start to cool again, as it did in the 40s and middle 70s.” 

So have we warmed up??  Yes but only slightly!!  Is this warming to blame for hot and dry weather here in Colorado??  NO!!  If you want to blame something for how dry it is in eastern Colorado, blame it on the Rocky Mountains!  Is this warming to blame for all the hurricanes last season??  NO! 

Oh and by the way Bill Gray is predicting another active hurricane season!  Not because of global warming, but because we are in an active hurricane cycle.

Printing Newsletters Now Possible

We have received many requests over the years of how to print this newsletter.  Unfortunately, until now, the newsletter has been formatted for online and email viewing, and did not format properly for printing.  However, with the release of the new Microsoft Internet Explorer Internet 7 Beta version 2, this is now possible!  The new release of Microsoft Internet Explorer reformats the fonts to allow documents to be printed.  The latest beta release of Internet Explorer can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/Browse.aspx?displaylang=en&categoryid=6 .  Although a Beta version, we have not had any problems using the new software.  Also, remember that older newsletters can be found on the www.skyview-wx.com website under newsletters, so you may print older newsletters!

Drought Update

More increases in drought conditions across Colorado was noted during May 2006, most of the state.

The map below shows forecasted temperature deviances for June 2006. As can be seen,  above normal temperatures are expected for the all of Colorado for June 2006.

The map below shows forecasted precipitation deviances for June 2006.  Below normal to well below normal precipitation is expected for all of Colorado for June 2006.

As can be seen in the below map, the Eastern third of Colorado as well as the Southern 1/3 of Colorado has returned to drought conditions.

May Summary

May 2006 became the 7^th month in a row with below normal precipitation.  In fact, May 2006 was in line to become the 8^th driest May, but on the last day of the month a thunderstorm produced 0.44 inch of rainfall over DIA knocking May 2006 out of the top 10 driest.  Total moisture for the month came in at 0.94 inch which is 0.62 below the normal of 1.56 inches.  Things continue to look dry as the total moisture from the 1^st of the year through May is only 2.60 inches which is 3.93 inches below the normal of 6.53 inches.

We did have 0.2 inch of snow record on the 10^th of the month, normal is 1.3 inches for the month of May.  Total snowfall for the entire season was well below the normal of 61.7 inches with only 30.4 inches measure at the old Stapleton airport.  Only 2 years of the past 10 years have had above normal snowfall. 

The average temperature during May 2006 was on the warm side finishing 3.2 degrees above normal.  Temperatures ranged from a record 93 degrees on the 27^th down to a low of 29 degrees on the 11^th.

May Stats

June Preview

June is severe weather month for Denver.  Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are notorious in Denver and across eastern Colorado during June.  Over 40 percent of the tornadoes that occur in Colorado are observed during  June.  June tornadoes and severe thunderstorms have caused extensive property damage in and near the Denver metro area in years past.

Some of the more notable tornadoes occurred in:  Thornton on June 3, 1981, southeast Denver and Aurora on June 8, 1986 and east Denver on June 13, 1984.  In addition, on June 13, 1984 powerful thunderstorms dumped large hail, making it one of the worst and costliest hail storms in Denver history.  During June 2001, a major hail storm moved across Denver International Airport on the 20^th, dropping hailstones as big as two inches in diameter. 

Even though there are frequent tornado occurrences in eastern Colorado during June, there has not been a tornado related death since 1960.  However, there have been several deaths attributed to lightning during June.

Cool weather can still occur in early June.  The latest freeze on record in Denver occurred on June 2, 1951 when the mercury dropped to 30 degrees.  This is also the record low temperature for June.  Snow has been reported in the city as late as June 11^th when in 1947 a trace of snow was reported.  The wettest June was in 1882 when 4.96 inches of rain fell and the driest June was 1890 with only a trace of precipitation recorded.  The maximum 24 hour precipitation was 3.16 inches on June 11, 1970.

By the end of June, the mercury has been known to climb to 100 degrees or higher. The record high temperature for June is 104 degrees set on June 26^th 1994.  Other high temperature records reaching 100 degrees or higher are: 102 set June 23^rd 1954, 102 set June 27^th 1990,  June 29^th 1990 and June 30^th 1990, 100 degrees set June 25^th 1991.  The warmest June occurred in 1994 with an average temperature of 73.5 degrees.  The coldest June was 60.6 degrees in 1967.

The 30 day outlook for this June calls for above normal temperatures.  As for moisture the models call for below normal precipitation for the month.  If the first week of the month is any indication we could very week see our 8^th month in a row of below normal precipitation.

Sunrise/Sunset (Denver area)

 Rainfall

May 2006 to September 2006