Denver's 2016 Climate Year in Review

The year of 2016 in Denver, the front range and northern Colorado, was a transition from strong El Nino conditions over

to weak La Nina and into the current environment which is ENSO neutral. As El Nino conditions weakened from

mid-winter through late spring 2016, temperatures registered warmer than average for January through March along

with near to slightly above normal precipitation for the three months. Denver`s wettest month of 2016 arrived in April with

2.56 inches of precipitation along with 18.4 inches of snow. Temperatures then cooled to near average for April ahead of

above average precipitation and further cooling into May. May was the second wettest month of 2016 and also had the

coldest monthly departure from average for the year at 2.7 degrees below Denver`s monthly may normal. With water

temperature conditions rapidly changing in the equatorial Pacific region in the first half of 2016, northern Colorado and

the high plains states transitioned into a different pattern as well. The five months of June through October all registered

precipitation totals below their monthly average. August received a mere 0.22 Inches of precipitation in Denver which

was 1.47 inches below average and was the lowest percentage of normal of all months of 2016 at 13 percent.

Precipitation in Denver for 2016 was on the dry side of the 1981-2010 annual average. The year ended with 11.85

inches of precipitation which was 2.45 inches below the annual normal of 14.30 Inches, or 83 percent of normal. The

annual total of 11.85 inches Ranks as 37th driest in Denver`s 145 year weather history. The Wettest year in Denver`s

weather history was in 1967 when 23.31 Inches of precipitation fell. Denver`s driest year occurred in 2002 When only

7.48 inches of precipitation was recorded.

As a large and strong ridge of high pressure persisted across the Central and southern Rockies from mid summer into

mid fall, temperatures reflected this with October and November landing well above their monthly average temperatures.

Both October and November in Denver came in with monthly temperature departures of 6.9 and 6.8 degrees above

average respectively. Precipitation also held below normal for these two months as well with 0.26 inches in October and

0.52 inches in November. However, with two moist and winter-like Pacific disturbances in mid November, the departure

from normal in November was only -0.09 inches or 85 percent of the November average.

As meteorologists observed the developing northern hemispheric pattern from late November into early December, it

was clear that a change for the colder was coming to much of the United States, including Denver and the Front Range.

In early December, winds aloft broadly extended longitudinally from the arctic region north of Siberia, across the North

Pole region and into southern Canada. Frigid Arctic air was ushered southward into Canada and across much of the

central United States as a result. This was followed by another pattern of persistent northerly winds aloft across northern

latitudes which brought another period of cold and snowfall ahead of the Christmas holiday. These two systems were

enough to bring December`s Average monthly temperature down to -2.2 below normal along with above average

precipitation and snowfall.

When 2016 ended, the average annual temperature for Denver finalized at 52.3 degrees, which is 1.8 degrees above

the 1981-2010 annual average of 50.5 degrees. This ranks as 14th warmest in Denver`s 145 Year temperature history.

The warmest year in Denver`s weather History was in 1934 with an average annual temperature of 54.8 Degrees. The

coldest year was 1912 with an annual average of 47.6 degrees.

                                 Denver's 145 year history of average annual temperatures from 1872 through 2016.