Back to forecast
Denver Cold Temperature Record Shattered in Arctic Plunge
January 1, 2023 at 04:05 PM EST
By WeatherBug Sr. Meteorologist, Chad Merrill
While the U.S. shivered during Christmas weekend in 2022, the Arctic blast came with all the bells and whistles along the Front Range.
Denver dropped from 48 degrees at 10:53 a.m. on December 21 to minus-15 degrees just 24 hours later when the Arctic front barreled south through the city. This rivaled the previous 24-hour temperature drop record by one degree when the mercury dropped from 47 degrees to minus-15 degrees from December 13 to 14, 2008.
Rounding out the top 10 highest temperature drops on record in Denver show a clear trend towards this phenomenon occurring most frequently in the autumn as opposed to early winter. The reason—Denver is notorious for larger temperature swings in October and November compared to any month of the year. The average temperature drops the most from September to November, going from 64.8 degrees to 39.4 degrees during those three months.
Historical weather patterns show autumn is the time of the year when cold air gets dislodged from Canada and sweeps south along the Rocky spine. The air mass modifies very little because there are no mountains to overcome; it pours right down the Front Range.
The cold air helps form low pressure centers which drive heavy snow across the Mile High City. As a matter of fact, coming out of the autumn season, November is Denver’s third snowiest month of the year with an average of 7.3 inches.
The Arctic outbreak in late 2022 was an unprecedented air mass that originated in Siberia and pushed southeast through the Central and Eastern U.S. Denver had been in a mild pattern leading up to the outbreak with highs in the lower 50s. Ultimately, Denver’s low temperature dropped to minus-14 degrees on December 22 in the front’s wake.
Be sure to follow cold outbreaks and impending winter storms with WeatherBug all winter long. Keep WeatherBug active to receive the latest severe weather alerts for your neighborhood.
---
Story Image: An electronic overhead sign warns motorists of weather-related dilemmas ahead on eastbound Interstate 70 near the Peoria Street exit Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Denver. Forecasters predict that warmer weather will be on tap for the week ahead. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver dropped from 48 degrees at 10:53 a.m. on December 21 to minus-15 degrees just 24 hours later when the Arctic front barreled south through the city. This rivaled the previous 24-hour temperature drop record by one degree when the mercury dropped from 47 degrees to minus-15 degrees from December 13 to 14, 2008.
Rounding out the top 10 highest temperature drops on record in Denver show a clear trend towards this phenomenon occurring most frequently in the autumn as opposed to early winter. The reason—Denver is notorious for larger temperature swings in October and November compared to any month of the year. The average temperature drops the most from September to November, going from 64.8 degrees to 39.4 degrees during those three months.
Historical weather patterns show autumn is the time of the year when cold air gets dislodged from Canada and sweeps south along the Rocky spine. The air mass modifies very little because there are no mountains to overcome; it pours right down the Front Range.
The cold air helps form low pressure centers which drive heavy snow across the Mile High City. As a matter of fact, coming out of the autumn season, November is Denver’s third snowiest month of the year with an average of 7.3 inches.
The Arctic outbreak in late 2022 was an unprecedented air mass that originated in Siberia and pushed southeast through the Central and Eastern U.S. Denver had been in a mild pattern leading up to the outbreak with highs in the lower 50s. Ultimately, Denver’s low temperature dropped to minus-14 degrees on December 22 in the front’s wake.
Be sure to follow cold outbreaks and impending winter storms with WeatherBug all winter long. Keep WeatherBug active to receive the latest severe weather alerts for your neighborhood.
---
Story Image: An electronic overhead sign warns motorists of weather-related dilemmas ahead on eastbound Interstate 70 near the Peoria Street exit Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Denver. Forecasters predict that warmer weather will be on tap for the week ahead. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)