As summer vacations wind down and families prepare to send their kids back to school in August, Colorado weather also starts to settle down. The chances for severe weather decrease markedly during August and by the end of the month daytime temperatures are dropping quite a bit as well.
At the start of the month Denver usually averages around 88 degrees for a high temperature. By the end of August that drops to 82 degrees. Similarly, nighttime lows drop from 60 to 53 from the start to the end of the month. Generally clear skies can be expected between midnight and noon but the afternoon often brings showers and thunderstorms. These storms typically develop over the foothills then bring precipitation to the Denver metro area.
Despite that moisture, the chance for severe weather decreases considerably compared to the first two months of summer. Cooler air near the surface helps to create a stable atmosphere thus keeping thunderstorms from usually becoming too intense. After the middle of August, tornadoes and damaging hail are pretty rare. The slow movement of storms this time of year are more likely to produce potentially heavy rain.
As the end of the month comes, we start to notice our daylight hours getting fewer and even a bit of a nip in the early morning air. Historical temperature extremes for August are somewhat interesting. First, the highest temperature ever reached in Denver was actually recorded in August - 105 degrees on August 8, 1878 (also tied on July 20, 2005). Second, while there has never been snow in Denver in August, twice the mercury has dropped to 40 degrees to serve as a reminder the white stuff isn't too far off - those occurrences were on August 22, 1904 and August 24, 1910.
For More Information
Click here for the complete August 2008 preview including statistics and a look back at August 2007.
Temperature Normals and Extremes for August
Monthly Temperature, Rainfall and Snowfall Extremes for August
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