Public Information Statement
Issued by NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

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Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO
259 AM MDT WED OCT 15 2025

...Today in metro Denver weather history...

13-16 In 1873...the 13th through the 16th...smoke from several large
        forest fires in the mountains made the air very hazy in the
        city.
15    In 1871...a terrible wind occurred during a snow storm in the
        foothills above Boulder.  Damage was minor.
      In 1878...high winds reached sustained speeds of 60 mph at
        times.
      In 1911...post-frontal northwest winds were sustained to
        41 mph with gusts to 43 mph.
      In 1948...strong winds struck the Boulder area.  Winds
        averaged 50 mph at Valmont just east of Boulder.  Wind
        gusts in excess of 60 mph were recorded at the Boulder
        airport.  Wind gusts to 40 mph briefly reduced the
        visibility to 1 1/2 miles in blowing dust at Stapleton
        Airport.
      In 1980...a rare October tornado touched down in Boulder...
        damaging a vocational training building and throwing three
        nearby cars together damaging them extensively.  A mile and
        half away several camper vehicles were thrown 200 feet.
        The storm also produced 1 inch diameter hail in the Boulder
        area.
15-16 In 1928...a thunderstorm produced hail shortly after midnight
        on the 15th.  Rain changed to snow by evening.  Through the
        afternoon of the 16th...the heavy snowfall totaled 7.3 inches
        in the city.  North winds were sustained to 23 mph on the
        15th.
      In 1984...the heaviest October snowstorm in several years hit
        eastern Colorado with a vengeance.  The storm was known as
        the "Bronco Blizzard" since it occurred during a nationally
        televised Monday night football game in Denver; they held
        on and defeat Green Bay by a score of 17-14.  One to two
        feet of snow fell near the foothills in west metro Denver
        with 2 to 3 feet in the foothills.  Wind gusts up to
        55 mph whipped the snow into drifts as high as 4 feet.
        The storm closed schools...roads...and airports.  I-70
        was closed both east and west of Denver.  I-25 was closed
        south to Colorado Springs.  Flights were delayed for
        several hours at Stapleton International Airport.  Power
        outages were widespread.  Snowfall totaled 9.2 inches at
        Stapleton International Airport where north winds gusting
        as high as 40 mph caused frequent surface visibilities of
        1/4 to 1/2 mile in moderate to heavy snow and blowing snow
        overnight.  The high temperature of only 35 degrees on the
        15th was a record low maximum for the date.
15-17 In 1989...the 15th to the 17th...an autumn snowstorm hit metro
        Denver with 2 to 6 inches of snow.  Snowfall totaled 4.4
        inches at Stapleton International Airport where the
        maximum snow depth on the ground was only 3 inches due to
        melting and north winds gusted to 25 mph on the 15th.  The
        heavy wet snow caused leafy branches to sag onto power
        lines...resulting in a number of power outages.  Five
        thousand homes were blacked out in Boulder on the 16th.
        Up to a foot of snow fell in the higher foothills with 19
        inches recorded at Echo Lake.

$$