This week, the Front Range experienced a wild temperature swing. But we weren't even close to setting a record
What a temperature swing this week. One day it’s 72° and sunny and the next, the Denver area is blanketed with a snowstorm and temperatures drop to below freezing. On Tuesday, Coloradans were golfing in shorts and t-shirts. By Thursday, they were shoveling out of their parking spaces. This is typical Colorado weather. The running joke is that if it snows in the morning in Denver, it’ll melt by the afternoon. Every year we have a couple winter weeks like this and each time, the local news talks about how we just went through a record temperature swing.Hogwash.
We've compiled a list of the four most extreme temperature swings in US history. They each make our recent temperature swing here in Colorado look... amateur.
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Swing High, Swing Low
The State of Oklahoma accomplished a very rare feat one November day in 1911.
On 11/11/11, Oklahoma City experienced a record high and record low on the same day.
A cold front was predicted to roll through the city. However, there was a patch of warm air moving ahead of the front.
Even though meteorologists predicted frigid temperatures, residents were surprised to walk out of their homes to be greeted by 83°F heat in the afternoon.
Those summer temperatures were short lived. The cold front arrived right on schedule, slicing through this warm air like an unstoppable rebel force.
The mercury in thermometers went into a free fall. Just before midnight, the temperature bottomed out at 17°F, a record low.
In just half a day, Oklahoma City saw a 66° temperature swing and hit a record high and record low. The record remains intact to this day.
Only in Texas
They say that everything is bigger in Texas. While we can’t vouch for everything, the City of Amarillo has claim to one of the freakiest temperature swings ever recorded. The date was December 12, 1919. Residents were excited to see that the temperature outdoors had reached 67°F at Noon. Across town, people frantically began packing their lunches. It might have been December, but this was perfect weather for a picnic. They were disappointed, however, to see that the temperature had dropped to 44°F by 1 p.m. That’s a 23° swing in just an hour. “No matter,” they surely told themselves, “we can still have a picnic in 44° weather.” I truly hope that no one convinced themselves of this, because by dinner time, the City of Amarillo was plunged into record low temperatures. By 7 p.m., the official town thermometer read 1° Fahrenheit. A 66° swing in just seven hours makes Denver weather look like child’s play.
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OOOOOOklahoma where the heat comes sweeping down the plain
If you're starting to notice a trend that the most freakish temperature swings seem to happen in Oklahoma and Texas, you're right. Long ago, these epic rivals decided to take their contest off the gridiron and into the weather reports. On February 10, 2011, the small town of Nowata, Oklahoma (pop. 3,736) was entered into the record books. On that morning, the temperature bottomed out at -31°F. (Just to put that in perspective, the average January high temperature at the summit of Mount Everest is -33°F) Over the course of the week, the temperature rose. Technically, when a town sets a record low, the only place for the temperature to go it up. But these are minor details... By February 17, the temperature in Nowata had reached 79°F. That is a seven day temperature swing of 110°, confirmed to be the largest swing in Oklahoma history.
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Chinook Winds in South Dakota
Believe it or not, the world record for the fastest large temperature swing belongs to Spearfish, South Dakota. At 7:30 a.m. on January 22, 1943, the recorded temperature in Spearfish was -4°F. Nothing record-setting in itself, but still very cold. In the next two minutes, this small Dakota town experienced something that astonishes meteorologists to this day.
Chinook wind is a weather phenomenon specific to the heartland of North America. As wind blows over the mountain range, it passes over the peak and begins its descent to the prairie. The moving air goes through a process known as adiabatic heating. As the air races down the slope towards the prairie, it heats up very quickly. The result can be remarkable temperature swings that come out of nowhere.
That morning, Spearfish experienced this phenomenon. The wind picked up and by 7:32 a.m., the temperature in the town had reached 45°F. That is a 49° swing in just two minutes. The temperature climbed to 54°F by 9 a.m.
It was at this point that the wind completely died down and the mercury went into free fall. Without the chinook wind, the temperature in the town dropped back down to -4°F by 9:27 a.m..
Spearfish, SD still holds the record for the fastest and most significant temperature swing on earth.
So keep your head up, Coloradans. Sure, it's a little demoralizing to go from 72°F and sunny to 20°F and snowing over the course of two days. But it could be worse. You could be in Oklahoma or South Dakota.
