* also -16.0° on Jan 15.

Temperatures recorded in degrees Fahrenheit. Wind Speed recorded in MPH. Precipitation recorded in inches. Heating/Cooling degree base: 65.0°

Crestone Weather Notes For 2013
 

January and the new year started off very cold with many weather records broken, here are a few: On January 2, a record low high temperature was set in Crestone/Baca with a reading of 12º. This broke the old record of 13º. January 3 also saw a record low high temperature set, with a reading of 9º. The old record was 15º. Another record low high temperature was reached on January 4 at 10º. This broke the old  record of 18º, plus a new record low was also set on January 4 at -13º. The previous record was -9º, set in 1993. Still more... on January 5, again, a  record low high temperature set at 17º. This breaks the old  record of 21º, and then for the fifth day in a row, on January 6, one more record low high, of 18º was reached, old mark was 19º. Finally and again on the sixth, another record low was set at  -7º. The old mark was -6º in 2007. Overall, from January 2 till the 7th, for 94% of the time, the thermometer in Crestone stayed at or below 12°.

But the January cold wave wasn't over yet.... On January 12, Crestone saw a record low high temperature set when the thermometer only reached 8º, smashing the old record of 20º. Earlier in the day, Crestone saw a record low temperature set at -15º. This broke the old mark of -7º, set in 1984. Then January 13 saw yet another record low high temperature, when only 9º was reached, breaking the old record of 18º. Earlier in the day, the Crestone/Baca station set a new record low temperature, with a reading of -16º. The old record was -12º, set in 1989. Still more, a record low high of 14º, along with a new record low of -9º was reached on January 14. The old record low was -8º, set in 1989. Finally, two last records to report.... a record low temperature was reached on January 15 at  -16º. The old record was -14º, in 2007, along with a high temp at 11º, setting a record low high. The old mark was 12º.

On January 22 at 1135 am, the temperature climbed to above freezing for the first time in 2013, and also for the first time since December 18, 2012. That broke a cold spell that saw constant below freezing temperatures for 34 days, 23 hours and 30 minutes.

Crestone saw measurable rain fall for the first time ever in the month of January on the 26th. It had only rained once before in January before this time, in 2009, but only a trace fell on that day.

This January became the only winter month on record where most of the precipitation that fell in the month, fell as rain and not snow. With an average snow depth of around 8 inches on the ground throughout January, it seemed hard to believe that the least amount of snow ever to fall in January occurred, with only 0.6 inches recorded, and this is also the first time less than an inch of snow fell in the entire month. The old record was 1.3 inches, set back in the second year weather records were kept, 1984, but in the very first year January records were kept, as recording keeping for Crestone/Baca was started up in March of 1983.
 
January 2013 was also the sixth January in a row that saw below average precipitation fall. It also ended up as the second coldest January ever, with an average temperature of 12.5°. The current record stands at 12.0°, set in 2008.   

On February 25, a record low temperature was tied at 4°. This record was first reached in 2007.

 6.4" of snow was recorded on March 9, along with .57" of precipitation, both records for the date. The old snowfall record was 5.0", and the old precipitation mark was .30", with both records set in 1992.

The high temperature for March 23 was set right at midnight, at 24º, which was a new record low high for the date, shattering the old record of 35º. The afternoon high was only 22º.

The low temperature for March 24 was 1.7º, breaking the previous record low of 7º degrees, which was set in 2006. Also, a record low high temperature was set on this day at 31.2º. The old record was 38º.

March 31 saw the first day of the year where the humidity dropped below 10%, with a reading of 8% reached in the late afternoon.

Snow grains started to fall at 415pm on April 3 with the temperature at 50º.

April 5 was both the first day this year where the temperature did not fall below freezing, and also the first day since November 9, 2012, that no freezing temps were observed.

On April 16 the humidity dropped to 7%, and a dust/sandstorm hit the area for most of the day, with the visibility down to less than half a mile at times. Also officially on this day, our weather station recorded the highest wind gust ever for the Crestone/Baca area, when a gust of 54 mph was recorded at 12:46pm. However, our area has seem stronger winds before - just unofficially, because of a lack of (and missing) data in the past.

Record low temperature of 13º on April 18, old record was 15º set in 2008, plus on the same day a record low high at 31º, old mark was 43º. The following morning on April 14 another record low of 12º, breaking the old record of 14º, set in 2006.

First measurable rain of the spring falls on April 26.

The humidity in April fell below 10% on 3 days.

The first sleet of the year (officially called "ice pellets" these days) fell on May 7.

On Thursday, May 9, three new weather records were set. First, the 3" of snow that fell was a record amount for the date, the old record was a trace, set in 3 different years. Up to 6" of snow was reported at other locations around town. Second, the .62" of precipitation was also a record for the date, the old record was .32", set in 1994. Finally, the high temperature of 44º was a record low high, the old record was 48º. 

Snow grains fell on May 29 with the temperature at 52º.

The humidity in May fell below 10% on 8 days, with a reading of 5% being the lowest value, set on two days:May 26 and May 31.

The 3.4 inches of snow that fell in May marked the first time in 12 years that more than one inch of snow fell in the entire month, even though the average snowfall for May is 2.1 inches. Up until May 2001, when 15 inches fell in the month, it was common to see heavier snow falls in May.

On June 10, the Crestone/Baca weather station recorded a high temperature of 89º, setting a new record high for the date. The old record was 87º, set in 2002. Also, the low temp for Monday was 51º, which was a new record high low, the old record high low was 50º. Then for the next day, June 11,  another new record high low temperature was reached for rhe date at 52º, the old record was 49º.

The first hail of 2013 hits on June 18, this is the latest start to hail season in at least 10 years.

On June 27, a record high oft 94º broke the old record for the date of 91º, set in 1994, and ties for the second warmest temperature reading ever recorded in June.

20 days in June saw relative humidity values below 10%, with the lowest reading, on June 11, of only 2%, breaking the all time Crestone record (old record was 3%) and tying the Colorado and US records for lowest humidity ever recorded. There were several other locations in the San Luis valley, including Hooper, and also across our mountains in Westcliffe, where on this same day, this 2% reading was also reached.

Snow was reported falling in the Crestone campground north of town in the afternoon on July 2 at 8,300 feet.

A record high low temperature on July 9 was set at 57.5º, the old record was 55º; then another record high low temperature was tied on July 22 at  56º.

A record low high temperature was set on July 28 when the high only reached 66º, breaking the old record of 71º. This reading tied for the sixth coolest daytime high ever recorded in the month of July.

Record low high temperature of 69º on August 8, old record was 72º.

Thunderstorm drops .42" of rain and small hail in 20 minutes at 330pm on August 27, temp dropped 27 degrees during the storm. Another thunderstorm the next day (August 28) drops .37" of rain and small hail in 30 minutes at 500pm, with party cloudy skies and sunshine throughout the storm.

A record high low temperature was set on Friday August 30, when the low temperature only dropped down to 56º, breaking the old record of 54º for the date. Then another record high low temperature was set the next day (August 31) when the low only reached 56º, breaking the old record of 55º for the date.

A record high low temperature was tied on September 1 when the low only fell to 55º, tying the old record of 55º for the date. Then a record high low temperature was tied on September 3 when the low temp only dropped down to 55º.

A record high temperature was set on the September 5, when the high reached 87º, breaking the old record for the date of 86º, set in 2005. This reading also ties for the highest temp ever recorded in September (first reached in 1995)..... Another record high temperature was tied on the September 6, when the high reached 86º, tying the old record first set in 2005 and also reached in earlier years.

On Saturday, September 7, 3 weather records were broken for the date... First, and for the third day in a row, the Crestone/Baca weather station saw a record high temperature reached, when the high hit 85º, breaking the old record of 84º, set in 2005.... Then a second record regarding the temperature was broken when the low for the day, 53º, set a new record high low, the old record was 52º..... Finally,  Crestone/Baca's weather station also saw a record precipitation record tied for the date, about an hour after setting the record high temperature, when .40" of rain fell in about an hour's time during a late afternoon thunderstorm. The record was first reached in 2003..... It is rare to see both a record high temperature and record high precipitation record set on the same day, but these 2 records were set within an hour's time of each other, which is even rarer.
 
A record high low temperature was reached on September 8 when the low only dropped down to 53º, breaking the old record of 52º.... Next day (Sept 9)  and more of the same, when another record high low was reached when the low temperature only dropped down to 55º, breaking the old record of 52º. Also on this day, a record amount of rain fell, tying the meager record for the date of .08", first reached in 2007 and also in other years.

A record precipitation total for September 13 was reached with .81" of rain falling (with .71" falling in the early morning hours), breaking the old record of .30", set in 1993.. With this new record, 12 new weather records were set in the first 10 days of September! 

On September 22, two new weather records were broken. First, the daily record for precipitation was shattered, when .91 inches was recorded. The old record was .40 inches, set in 2010. With this precip, the all time record for September precipitation was also broken and now stands at 3.71 inches. The old record was 3.52 inches, set in 1990..... 3 different thunderstorms hit Crestone/Baca on September 23, with the second storm bringing with it the largest hail seen in the greater Crestone area in over 11 years (at least). Officially, the largest hail to hit at the weather station was 5/8" (grape size), with the average size at 1/2" (marble size). One mile east of the station at 8700 feet, 7/8" size (or nickel size) was reported. With this storm, widespread damage was reported, including over by the retreat centers above Chalet 2, with some blown out windows on buildings, many down trees, and other damage which might have been caused by a funnel, tornado, or perhaps straight line winds. Some locals did report seeing a funnel in the sky when the storm hit.

On September 28, a new record low temperature was set at 26°. The old record was 27°, set in 1996. 

For October 4, the high temperature only reached 49° (set at midnight before a cold front came in), breaking the old record low high of 50°. Then the next day, the low temperature was 20°, and this tied the previous record low for October 5, which was first set in 1998.

A new daily snowfall record was reached on October 15, when 1.1" of snow fell, breaking the old record of 0.6", which was set in 1994.

A record snowfall fell on Crestone/Baca on the evening of November 24. Snowfall rates of between 3 and 4 inches were seen for about 4 hours, and then dropped off to around 1 to 2 inches around 1100 pm and continued into the next morning. The total snowfall for the day was 20.4 inches, which broke the old record for the date of 4.0 inches, set in 1991. This total was the second highest one day snowfall total for any day in November (the record is 28.5 inches, set on Nov 28, 1997). Also set was the record for the date for precipitation, with 1.92 inches, shattering the old mark of 0.12 inches, set in 1992. That also is the most ever precip in one day for the month, the old record was 1.62 inches, set on Nov 28, 1997. This total is also the third highest one day total ever for Crestone/Baca.

5.0" of snow fell in the morning on November 25, setting a new record snowfall for this date.

A record low temperature was set  at 7:41am on November 27 with a reading of -1.4°. The old record was +2°, set last in 2003 and also in 3 other years prior. A record low high temperature was also set on this day, when the high was only 17°. The old record low high was 21°. Then Crestone/Baca saw another record low temperature set the next morning (November 28) at -4.1°, breaking the old record of -3°, reached in 2005. Plus that afternoon, another record low high temperature was set with a reading of 18°, breaking the old record low high of 28°.

But there was more cold to come... November 29 was another day with a record low high temperature set at 22°, breaking the old record low high of 25°, and then for the fourth day in a row, one last record low high was reach on November 30, when the temperature only reached 18°. The old record was 19°.

Total precipitation for November was 3.07 inches, a new record high for the month, breaking the old record of 2.13 inches, set in 1997. The 33.0 inches of snow was the second highest total for snowfall in the month; the highest record still stands at 33.5 inches, set in 1997.

Record low cold continued in December with these new records set: On December 9, a new record low high temperature was reached with a reading of 12°, breaking the old record low high of 18°. Then the next morning, a new record low temperature for December 10 was set at -9°, breaking the old record of -5°, set in 1986. Finally, the high temp for this day was only 10°, shattering the old record low high of 19°. Then on December 30, one last new record low high temperature was set for 2013 with a reading of 16°, breaking the old record low high of 18°.

Crestone/Baca saw 15.35 inches of precipitation in 2013, making this the first time in 6 years that an above average total for precip was reached.

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