October is normally one of the quietest weather months in Denver, with an abundance of mild, sunny days and clear, cool nights.
It has the second-highest amount of sunshine, with 72 percent. (The month with the highest percentage is September, with 74 percent.)
In most years, October brings the first taste of winter, with the average date of the first freeze Oct. 7 and average first snow on the 15th.
There is a great temperature extreme difference for October. The record high October temperature is 90 degrees, set on Oct. 1, 1892, while the coldest October temperature is 2 below zero, set on Oct. 29, 1917. In 1969, the temperature on Oct. 2 reached 85 degrees, but 15 inches of snow fell Oct. 3-4.
One of Denver’s most famous snowstorms was the “Bronco Blizzard,” which occurred Oct. 15, 1984, during a Broncos football game. By the time the game ended, the entire field was covered by 3 to 4 inches of snow. By the time the storm ended, more than a foot of snow had fallen over most of the metro area.
October 1997 turned out to be a snow record-setter. The blizzard of Oct. 24-25 produced 19.1 inches of snow in a 24-hour period.
