The winter season starts Dec. 21, and according to the U.S. Navy, winter will officially begin at 10:47 a.m.
Although prolonged cold spells are more frequent in January, two of Denver’s longest recorded cold spells occurred in December.
In 1983, the temperature dropped below zero on Dec. 20 and did not climb above zero until Dec. 25, a record of 115 hours.
In 1990, the temperature was below zero for 85.5 hours. During that cold spell, the mercury dropped to 25 degrees below zero on Dec. 22, tying the record for Denver’s coldest December temperature, which was first set Dec. 24, 1876.
Even though some of Denver’s biggest and most memorable snowstorms occurred in December, the month is only the fourth snowiest for the city.
The Christmas blizzard of 1982 rates as one of the most vicious snowstorms in Denver’s history. The snow began on Dec. 24, and by midday on Christmas Day, 23.6 inches of snow had fallen at Stapleton International Airport, setting a record for 24-hour snowfall.
The most snow from one storm occurred in 1913, when 45.7 inches of snow fell over the first six days of December.
