Colorado, 1996

Cold in Colorado, December 18, 1996

December 18, 1996 · NWS BOU · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A homeless man was found unconcious in his car suffering from exposure. The man's body temperature was only 85 degrees when he was discovered.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS BOU wrote it up.

A homeless man was found unconcious in his car suffering from exposure. The man's body temperature was only 85 degrees when he was discovered. Temperatures overnight in Denver had dipped to 9 below zero. The man died several hours later.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, N Douglas County Below 6000 Feet / Denver / W Adams & Arapahoe Counties / E Broomfield County

When
December 18, 8:30 AM MST
Where
N Douglas County Below 6000 Feet / Denver / W Adams & Arapahoe Counties / E Broomfield County forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
39.714, -104.707 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill
Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Colorado in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, December 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5577841.