Do you need a snowblower in Thornton, CO?
The machine for a Thornton driveway
Gas single-stage
Thornton gets enough snow that shovelling it all is a real job, about 5.8 tons a winter on this driveway, but storms over 8 inches are uncommon.
Before you buy, check the intake height against the deepest storm above, and plan to clear before the city plow leaves its ridge of heavy slush at the end of the drive.
A normal Thornton winter
- Snow a year
- 45 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 1.8 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once every 5 winters
- Days with snow on the ground
- 35
Moderate, a typical snowy-city winter. That is about 1.2 times what a typical snowy US city gets. It tends to stay, so each storm lands on the last one.
On a two car driveway that is about 5.8 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Thornton
- Sep0.1
- Oct2.4
- Nov6.9
- Dec5.9
- Jan6.0
- Feb7.6
- Mar8.2
- Apr6.5
- May1.2
Snow worth clearing runs from October to May, heaviest in March. Start and service a machine in September.
Towns near Thornton
Thornton is number 34 of 53 Colorado towns here for snowfall; Steamboat Springs gets the most at 185 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northglenn, CO | 2 | 45 in | Gas single-stage |
| Federal Heights, CO | 5 | 45 in | Gas single-stage |
| Broomfield, CO | 6 | 74 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Westminster, CO | 7 | 55 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Commerce City, CO | 8 | 35 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Brighton, CO | 8 | 35 in | Cordless single-stage |
Where these numbers come from
Read next: Snowblowers on a gravel driveway and Single-stage or two-stage.
NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals from Northglenn, 4.1 miles from Thornton. A normal winter, not this winter's forecast. Snow is weighed at 6.24 pounds a cubic foot, fresh and fairly dry; wet spring snow can weigh three times that.