We’re not trying to jinx things here, summer lovers. We promise.
But, there are a few signs that Denver’s last measurable snowfall of the 2018-19 winter season could be in the rearview mirror.
According to the National Weather Service in Boulder, the next seven days show little in the way of snow chances, though there’s an outside chance a storm on Sunday and Monday could bring a little wet snow. Beyond that, Denver and much of the state appears poised for a warmup that should last into the early portion of May.
Denver’s average last measurable snowfall is on April 27, and with snow looking unlikely in the foreseeable future, it’s looking more and more likely that you’ve shoveled the driveway for the last time this winter.
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Measurable snowfall means that snowfall at Denver International Airport has to pile up to the tune of a tenth of an inch or greater. In other words, a few snowflakes fluttering through the sky and melting on your windshield don’t officially count as a measurable snowfall.
Of course, this all comes with the normal Denver weather-related caveats. Seven of the past 13 winters have featured measurable snowfall in May, almost always in the month’s opening fortnight. Memorial Day might be known to most as the unofficial start of summer, but in Denver and along the Front Range, it’s usually the day that you can — finally — safely stash away the snow shovels in the back of the garage.
In case you’re just joining us, Denver’s weather is notoriously wild and unpredictable — we’ve had measurable snow as late as June 5 and as early as Sept. 3 — and Mother Nature has a tendency to act in especially mysterious ways around the Front Range.
But, overall, signs are pointing to Denver’s last snow of the winter likely having come from the kind of/sort of bomb cyclone earlier this month. If that’s indeed the case, Denver will officially finish with below average snowfall for the third consecutive winter — though that number may be a tad misleading. Through Thursday, Denver had accumulated 43.2 inches of total snow this season, a few inches off the official full winter average of about 57 inches. Since 2006, though, Denver International Airport has averaged about 49 inches per winter, so this winter’s total is within striking distance of both numbers.
If Denver’s final snow total does indeed finish around 43 or 44 inches, that’d be close to what Denver’s seen in the last two winters combined. That, however, is more of a statement about how horrific the last two winters were snow-wise, rather than a reflection of how much snow we actually saw in 2018-19.
In short, this was a near-normal snowfall winter for the immediate Denver metro area, thanks to an active February and March. The mountains, however — where snow matters far more for both filling up the state’s crucial reservoirs, as well as for ski-related tourism reasons — received much more snow than usual. That’s really good news for the state, particularly after a rough few winters.
Chris Bianchi is a meteorologist for WeatherNation TV.
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