Denver typically sees its first flakes of the season fall in mid-October. Through the end of November, Denver should pick up 12.5-inches of snow. Neither of those things have happened and nothing is in the near-term forecast to change things up.
It’s the weather stat that has everyone talking. Denver has not seen any snow this season and is breaking records for the latest first snow and for going the most amount of days without seeing snow. Weather records, no matter how arbitrary you think they may be, are kept so we have a reference for anomalous events. Well, this snow season is certainly shaping up to be anomalous.
Denver has already broke the record for the latest first snow on record. The old record, which stood for over 85 years, was broken on November 21. The top 10 records for the latest first snows all occurred within a week of each other (they occurred between November 14-21). This years new record has already eclipsed the latest date by over a week and there is no snow in sight further impressing weather and climate folk with its rarity.
Waiting until December for the first snow is unheard of. It has literally never happened before but that’s exactly what will happen this year. There have been 9 November’s where a trace of snow or less has been reported in total, like this year, but that rareness of no snow occurring in December rises fast.
Another lack-of-snow record is approaching in Denver. The longest streak with no snow in Denver. The record longest snowless streak in Denver is 235 days back in 1887 which occurred between March 5 and October 25. The last time we had measurable snow in Denver was back on April 22 – 222 days ago.
TOP 5 LONGEST SNOWLESS STREAKS IN DENVER
235 days – 3/5 – 10/25, 1887
227 days – 3/27 – 11/8, 1888
224 days – 3/23 – 11/2, 1889
222 days – 4/22 – ???, 2021
219 days – 4/5 – 11/9, 1886
As you can see, we are in rare company on this top 5 list. The most recent years when we went more than 219 days with no snow in Denver all occurred in the mid to late-1880s.
FORECAST
The forecast does no look great concerning snow in Denver, or in Colorado for that matter. This entire workweek will feature zero snow across the entire state. That is concerning in itself since we need snowpack numbers to rise. A stubborn ridge of high pressure, which is eerily similar to the setup we saw this past summer, has set up and won’t budge through the week. That means, warm, dry and breezy conditions are expected. High temperatures on the eastern Plains could near record levels a couple of times this week.
The next chance for snow moves into the state this coming weekend as a few, minor snow showers may develop. A larger change in the pattern may come early next week as a few models are showing a nice mountain snowstorm moving in with the possibility of snow in Denver around that same time. If we make it through this week and the upcoming weekend with no snow in Denver, we will have gone 229 days without snow securing the second spot for snowless streaks. About a week ago, models were showing that snow could fall in Denver this week, but that chance quickly dissolved. The feasibility of next weeks chance of snow in Denver dissolving is absolutely a possibility but we have to hold on to the the chance because not only are we lacking snow, but we are lacking moisture in general.
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