Remember When It Used To Snow In Denver During September?
By Chris Spears
DENVER (CBS4) - I don't know about you, but doesn't it seem like it never snows anymore in Denver during September?
My first September in Colorado was in 2000 and it snowed 0.2 inches. I couldn't believe it!
In my mind, snow wasn't supposed to happen until late fall or early winter. Colorado natives quickly taught me otherwise.
But Denver hasn't seen a measurable September snow since!
Is this just a cycle, or are we really seeing signs of a changing climate?
I did a little digging through Denver's snow record and found that a long stretch without September snow in Denver has actually happened before. In fact, three times!
Here's the data for measurable September snow in Denver. (measurable means a tenth of an inch or greater)
1895 - 11.4"
1907 - 1.5" (a 12-year gap)
1908 - 6.5"
1913 - 4.0"
1927 - 1.7" (a 14-year gap)
1929 - 0.3"
1935 - 2.8"
1936 - 16.5"
1942- 0.3"
1945 - 1.1"
1951 - 4.2"
1955 - 0.3"
1959 - 12.9"
1961 - 5.8"
1962 - 0.7"
1965 - 5.5"
1970- 4.6"
1971 - 17.2"
1974 - 1.8"
1984 - 5.2" (a 10-year gap)
1985 - 8.7"
1989 - 2.3"
1993 - 5.4"
1994 - 1.4"
1995 - 7.4"
1996 - 4.7"
1999 - 3.1"
2000 - 0.2" (currently in a 17-year September snow drought in Denver)
So is this just a cycle or could it be a sign of a changing climate? That's hard to answer.
Denver's snow record is relatively short but it's also long enough to see trends. In this case it appears that history is just repeating itself.
To me the data suggests not to panic since we've seen two September snow-droughts in the past that lasted more than a decade.
Regardless, it sure seems like we are overdue for a September snow in Denver, and based on the data, potentially a big one.
Only time will tell!
Note there have been 18 years with a trace of snow measured in Denver, including as recently as 2014, but a trace isn't measurable, and therefore doesn't count.
Meteorologist Chris Spears travels weekly in the CBS4 Mobile Weather Lab reporting about Colorado's weather and climate. Check out his bio, connect with him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.
