Metro Denver residents hoping to bust out sleds and snowboots before Halloween should brace for disappointment as National Weather Service forecasters expect the region’s first snowfall of the season may be a month away.
Warmer-than-average temperatures will likely persist across Colorado for the next week to 10 days, and a warming pattern across the western U.S. means measurable snow may not fall in the Denver metro until mid-November, said Mike Garberoglio, a meteorologist with NWS Pueblo office.
“The average first measurable snowfall for Denver is usually around mid-October, but I get the feeling based on this (data) that we’re going to be a bit later, possibly at least a month,” Garberoglio said.
Coloradans may see periodic cooler temperatures in the next 10 days, but nothing substantial enough to produce snow east of the mountains, Garberoglio said.
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The date of Denver’s first snowfall is influenced by temperatures as well as the jet stream.
“We’ll see more bends and twists bringing in air from further north, closer to the poles,” Garberoglio said. “That’s not something we’ve been seeing much of the last few months. We’ve been under pretty consistent repeated areas of high pressure — that’s the pattern that’s persisted and will probably persist for the next week.”
Over the last 10 years, Denver’s first snow has fallen once in September, four times in October, four times in November and once in December, according to NWS data.
The latest first snowfall in Denver was recorded on Dec. 10, 2021.