Does it normally snow a lot in Denver, Colorado?

Question

Someone told me that it normally doesn't snow much in the winter, however they got hit with a couple storms.

Answer 1

yes, it snows a lot in denver every year. one of there biggest industries is skiing resorts. this year, we got a lot of snow early. normally, february and march are the heaviest months. this year is heavier than normal and earlier as well.

but it not always the same every year. last year our snow was not the average or normal snow fall. this year we have an abundance early.

just think, last year there was heavy snow in the east coast. new york all the way to maine was innudated with snow but look at it this year..... no snow for the holidays in new york, connecticut or boston area.

Answer 2

cat.tuck is closest to the truth. The Front Range in general does not get a lot of snow. The Front Range is the cities that run along the I-25 corridor which sits at the eastern base of the Rocky Mountain.

I don't think the people that answered this question live here. That or they are from California and they THINK we get a lot of snow here.

Compared to places like, let's say Minnesota or Pennsylvania, no, Denver does not get a lot of snow. The past couple of storms were pretty rare. I'd say the last big snow storm that was comparable to this one was the blizzard of '97. That was the most snow I've ever seen in my life.

But even at that the snow in Denver, or along the Front Range, will stick around for 3-5 days at max. The weather always warms up quickly here and the snow melts away.

Denver IS NOT home to skiing. That is in the mountains east of Denver. And many of them are several hours away. The closest major ski resort to Denver is a good 2 hour drive. And they do get a lot of snow. Most of which have several feet of base and usually get 4-12 inches of new snow quite regularly.

But that is not Denver. That is several hours west of Denver. Denver gets it's fair share, but I would not call it an abundance. On average, about 30-45 inches all winter long. 2-3 inches here, and 2-3 inches there and it adds up, but it does not stick around. A couple days later and it's melted.

Answer 3

The first few answers to this question are obviously from people who don't live in Denver or who have never visited. Although we are a mile high, Denver sits east of the mountains and is considered on the plains. The ski slopes are anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hrs away.
I've lived in Denver for almost 30 years, so I consider myself somewhat of an "expert". We almost always get lots and lots of snow in the mountains, but here in town we normally get moderate storms, with a few inches of snow. Unlike the east, when it snows here, it warms up quickly and the snow melts. It doesn't stay around forever.
The difference with this storm is that we got a huge blizzard, followed by another really big storm. The snow from the 1st storm didn't have a chance to melt, now we have double snow to contend with.
All the people I know who have lived here for 20+ years have all said that we don't remember getting dumped on like this twice within a week's period.

Answer 4

I see a lot of comments about Denver and the skiing and all this...Denver isn't home to any skiing. Unless, of course, you're talking about doing X-country. The nearest ski area is Eldora and it's not much to talk about. Eldora is about 15 miles west of Boulder which is about 15 miles northwest of Denver. Loveland Valley would be next and it's about 45 minutes west of Denver. Beyond that you would need to go an additional 30 minutes to get to the next ski areas. In those areas you're adding considerable elevation and in some cases even talking about the other side of the Continental Divide. Now about the snow...Denver hasn't gotten a lot of snow the last few years, definitely not a lot like we just received. Although the average is about 60 inches, you would be hard pressed to find a year recently when we've gotten that much. Those averages are 20 year averages and don't mean much these days. In fact, they were talking on the news the other night that the average might change. In the old days we cold look forward to a couple of these big storms a year, usually in the March/April time. March is our snowiest month. To make a long story short; if you have a mental picture of Denver being frequently snow bound, forget about it. It just ain't so.

Answer 5

I have to agree that many of the first answers must be from people who don't live here.

I have lived in Denver all of my life, for 34 years, and the weather patterns have really changed over the years. We do get snow but our winters are really pretty mild here in Denver and east of the mountains, like the other person described this area as the front range. These last two blizzard-like storms we have had are very rare.

And Denver is NOT home to any ski resorts. The ski resorts are up in the mountains and at higher elevations.

Answer 6

No Denver itself does not generally get a lot of snow.

The mountains which are about 30 miles to the West of Denver always get a lot of snow.

But the city itself does not generally see this much snow. Denver is not located in the mountains (most people think it is)

Answer 7

Normally it doesn't snow alot in Denver. Every year there is a bit of snow, and some years we get some major storms.... like this year.

But with our great sunshine the storms don't last long and folks are running around in shorts in no time. Our weather does change quickly.

and it rocks.

Answer 8

Not like every single month. I was just in the blizzard in Dec. 2006 and it was very snowy. It is snowy in the winter but like 1 week is snow the next few weeks arent.

Answer 9

it doesent sound likle anyone else is from denver, all though we get about 50 inches a year it normally comes about 2 inches at a time, and it allways melt within a few days, and its only about every 8 years that we get a huge blizzard
sorry about the run on sentece, and the bad spelling

Answer 10

Colorado has been in a draught the last few years and this year we are having a semi-normal winter/year as far as weather. so yes when colorado is not in a draught then yes we have quite a bit of snow.