As Of 12/3/21, Still No Snow In Denver - Latest Since Recordkeeping Began In 1882

[hatrack]

Snowless in Colorado? No, this is not a follow-up to the Tom Hanks movie "Sleepless in Seattle," but rather a real-life drama unfolding across the state with very real-life consequences.

It's been 224 consecutive days (and counting) since it snowed a measurable amount in Denver, and it has just broken the record for the latest date for a first snowfall -- a record that has held since snowfall records began in 1882. In that time, Denver has never entered December without measurable snow. This extended dry period has implications for the state's long-standing drought, a dwindling water supply and a population that wants to hit the slopes.

Link to tweet

"Everywhere across the state is experiencing some kind of drought conditions," Ayesha Wilkinson, a National Weather Service meteorologist, told CNN. For example, "Denver has just recorded their second-least snowiest November," with no measurable snow observed -- meaning they had some flurries, but nothing accumulated. This November is behind only 1949 when literally "no flakes fell from the sky." Colorado looks representative of the rest of the country, too, at the start of meteorological winter on December 1, and only 11.1% of the United States is covered in snow.

Link to tweet

EDIT

Over two-thirds of Colorado's water supply comes from the snowpack, according to the Environmental Center at the University of Colorado Boulder. Less snow means less water, which is bad news for everyone, considering the long-standing drought plaguing the western United States. The Colorado River Basin, whose headwaters originate in the western part of the state, supplies more than 40 million Americans with their drinking water. A water shortage has been declared for the first time, fueled in part by climate change.

Colorado's specific drought situation has once again taken a turn for the worse. After some brief improvement over the spring and summer, the statewide percentage under moderate drought was 88% last week and now sits at 95% with no precipitation in the forecast until next week.



EDIT

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/02/weather/colorado-snow-drought-denver/index.html