Denver’s average first snowfall is just a month away

Winter is coming. And in Denver, winter tends to come a little earlier than in much of the rest of the country.

It’s still technically summer, but Denver’s first average snowfall is exactly a month away. According to official statistics from the National Weather Service office in Boulder, Denver’s average first measurable snowfall date falls on Oct. 18.

While early season snows have perhaps decreased of late, they’re as intertwined with the local culture as breweries and the Broncos. Denver averages about 4 inches of hit-or-miss snow each October, including a 15-inch Denver blizzard as recently as 2009.

Denver’s average first measurable snowfall date of Oct. 18 is remarkably early compared with other U.S. cities — largely owing to Denver’s mile-high elevation. Among major American cities, only Anchorage, Alaska, and Billings, Mont., have an earlier average first snowfall — and only by a combined three days.

That said, there has been a notable trend away from early season snowfall in recent years. Since 2000, Denver’s average first snowfall has ticked back to Oct. 26, and Denver hasn’t seen any September or October snowfall in five of the past 12 years.

Of the 115 years of official snowfall records in Denver, only23ofhavenotfeatured any snow in September or October.

Each of the last two years have featured notable October snow events in Denver and along the Front Range.

Last year, Denver received 2.7 inches of snow on Oct. 14, following a half inch of snow on Oct. 6. In 2017, Denver received 2.8 inches of snow on Oct. 9, leaving fall leaves covered in a heavy, wet powder.

Denver’s average first snowfall trends a tick later than some neighboring cities along the Front Range. Colorado Springs’ average first snowfall is Oct. 24, Fort Collins’ is Oct. 27 and Pueblo’s is Nov. 4.

Boulder’s average first snowfall, though, is also on Oct. 18.

With most of the Front Range’s first average snow now just a month out, it’s time to dust off the snow shovels and potentially brace for some snow on top of those Halloween pumpkins.