subject: Weather in Denver Colorado [print this page] Weather in Denver Colorado Weather in Denver Colorado
Denver, Colorado is located just east of the Rocky Mountains. Although there is plenty of snow, the mountains protect the city from most severe weather and the snow tends to melt rapidly. In general, Denver weather is relatively mild and sunny. In fact it averages 300 sunny days per year, which is more than San Diego, CA or Miami, FL. The area has low humidity levels, which make the highest and lowest temperatures seem less extreme.
Denver weather is comprised of four distinct seasons. Winters are cold and dry with highs in the 40s and 50s and lows in the teens and 20s. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Denver was at -29 F on January 9, 1875. The first snowfall of the year typically occurs in mid-October, and the last snowfall of the season takes place towards the end of April. There is an average of 61 inches of snow accumulation yearly.
Spring can bring large amounts of snow to Denver when arctic air from the north combines with warm Pacific storm fronts. March is the snowiest month in Denver, with an average of 11.7 inches of snow. In late spring the snow begins to melt and the first thunderstorms of the season appear.
Summers in Denver tend to be hot and dry with little precipitation. The daytime high temperatures average in the 90s. Starting in mid-July there are frequent thunderstorms in the afternoons brought in by tropical moisture systems.
In autumn the arctic air begins to approach and combines with Pacific moisture to bring significant snowfall starting in October. November is the area's second snowiest month next to March.
