After a winter that brought some decent snow storms but often left ski country high and dry for weeks at a time, Colorado and even parts of Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona are in the midst of a heavy precipitation cycle. At Curbed Ski's Denver headquarters we've been left searching for the sun and wondering if this is how our pals in Curbed Seattle feel all the time. We're grateful for the moisture and sure, the skiing at Arapahoe Basin has been top notch, but honestly, where's the sun? If all this gloomy weather has you down, we're here to present some evidence to prove that yes, the rain just can't stop, won't stop.
March was a cruel, cruel joke to snow lovers in Colorado, with temperatures in the 50s and even 60s in some ski towns. We've already shown you the snowpack map, but here's how March looked in terms of its "total precipitation anomaly," which is just a fancy way of comparing monthly statistics to averages from 1981-2010.
As fate would have it, in mid-April when most of the ski areas closed for the season, the storms really started rolling in. You can start to see the difference in the map below, especially on the Front Range of Colorado.
And then we have May, which will hereafter be referred to as "the month in which the sun died." It's no coincidence that the Denver Post just ran a headline claiming, "Colorado's 300 days a year of sunshine may be in jeopardy." Just look at the percentage of average precipitation below:
Almost all of Colorado has seen over 200 percent of its average precipitation so far this month, and many places are measuring 300-400 percent. This is just crazy talk for a state that's seriously addicted to its sunshine. And while Colorado may start to dry out a bit in June, don't plan on a sunny Memorial Day.
According to Open Snow's Joel Gratz, Colorado has two more storms on the docket. The first storm will bring rain (surprise, surprise) to most of the state on Thursday with up to 6 inches of snow above 10,000 feet. Then the state will see another storm from Friday through Monday, with frequent rain and snow.
Our pro tip? We're heading south where the holiday forecast looks perfect for biking: sun and 65 degrees. New Mexico here we come.
· Colorado's 300 days a year of sunshine may be in jeopardy [Denver Post]
· Just How Much Snow and Rain Has the West Seen This Year? [Curbed Ski]
· Night Rider: Watch Glowing Skiers Kill It in Alaska [Curbed Ski]
· Copper Plans New Lift For Tucker Mountain this Summer [Curbed Ski]
· The Best Ski Towns to Invest in Real Estate, 2015 Edition [Curbed Ski]
· Mapping the 17 Oldest Bars & Restaurants in Ski Country [Curbed Ski]