Denver is now less than 3 inches from breaking all-time snow record

Brian Lada
·3 min read

The Mile High City has piled up three times its normal March snowfall total this month and is less than 3 inches away from having its snowiest March ever.

With an official 1 inch of snow that fell on Tuesday and another 0.6 of an inch that came down early Wednesday, Denver has now amassed 32.5 inches of snow this month, eclipsing the 1891 total of 31.3 inches in March of that year. March 2021 is now tied with 1944 for the second-snowiest March in the city's history.

The city has a good chance of surpassing the shared 1944 total of 32.5 inches in the remaining days of the month and would need 2.8 inches of snow over the last week of March to top the all-time March record of 35.2 inches set in 2003.

The 32-plus inches of snow Denver International Airport has recorded so far this month is almost three times more than the 10.7 inches that falls in the city during a typical March. A vast majority of this snow fell over the course of just two days when the fourth-biggest snowstorm in the city's history unloaded 27.1 inches of snow.

Abbey Eilerman, left, and Jimmy Mundell build a snow figure in the Sunken Garden along Speer Boulevard as a snowstorm rips across the intermountain West Sunday, March 14, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

This historic storm, with the help of a few smaller snow events, propelled this month to the number four spot on the list of the snowiest Marches on record.

The 1.6-inch storm total at Denver International Airport put the Mile High City within reach of its all-time March snowfall record with just one week to go until April arrives. Meanwhile, much greater snowfall accumulations occurred from the mid-week storm over the higher elevations, especially in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, and has given ski resorts a late-season boost. Close to 2 feet of snow piled up in one location in south-central Colorado as an area 7 miles northwest of San Isabel picked up 22.9 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Snow wound down in these areas later Wednesday.

While skiers enjoy the fresh powder, those electing to spend some time in the remote landscapes across the region may run into some weather-related travel issues in addition to the crowded roads and parking lots at some of the region's popular parks.

It was a busy weekend in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park as people enjoyed the first official days of spring in the outdoors. People that headed west into Utah to the slightly warmer Arches National Park also ran into crowds with park rangers temporarily suspending entry on Tuesday after the park hit its capacity limit.

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Even with the end of the month drawing near, it is still not completely out of the question that this could end up as the snowiest March on record in Denver.

AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bob Smerbeck said that there are still two opportunities for accumulating snow before the end of March. The first chance will arrive on Friday and into Friday night, potentially coating Denver in an inch or two of snow ahead of the weekend.

The second chance of accumulating snow will come during the first part of next week, sending the city toward the 2003 record of 35.2 inches.

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