Christmas is still a few weeks away, but Denver’s already seen about half of its typical seasonal snowfall. Denver’s 2-plus feet of seasonal snowfall is way above average, and it’s also among the faster starts to the winter season in recent memory.
So how’s this for a fun fact: Denver has seen more snow so far this winter than almost every city in Alaska. And Boulder has seen more snow than any major American city so far this winter.
According to the three , there are seven different cities that tabulate official seasonal snowfall records. Of those seven Alaskan cities, Denver’s seen more snow this winter than six of them. The lone Alaskan city with more snow than Denver so far this winter? Fairbanks (29.9 inches, through Sunday afternoon), and by exactly 0.2 inches more than the Stapleton 29.7-inch season-to-date total.
Denver’s 26.2 inches of official snowfall so far this winter (29.7 at the old Stapleton Airport site) are about a foot above the season-to-date average of 14.5 inches. The two-plus feet of snow so far this winter in the Mile High City eclipse the Alaskan cities of Anchorage (18.9 inches of seasonal snow, through Saturday), Juneau (0.6 inches), Nome (7.2 inches), Utqiagvik (formerly known as Barrow, 9.1 inches), Kotzebue (3.7 inches), and McGrath (only a trace of snowfall so far this winter).
Six of those seven cities average more season-to-date snow than Denver, with only coastal Juneau (3.6 inches of snowfall) averaging less.
In fact, the only American cities that have seen more snow than Denver so far this winter are in Minnesota (Duluth has seen 36 inches, with more coming this week) and New York (Rochester).
No U.S. city of 100k+ people has seen more snow so far this winter than Boulder, CO – 55.9". Based on what I could find, not even close.
Next highest cities (not all 100k+) I could find: Duluth, MN: 35.8", Rapid City, SD: 33.8", Fairbanks, AK: 29.9", Rochester, NY: 28.1"
— Chris Bianchi (@BianchiWeather)
Boulder, meanwhile, has seen a whopping 55.9 inches of snow so far this winter. That’s more than every American city with a population of 100,000 or more people, or least ones with official measurements.
This year was in the top 5 for highest September through November snowfall totals at numerous NWS Cooperative Observer sites along the urban corridor and also at other locations.
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder)
While this kind of crazy early season snow can obviously happen — Denver and the Front Range is somewhat notoriously prone to early-season snowfall — it’s rare for Denver to have seen so much more snow than places at or above the Arctic Circle.
It’s part of a general flip-flop in North American weather patterns so far this winter season, and it’s also not the first time Denver has experienced Alaska-like weather over a prolonged stretch. Colorado has experienced some of the coldest weather relative to average on Earth this fall, while Alaska has generally been basking in some of the warmest conditions on Earth, again, relative to average.
So congratulations, Denver. You’ve seen more snow so far this winter than just about every city in the United States — including Alaska. And one of the only American cities with more snow than Denver so far this winter is just 30 miles away.
