December is Denver’s third snowiest month behind March and April based on the historical records. However, based on recent years you may not realize it.
If you are new to the Denver metro area within the last 4 years, you have yet to experience an overly snow-filled December. December 2016 was the last time that snowfall was above the monthly normal of 8 inches, when the observed total was just shy of 10 inches.
Snow totals tailed off significantly in 2017, when only 4 inches of snow fell that December. In 2018, snow nearly avoided the Mile High City altogether, as the city only managed to measure a paltry 0.5 inches for the whole month.
The downward trend has reversed in the last two years, but still has not gotten anywhere close to normal. Almost 3 inches of snow fell last December, while Denver International Airport has tallied about 5 inches this December so far.
With limited snow chances in the next week, Denver is on its way to the fourth straight December with below normal snowfall.
The lack of significant December snow has probably been noticed by longer-term Front Range residents. Prior to the ongoing end-of-the-year snow drought, Denver was in a string of very snowy Decembers.
Eight of 11 Decembers from 2006 to 2016 had above normal snowfall, with at least 10 inches falling in seven of those years and at least 20 inches falling in two of them.
For reference, the snowiest December on record was in 1913 when 57.4 inches was officially measured.
