(SOUTHERN COLORADO) — With a parade of storm systems heading into Southern Colorado over the next several days, the FOX21 Storm Team wanted to take a brief step back and look at some of the past seasons and their snow totals.
The last five years have featured several strong La Nina events (2020 – 2022) and two strong El Nino events (2019 and 2023). Those two teleconnections are important because they typically allude to either a more active or less active year for storm system frequency. El Nino years usually bring higher impacts with more storms.
Slide the bar to compare the 2022 – 2023 season totals with average numbers
The 2022 – 2023 snow totals featured some pretty average numbers across Southern Colorado, with a few different areas falling just short of typical seasonal averages. A big exception is Buena Vista which came out of the season with less than half of what they usually see snowfall-wise.
One potential reason for these slightly lower numbers could be tied to the transition from a strong La Nina year to a strong El Nino year.
Looking at the last 24 years, Southern Colorado has had some pretty impressive snow totals. The 2001 season in Colorado Springs saw more than 20 inches of snow than usual for the season. Buena Vista saw over 85 inches of snow for the 2021 season and Lamar saw almost as much for the 2007 season.
December of 2006 was a particularly busy time of year for Southern Colorado as multiple storm systems impacted the area – similar to what is currently happening. However, the storms in 06 were much stronger and had more favorable conditions to work with.
Featured above are some highlights from the month of December that year and a second image that showed a satellite view of the snow on the ground. Lamar specifically measured 46 inches of snow in just one month!
Colorado certainly has the potential to deliver a lot of snow, but every year is different. Currently, the state is sitting at about 67% of the snowpack we’re usually at for this time of year.
The next seven to ten days look very active for snow chances, so this map will likely improve with time. Be sure to check back in with Fox21 to stay up to date with the latest forecast.
