Last week’s storm finally delivered the kind of soaking rain we’ve been waiting months to see, but don’t get used to it. The atmosphere is shifting back into a familiar pattern this week, with summer-like warmth, abundant sunshine, and another surge of tropical moisture headed toward the Southwest. The catch? Most of that moisture will never make it to the Front Range. In this week’s update, we look at the drought-improving impacts of last week’s storm, why the San Juans are poised to cash in yet again, and whether a late-week cold front can squeeze out a little bit of rain for us before temperatures finally start feeling a bit more like October.
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Category: Verification (Page 1 of 53)
These posts take a look back at recent weather events, like snow storms or severe weather outbreaks, and evaluate how the forecast played out. We evaluate how well the models predicted what actually occurred, and offer insight into what can be learned and applied moving forward.
12th Annual BoulderCAST First Snowfall Contest
Ready or not, snow season is lurking out there somewhere. Maybe you’ve already dusted off the skis, mounted the winter tires, or convinced yourself that buying an Epic Pass counts as meteorological preparedness. Now comes the big question: when will we see our first measurable snowfall of the season? If recent years have taught us anything, it’s that Mother Nature doesn’t always follow the script. We’ve experienced both the earliest and latest first snows on record within the last six years, proving that just about anything is on the table.
That’s why it’s time once again for the BoulderCAST First Snowfall Contest. Take a look at Boulder’s snowfall history within, then submit your prediction for the date of Boulder’s first measurable snow (0.1″ or greater) and how much will fall. The closest forecasts will earn prizes, bragging rights, and the satisfaction of being more accurate than your friends.
*This contest has closed to entries.*
Summer 2026 is beginning to wrap-up, but before we close the books on one of Colorado’s most punishing warm‑season patterns in recent memory, we’re taking you through the full story — from the record‑warm, snow‑starved winter that set the stage, to the monsoon that never quite cohered leaving fuels critically dry statewide, to the heat dome that kept both day and night historically warm.
Read on as we break down why Boulder’s rainfall never materialized this summer, why Denver fared only marginally better, how nearly 250,000 acres burned statewide, and why half of Colorado is now in Extreme or Exceptional Drought. This summer has certainly been one for the record books, in more than one way.
May has finally snapped the atmosphere out of its months‑long bone dry spell, and the Front Range is making up for lost time fast. A destructive early‑May snow event, followed by a second, well‑timed upslope system just ten days later, has pushed Boulder’s May precipitation total beyond everything we managed to scrape together through fall, winter, and early spring combined. We dig into what triggered the pattern reversal, how much moisture different parts of the region have banked, what this burst of wet weather actually means for our entrenched drought, and whether the upcoming Memorial Day weekend warm‑up signals a slide back toward a more aggressive drying trend.
Friday delivered one of those classic Colorado curveballs. The storm showed up fashionably late, then hit harder than expected once it finally got going. It left behind a fast‑melting blanket of spring snow and cleared out almost as quickly as it arrived. In today’s update, we break down the wild midday burst of snow, take a look at how the forecast held up, and highlight why the real headline may have been what happened — or didn’t happen — after the flakes stopped.
March 2026 delivered one of Colorado’s most jarring spring months on record with temperatures skyrocketing to unprecedented levels as the region shattered long‑standing warmth records for weeks on end. Western snowpack rapidly declined during this multi-week heatwave, reaching historic lows in a majority of basins across the West, including every major basin in Colorado. Brief interjections of snow occurred during the month across the Front Range, but most the state ended with well below normal precipitation. Here’s a quick and colorful graphical recap of our weather during March and how it relates to climatology.
March is supposed to bring hints of spring, not the kind of heat that rewrites the record books and eats away snowpack like it’s June. Yet here we are again, recapping another weekend of astonishing warmth, more broken records, and a dire Westwide snowpack situation that has become genuinely alarming. We walk through just how extreme the heatwave has been, why Colorado’s water outlook is now in uncharted territory, and what the coming early April pattern shift might (or might not) do to slow the damage that’s already been done. Let’s dig in.
Saturday’s storm didn’t quite live up to its wind hype, but it still delivered a sharp overnight front and a quick burst of convective snow before sunrise on Sunday.
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