Our weather during the month of April was very fickle. Eleven consecutive warm days kicked off the month but were quickly followed by a prolonged period of cold and snow on the heels of several Arctic outbreaks. The important result, however, was a significant improvement in the drought across northeast Colorado. Here’s a quick and colorful rundown of our weather during April 2021 and how it relates to climatology.

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Top Weather Highlights of April 2021:

WARM BEGINNINGS: We began the month with eleven consecutive days of above average temperatures. This included two new daily record highs in Boulder on April 3rd (78°F) and April 4th (80°F). Many Front Range cities were on pace for their warmest April on record. Of course, that was only the first third of the month and brutal cold set in shortly after, dashing everyone’s hopes for a warmer than normal month.

RELATED POST:
Record highs are likely this weekend, but cooling off next week

ARCTIC OUTBREAKS: The middle of the month was characterized by prolonged cold and snow as several storm systems with Arctic origins descended on the Front Range. Between April 13th and April 22nd, there was only one completely snowless day in Boulder!

The most intense Arctic front moved in on April 19th paving the way for several days of record cold, including the latest ever 10°F reading in Boulder on April 20th.

This final push of Arctic air produced the largest snowstorm of the month for the Denver Metro area on April 19th into the 20th. Snowfall totals ranged from 3″ in Denver, to 7″ in Longmont, to 9″ in Boulder, to 15″ in Allenspark!

April 2021’s biggest snowstorm!

RELATED POST:
Late-season Arctic surge pushes Boulder over 100 inches of snow for the season, another chance of snow Wednesday (Updated)

This lengthy cold snap bumped up seasonal snowfall totals considerably. By the end of April, Boulder eclipsed 100 inches of snow for the second year in a row, while Denver notched its snowiest season since 1984!

ONE INCH RAINSTORM TO END THE MONTH: April’s weather finale was a round of showers and thunderstorms that eventually transitioned to widespread upslope rain/snow on the 27th and 28th. Boulder reported just over 1″ of rain from this event (no snow), while upwards of 10″ of snow fell in the Foothills. This same storm contributed to the rockfall that closed Boulder Canyon.

Despite the crazy month, the final precipitation total in Boulder was only 3.20″ which is just slightly above normal, now the third consecutive month with above normal precipitation for most of the Front Range. The latest update from the US Drought Monitor has revoked the drought status for Boulder and Denver. Statewide drought coverage dropped from 92% to 80% during the month. This is excellent news as we head into our wettest month of the year (May!). However, as you can see in the graphic below, all of this improvement came from the northeast quadrant of the state. Southern and western Colorado are still very much in trouble.

April 2021 Recap Graphics:

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Featured image of the snow Front Range by Jason Mowry. 

BoulderCAST Team

This post had major contributions from at least two members of our team. The more meteorologists the better, right?

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