The mid-March monster winter storm was definitely the highlight of the month, but other snowfalls and persistently cold temperatures were also noteworthy. As a result of the wet month, we saw some regional drought improvement, but Colorado as a whole remains in a very tough spot heading into the summer and wildfire season. Here’s a quick and colorful rundown of our weather during March 2021 and how it relates to climatology.
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Top Weather Highlights of March 2021:
THE MEGA-HYPED SNOWSTORM THAT LARGELY DELIVERED: After a mostly quiet first ten days of the month, a significant winter storm caught our attention in the models nearly a week before it arrived to the Front Range. This slow-moving monster storm was expected to produce feet of snow across the area, and by the time the dust settled, it largely delivered. This was the most hyped weather event in the Front Range since the March 2019 Bomb Cyclone.
GFS theta-e forecast at 700mb for Saturday 3/13: All the colors of the rainbow are on display in a beautiful, absolutely massive Four Corners low! Theta-e maps help us "see" the warm and moist air and how it gets wrapped into the core of the storm #COwx #WarmConveyorBelt #COsnow pic.twitter.com/U3PbW5ZR9Y
— BoulderCAST Weather (@BoulderCAST) March 9, 2021
This powerful storm came to fruition slightly slower than expected, causing widespread fears from readers that the storm they’d been preparing for a week already would be a complete bust.
Our official snowfall forecast in Boulder calls for 17 to 30 inches by Monday morning, but odds are best for the 20 to 25 inches…
Our latest forecast update (from Friday PM): https://t.co/zwFrU428qM
#COwx #Snowmageddon2021 #Boulder #Boulderwx #COsnow pic.twitter.com/npznUb9BiN— BoulderCAST Weather (@BoulderCAST) March 13, 2021
We urged everyone to be patient, to not let their guard down, and that the forecast was still on-track for very heavy snow.
The forecasted worst of the storm eventually did arrive with widespread heavy snow ensuing for some 12 to 18 straight hours in many areas. The radar from March 14th was incredible! The upslope snow machine was cranking about as hard as possible in the Front Range!
The stalled low pressure couldn't be in a better spot for upslope! Heavy snow (up to 2"/hr rates) will continue for several more hours across Denver/Boulder. Travel NOT recommended. Do get outside and enjoy the falling snow. A setup like this rarely persists this long! #COwx pic.twitter.com/BJyVf3sMit
— BoulderCAST Weather (@BoulderCAST) March 14, 2021
When it was all said and done, anywhere from 15 to 30″ of snow fell in the Denver Metro area, with up to 40″ in the Foothills. Officially 27.1″ was reported in Denver, the 4th largest snowstorm in the city’s history. 20.7″ fell in Boulder, the 16th largest snowstorm here.
We urge you to read our lengthy post-mortem discussion on this fantastic storm. It walks through the entire process of how we as weather forecasters tackle such an event, adjust the forecast as model solutions change, and how we message it all to the public.
CAPPING OFF A VERY SNOWY MARCH: There were three additional minor snowfall events towards the end of what is our snowiest month on average. Of course, almost any snow event would get belittled by the monster storm just a week prior. The first minor snow March 22nd produced 3 to 7″ in the Denver area. Just two days later on March 24th, another event dropped 1 to 3″ in the same spots. The month wrapped up with one final snow event that dropped 1 to 4″ across the Denver area on March 30th. This final event was the one that solidified March 2021 as Denver’s 2nd snowiest March on record.
Denver International Airport got another 0.4 inch of snow out of the thunderstorm between 10 and 11 PM. That makes a total of 1.5 inches for the day and 34.0 inches for March. This month will go down as the second snowiest and second wettest in Denver's weather history.
1/2 #cowx— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) March 31, 2021
DROUGHT IMPROVEMENT, WITH AN ASTERISK: With the very wet March, it’s no surprise we’ve seen notable improvement in drought conditions across the area. Keep in mind that the epic winter storm really only impacted locations east of the Continental Divide and from Colorado Springs northward. While Denver and Boulder’s drought situation improved substantially over the last 30 days, the Western Slope and southern Colorado saw little to no change in March. A devastating drought is still on-going in most of the state!
March 2021 Recap Graphics:
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