According to AZFamily.com, It’s been 224 consecutive days (and counting) since it snowed a measurable amount in Denver, and it has just broken the record for the latest date for a first snowfall — a record that has held since snowfall records began in 1882.
In that time, Denver has never entered December without measurable snow. In fact, Record-breaking heat hits Phoenix on the first day of December This extended dry period has implications for the state’s long-standing drought, a dwindling water supply, and a population that wants to hit the slopes.
“Everywhere across the state is experiencing some kind of drought conditions,” Ayesha Wilkinson, a National Weather Service meteorologist, told CNN. For example, “Denver has just recorded their second-least snowiest November,” with no measurable snow observed — meaning they had some flurries, but nothing accumulated.
This November is behind only 1949 when literally “no flakes fell from the sky.” Colorado looks representative of the rest of the country, too, at the start of meteorological winter on December 1, and only 11.1% of the United States is covered in snow.
While the state endures one of the driest and warmest periods in modern record-keeping, the effect it’s having on ski resorts can’t be overlooked. Like Telluride, some ski resorts were forced to delay their opening day until after Thanksgiving, foregoing revenue from the extended holiday weekend.
