Typical October Weather Pattern for Denver? (Monument: live in, moving to, top)

[denverian]

Originally Posted by Katiana

The link also says about a 50% chance of snow on the ground on Oct. 31 or Nov. 1.

Yeah, I hate it when it snows before the leaves drop. Then they just turn black and drop off. This was a great fall.

Now if we can just get a great Spring... like having a May with no snow or hard freezes. Last May it got cold about the 2nd week. I usually plant annuals and move tropical plants outside around May 15th, but had to wait until about the 20th last year. Oh well, we have crocus blooming now... a little sign that the end is near.

[Jericho-79]

While we're at it...

What is the weather like during the month of May?

There will be a U2 concert on the 21st of May at Invesco Field.

I think it would be disastrous if U2 puts on an outdoor concert with two inches of snow on the playing field.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Jericho-79

While we're at it...

What is the weather like during the month of May?

There will be a U2 concert on the 21st of May at Invesco Field.

I think it would be disastrous if U2 puts on an outdoor concert with two inches of snow on the playing field.

About the same as October. By the 21st, you should be OK, but it may be quite cold at night. Then again, it could be as warm as a summer day.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by denverian

Two years ago we had a foot a few days before Halloween, but it was almost all gone on actual Halloween.

Not in my neighborhood (2009 right?). The snow was at least six inches deep on the grass that year, it was like trick-or-treating on a stereotypical Christmas night.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by Jericho-79

While we're at it...

What is the weather like during the month of May?

There will be a U2 concert on the 21st of May at Invesco Field.

I think it would be disastrous if U2 puts on an outdoor concert with two inches of snow on the playing field.

Anything could happen. I've seen snow (personally) as late as Memorial Day weekend. The foothillls at red rocks are probably at greater risk of a late season snow than is Denver. That said, you can have days that have both snow and warm weather on the same day. (snow overnight, melts in the morning, nice afternoon and evening. Happens all the time.)

The bottom line is that a late May date is far more at risk from cancellation due to rain than it is due to snow, however. I'm sure the planners have a contingency plan in case of weather.

[All_Over_Guy]

October is one of our transitional months, with varying warm/cold, wet/dry days. As others have pointed out, expect mild days with cold nights, but that's an educated guess, at best. October usually brings us our first snowfall, right around the 19th. This past year was certainly the exception as was pointed out earlier. We received merely 0.54 inches of rain (1/2 inch below normal) with zero snowfall. Our average snowfall for the whole month is 4.1 inches (our 6th snowiest month). Average high temperatures range from 72 on the first of the month to 59 on the 31st. Average lows go from 42 to 30 degrees during the span of the month, so October is generally when we start seeing consistent freezing. The highest and lowest temps ever recorded during the month are 90 and -2 degrees.

As for May, on average, we receive about 3x less snow during that month (1.3 inches) compared to October, so it's a bit different. May is our 8th snowiest month. Average highs range from 65 to 76 degrees while average lows range from 39 to 49 degrees. The average last freeze of the season occurs on May 5th, and the average date for the last measurable snowfall is April 27th. However, the latest we've ever seen snow in Denver was on June 12th, so it can definitely snow well into and even past May. Let's hope U2 gets lucky this year.

For those of you who were wondering or doubting, it is indeed true that on average, Denver gets more snow in March than any other month (11.7 inches). In fact, last March, Denver received 12.8 inches of snow, and March 2009 saw 13.8 inches of snow in Denver. The March 2003 blizzard is especially noteworthy.

These data are from NCDC. I do weather for a living.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by tfox

Anything could happen. I've seen snow (personally) as late as Memorial Day weekend. The foothillls at red rocks are probably at greater risk of a late season snow than is Denver. That said, you can have days that have both snow and warm weather on the same day. (snow overnight, melts in the morning, nice afternoon and evening. Happens all the time.)

The bottom line is that a late May date is far more at risk from cancellation due to rain than it is due to snow, however. I'm sure the planners have a contingency plan in case of weather.

I've personally seen snow about June 2 or 3, in 1998, in Louisville. It snowed in Boulder on my daughter's high school graduation day, June 4, 2005. That's it for June in 30 years of living in the metro area. I've seen quite a few September snows, though not lately.

[denverian]

Remember, July is Denver's 12th snowiest month, on average. I remember once it snowed 8" on the 4th of July and ruined my barbeque! Of course it was sunny and 85 the following Christmas, so it all worked out

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by denverian

Remember, July is Denver's 12th snowiest month, on average. I remember once it snowed 8" on the 4th of July and ruined my barbeque! Of course it was sunny and 85 the following Christmas, so it all worked out

Kind of like baseball....things sort of "average out" over time, eh.

[All_Over_Guy]

Originally Posted by denverian

Remember, July is Denver's 12th snowiest month, on average. I remember once it snowed 8" on the 4th of July and ruined my barbeque! Of course it was sunny and 85 the following Christmas, so it all worked out

denverian, no offense to your or your barbecue! But you must live in the mountains or on top of Monument Hill. It has never snowed any measurable amount of snow in Denver in July since records have been kept (at Stapleton). Don't mean to be a stickler but just like to get the facts straight, especially for those who are thinking of visiting or moving to Denver. We don't want to scare them away...Or maybe we do...What year was it you're thinking of?