Last 'Record Snow Drought' In Denver Followed By March '03 Blizzard

DENVER (CBS4) - Nature likes balance! That is something I remember one of my professors saying in college.

But he cautioned that nature's balance doesn't always happen as we think it should or on an ideal timeline.

Denver Area Blizzard, March 2003 (credit: CBS)

Denver is currently one week away from recording the longest period of consecutive days (since records began) without measurable snow.

The last time we set the record (between Nov. 26, 2002 and Feb. 2, 2003) it was followed by one of the biggest snowstorms in recorded history.

The March 2003 blizzard left up to three feet of snow across Denver and up to seven feet in the foothills and ended a major drought along the Front Range.

GALLERY: March 2003 Blizzard

I did a little digging into Denver's climate record and found a very interesting stat.

When Denver experiences a snow drought that starts in the fall that lasts 40 days or longer, there's a greater than 50% chance that the following March will bring a foot or more of snow.

Here's the data...

69 days without snow (11/26/2002 - 2/2/2003) the following March brought 35.2" of snow

68 days without snow (10/31/1905 - 1/6/1906) the following March brought 23.9" of snow

67 days without snow (9/9/1962 - 11/14/1962) the following March brought 18" of snow

55 days without snow (10/13/1901 - 12/6/1901) the following March brought 5" of snow

54 days without snow (10/30/1939 - 12/22/1939) the following March brought 20" of snow

54 days without snow (12/18/1933 - 2/9/1934) the following March brought 8.7" of snow but February turned snowy after starting dry (15.6")

50 days without snow (9/28/1927 - 11/16/1927) the following March brought 15.8" of snow

49 days without snow (9/5/2002 - 10/23/2002) the following March brought 35.2" of snow

47 days without snow (11/11/1935 - 12/27/1935) the following March brought 15.1" of snow)

46 days without snow (11/12/1885 - 12/27/1885) the following March brought 21.8" of snow)

44 days without snow (9/14/1993 - 10/27/1993) the following March brought 9.2" of snow but it was snowy during April (11.2")

44 days without snow (11/16/2010 - 12/29/2010) the following March brought 2.5" of snow

43 days without snow (12/4/1955 - 1/15/1956) the following March brought 13" of snow)

42 days without snow (9/22/1994 - 11/2/1994) the following March brought 5" of snow but it was snowy during April (17.2")

40 days without snow (10/8/1921 - 11/16/1921) the following March brought 4.9" of snow

40 days without snow (10/28/1884 - 12/16/1884) the following March brought 0.5" of snow

Meteorologist Chris Spears travels weekly in the CBS4 Mobile Weather Lab reporting about Colorado's weather and climate. Check out his bio, connect with him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.

Featured Local Savings

More from CBS News

Carie Hallford, co-owner of Return to Nature Funeral Home, released from jail

Dia del Niño on Sunday: Denver Museum of Nature and Science is free

Nearly 1,300 in Denver metro area need life-saving transplants

Protesters on Auraria Campus detained by Denver Sheriff deputies