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Dry Early March Doesn't Always Mean A Dry Spring

By Justin McHeffey

March is month of seasonal change and larger daily variations in temperature. We can have a string of days that resemble late spring or even summer — followed by the biggest snowstorm of the year. In fact, Denver's second biggest snowstorm in history happened March 17–19, 2003. The official total was 31.8 inches — strengthening March's rank as our snowiest month of the year. However, March 2016 has been far from it.
Is it too early to worry about deficient snowfall? Probably. The forecast models show a potential change in our weather pattern next week — good news when you look back at the numbers this month. We've only recorded .01 inches of water at Denver International Airport since March 1st. Compare that to the year 1983 when we had 4.56 inches for the whole month — the wettest March in Denver history. But don't forget, there's still 3 weeks between now and April.
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Even though these light afternoon showers haven't produced much accumulation, it's still keeping the foothills from completely drying out. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday all brought scattered snow to the mountains west of Denver. Not a lot, but just enough to postpone an early fire season. The driest March on record happened in 2012 when only .03 inches fell. That year, the Lower North Fork Fire spread from a controlled burn following a bleak statewide snowfall season.
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March 2015 was drier than normal in Denver but we managed to catch up in April and May. Rain and snow during those two months amounted to 6.41 inches of water. There's lots to be seen in the coming weeks and if we finally buck this dry weather trend. The afternoon clouds have been helping us this week, though. Since the warmest temperatures of the day typically happen at 2–3 p.m., the clouds have prevented a total evaporation of moisture in the ground. Next week's rain and snow may deliver what we've come to expect in March.

Justin McHeffey provides nightly reports from the Mobile Weather Lab. He travels Colorado in search of Mother Nature's most powerful and beautiful conditions. Like his Facebook page Meteorologist Justin McHeffey and follow him on Twitter @WeatherMcHeffey.

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