Denver Weather: Precipitation This Year Has Now Surpassed All of 2020

DENVER (CBS4) - There were 15 reports of tornadoes in Colorado this weekend, dozens of damaging wind and hail reports, and more than an inch of rain in Denver. Enough to eclipse all of 2020.

Officially Denver received 1.30 inches of rain on Saturday and Sunday as measured at Denver International Airport. That brings total precipitation for the month to just under 3 inches, which is far above normal through May 23. And total liquid for the year including melted snow is now approaching 10 inches with the wettest month of year (July) still ahead.

Denver is now almost 5 inches above normal in a city that only average about 14.5 inches of liquid each year.

Even more impressive, the weekend moisture was enough to bring total precipitation for 2021 above what Denver received in all of 2020. And of course we're still more than a month away from the halfway point of the year.

While it was very wet at times for parts of the metro area over the weekend, Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins was largely spared from the most intense weather in the state. Of the 15 tornado reports on Saturday and Sunday, there was only one tornado that was anywhere close to the metro area which was near Bennett (about 20 miles east of Aurora) on Saturday.

Looking at the forecast for the rest of this week, Monday and Tuesday will be dry across the vast majority of the state. There is a small chance for severe thunderstorms on the Eastern Plains mainly east of Limon and Fort Morgan. Zero thunderstorms are expected in the metro area through Tuesday.

Then the chance for stray late day thunderstorms will return to metro Denver on Wednesday followed by a slightly better chance on Thursday.