Photos: Ten snowiest Mays in Denver history and more

As we noted in our post about two crashes into law-enforcement vehicles in 36 minutes last night, many Denverites seem surprised by May snowstorms, but they shouldn't be -- and here's photo-illustrated proof. Data from the National Weather Service as shared on the NWS site and ThorntonWeather.com shows that we...

By Michael Roberts

May 12, 2014

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As we noted in our post about two crashes into law-enforcement vehicles in 36 minutes last night, many Denverites seem surprised by May snowstorms, but they shouldn't be -- and here's photo-illustrated proof. Data from the National Weather Service as shared on the NWS site and ThorntonWeather.com shows that we typically get snow in May -- and sometimes a helluva lot of it.

Will the still-accumulating snowfall totals from yesterday and today make the list of snowiest Mays? Too soon to tell. But here's the top ten, supplemented by info about the latest freezes and snowfalls during the past decade. Count them down below.

Number 10: May 1944 -- 8.3 inches Number 9: May 1957 -- 8.8 inches Number 8: May 1893 -- 8.9 inches Continue to keep counting down the ten snowiest Mays in Denver history and more. Number 7: May 1907 -- 9 inches Number 6: May 1908 -- 10 inches Number 5: May 1917 -- 12 inches Continue to keep counting down the ten snowiest Mays in Denver history and more. Number 4: May 1912 -- 13.2 inches Number 3: May 1975 -- 13.5 inches Number 2: May 1950 -- 13.6 inches Continue to keep counting down the ten snowiest Mays in Denver history and more. Number 1: May 1998 -- 15.5 inches Latest freeze, last ten years: May 5, 2013 April 16, 2012 May 5, 2011 May 13, 2010 May 5, 2009 May 11, 2008 June 8, 2007 May 10, 2006 May 12, 2005 May 14, 2004 Date of last measurable snowfall, last ten years: May 2, 2013 April 3, 2012 May 11, 2011 May 12, 2010 April 27, 2009 May 14, 2008 April 14, 2007 May 10, 2006 May 2, 2005 April 30, 2004

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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