New Denver Spring Weather Forecast: What to Expect

Anyone hoping for a wet spring in Colorado to counteract a hot, dry winter has some reason to hope, according to national forecasts.

Denver set records for high temperatures in December, hitting 72 degrees on Christmas Day. Colorado mountain ranges aren’t faring much better this winter, as the state has seen a record-low snowpack through January. The jury is still out on how much relief is coming this spring, with NOAA and Old Farmer’s Almanac predictions painting different pictures for February, March and April.

According to a three-month prediction from NOAA, the bottom half of the country is likely in for temperatures that lean above normal from February through April. A small sliver of the northernmost states in the West and Midwest should expect colder temperatures, while much of the middle and upper-middle states have “equal chances” of normal temperatures — and as with many seasonal forecasts, Colorado is split down the middle thanks to its geographic location.

Denver Hard to Pinpoint, Could See Precipitation

Cut almost evenly in a diagonal line down the middle of the state, Colorado’s spring temperature forecast shows a 30 to 50 percent chance of above-normal temperatures, but Denver, located just northeast of the state’s center, is outside of that zone. The rest of Colorado has “equal” chances of normal temperatures in February, March and April, NOAA predicts.

The country’s spring precipitation outlook is similar in the western half of the country, but starts to swing in the Midwest. However, the line of anticipated dryness is reversed in Colorado. Denver is located right on the line dividing where NOAA sees higher chances of dry weather, with much of southern and eastern Colorado having a 33 to 50 percent chance of below-normal precipitation in February, March and April.

NOAA’s forecasts are similar to a new prediction from the Old Farmer’s Almanac (not to be confused with the similarly named Farmers’ Almanac). Released on January 23, the Old Farmer’s Almanac‘s latest spring forecast shows that most of Colorado should expect a dry, warm spring. However, this forecast shows a small blip of cool, wet weather in the northwestern corner of the state, with above-average precipitation expected in the southeastern corner of Colorado and a sizable chunk of the eastern half of the state. As with NOAA’s prediction, the Old Farmer’s Almanac‘s dividing line of where wet weather ends and begins is right on metro Denver.