Denver Exceeds Seasonal Snowfall

DENVER -- We knew it was coming and here it is.

Thursday's snowfall measured 2 inches officially in Denver, bringing the seasonal snow total to 62.1 inches. That exceeds the normal annual snowfall of 61.7 inches.

The snow season runs from July 1 through June 30 of the following year.

With five full months of the snow season still to go, and four months that typically see measurable snowfall (especially March), could Denver be on the way to setting a new record?

2006-2007 Snow Season Thus Far

July and August -- 0 inches average, 0 inches in 2006

September -- 2.1 inches average, 0 inches in 2006

October -- 4.1 inches average, 9.8 inches in 2006

November -- 10.7 inches average, 4.4 inches in 2006

December -- 8.7 inches average, 29.4 inches in 2006

January -- 7.7 inches average, 15.9 inches in 2007

February -- 6.3 inches average, 2.6 inches so far in 2007

March -- 11.7 inches average

April -- 9.1 inches average

May -- 1.3 inches average

June -- Trace on average

The snowy winter has prompted several questions from 7NEWS viewers, so we did a little research to see where this season stands to date compared with past ones.

Have there ever been any snow seasons with this much snow already?

Yes, three other seasons have been snowier through January 31 compared to this year.

1913-1914 -- 73.2 inches

1991-1992 -- 63.1 inches

1929-1930 -- 62.3 inches

The good news about all three of these seasons is that they saw a combined February-June snowfall below the normal, which is 28.4 inches.

1913-1914 -- 25.7 additional inches Feb. - Jun.

1991-1992 -- 15.9 additional inches Feb. - Jun.

1929-1930 -- 11.5 additional inches Feb. - Jun.

Have there been any snow seasons close?

Yes, there have been 5 other seasons almost as snowy as this one has been so far.

1946-1947 -- 59.3 inches of snow

1908-1909 -- 54.8 inches of snow

1979-1980 -- 53.8 inches of snow

1972-1973 -- 51.0 inches of snow

1973-1974 -- 50.6 inches of snow

The bad news about these examples is that the above normal snow trend continued right into the spring months.

1946-1947 -- 34.2 additional inches Feb. - Jun.

1908-1909 -- 63.9 additional inches Feb. - Jun.

1979-1980 -- 31.7 additional inches Feb. - Jun.

1972-1973 -- 43.9 additional inches Feb. - Jun.

1973-1974 -- 40.9 additional inches Feb. - Jun.

So we can conclude two things from looking at the historical data set of Denver's top eight snowiest seasons.

First -- there will be more snow in the weeks to come. Based on the eight examples from the past, at least a foot more of snow can be expected between February and June. If that would fall a few inches at a time every few weeks, it wouldn't be so bad.

Second -- using the eight snow seasons that recorded at least 50 inches of snow through Jan. 31, we have 62.5 percent chance of continuing this above-normal snowfall trend heading into the spring months.

However, if we compare apples to apples, and only use the three seasons that exceed where we currently stand for total snow accumulation, than history tells us we should see less than normal snowfall between February and June.

Remember, Denver's average snowfall between February and June is 28.4 inches.

I don't know about you, but I am personally cheering for the apples to apples comparison. But then again, this moisture is wonderful for the water supply and vegetation.