FORT COLLINS, Colo. — While some Americans were gazing at tulips and mowing lawns, people in Colorado and Wyoming were getting out their snow shovels.
A late snowstorm swept over the Rocky Mountains and into the High Plains on Tuesday, bringing heavy, wet accumulation north of Denver into southeastern Wyoming.
In Fort Collins, Colorado, heavy snow fell throughout the day on ground that was still too warm for significant accumulation. Slushy snow clung to leaves, grass and flowers, and homeowners shut off yard sprinklers lest sub-freezing temperatures damage their plumbing.
More accumulation was on the way with temperatures expected to keep dropping overnight.
Boulder, nestled against the mountains, could get upward of a foot (30 centimeters) of snow. Up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) was possible in the Denver area into Wednesday.
Even as Denver imposed lawn-watering restrictions to address what have been low mountain snows, the city was facing what may be its biggest snowfall of the season.
“We just had our driest winter on record,” Kenley Bonner, a meteorologist in the weather service’s Denver office, said. “We were kind of joking earlier in the season that winter’s not going to come until spring, and it did exactly that.”
Big snow and a fast drop in temperature
The snow was expected to continue into Wednesday, followed by more plunging temperatures before warmer temperatures return Thursday, the National Weather Service said.
Accumulated snow could snap tree branches and knock out power, Bonner said. Utilities were preparing, with Xcel Energy putting 165 employees on standby across the state.
Highways remained open Tuesday for the time being. Interstate 80 across southern Wyoming, including a high-elevation stretch between Cheyenne and Laramie that closes often, was open but webcams showed heavy snowfall.
Others along northern Colorado mountain highways also showed deteriorating conditions.
Wait, snow in May?
The forecast is somewhat unusual but not unheard of.
Denver typically sees its last snowfall around April 28, although May storms do happen. The “Mile High City” recorded half an inch of snow (1.2 centimeters) on May 21, 2022, while nearby Boulder got 4.5 inches (11.4 centimeters).
Historically, Denver has seen at least five May storms with snowfall over 10 inches (25 centimeters). The biggest, in 1893, dropped 15.5 inches (39.3 centimeters). The city’s most recent double-digit snow was May 25-26, 1950, with 10.7 inches (27 centimeters).
A light dusting on June 2, 1951, was the latest time in the year it snowed.
The worsening storm caused the Colorado Rockies to reschedule two games against the New York Mets. But that happens more often than not during Denver’s spring baseball season, including four times in 2015, according to MLB.
May snows are even more common in the Wyoming capital of Cheyenne, which is almost 1,000 feet (300 meters) higher than Denver and cooler year-round. Wyoming is also windier than Colorado, pushing snow into drifts that must be re-plowed if gusts persist.
The storm is welcome during a drought, but not a fix
April was warmer than usual and short on precipitation, with Denver missing an inch of rain (2.5 centimeters) and 2.8 inches of snow (7 centimeters) last month compared to normal.
But one storm won’t solve the West’s water problems.
A report from the National Drought Mitigation Center said recent precipitation helped boost topsoil moisture and reduced irrigation demands, but hasn’t changed a “mostly bleak” water outlook heading into the summer.
Wildfires also thrive in the dry conditions. Firefighters across the West have been turning to artificial intelligence and other technology to catch small fires before they expand.
Storms elsewhere, too
The unsettled weather isn’t limited to the Rockies.
Thunderstorms are expected from northeast Texas into western Tennessee, with Arkansas facing the greatest risk of large hail, damaging winds and possible tornadoes, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Isolated strong storms could also reach parts of the Northeast.
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McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire.
