September 23rd, 2009:

The slow moving storm that has plagued Southern Colorado for the past few days, has been a pain.  Not only from a forecasting standpoint, but from a sensible weather standpoint.  Temperatures have been way below normal and we've had rain and snow showers to contend with.  While most of the precipitation hasn't been that significant, our computer models have struggled at times to figure out what to do with the storm.  Sometimes that happens, especially with early and late season storms.  This one is no exception.  The little snow that we did see, did get folks thinking about Winter though.  Here are some September snow stats:

Earliest Snowfall for Colorado Springs:  September 2nd, 1961

Highest Total Monthly Snowfall for September:  27.9" in 1959

The last time it snowed in September in Colorado Springs, was in 2006.  That was an El Nino year, and we had a nasty Winter thereafter.  While we only totaled 30" at the Colorado Springs Airport that Winter, Briargate picked up over 100" of snow, and Monument over 200".  I am not saying that this Winter is going to be identical to that Winter, but El Nino Winters are usually pretty active for Southern Colorado.

By the same token, the weather can change rapidly for the better in September.  This weekend, we'll have highs in the 70's and 80's and make people forget about this early brush with late Fall/Winter type weather.

Chief Meteorologist Brian Bledsoe