Should it Still be Snowing This Late in Western Colorado?

In a word, yes, it's not uncommon to see snow in Western Colorado this late in April. It is a bit uncommon to have as heavy a snowfall as we've just seen. Historically, significant snowfall has accounted for only 1% of the occurrences of precipitation reported during the month of April.

Light snowfall, on the other hand, has accounted for 14% of the precipitation recorded for April, with most of that occurring around the first few days of the month. The vast majority of precipitation recorded for the month of April consists of light rain.

As joyous as any moisture can be to Western Coloradans, there are those that don't take celebration in late snowfalls.

At some of Western Colorado's higher elevations, the snowfall can cause trees to become top heavy and potentially uproot them. When precipitation takes solid form, there exists the potential to damage the valley's budding fruit trees.