We're now in the second full week of May, but we're talking about Winter Storm Zephyr dumping snow in the mountain West.
As of Monday evening, here are some notable snow totals from Winter Storm Zephyr:
- 43 inches estimated at Divide Peak in the Sierra Madre range of Wyoming
- 29 inches near Four Corners in north-central Colorado
- 26.1 inches near Pinecliffe, Colorado (Jefferson Co. foothills)
- 22 inches in Leadville, Colorado
- 22 inches in Arlington, Wyoming
- 12.0 inches officially in Cheyenne, Wyoming (up to 13.3 inches in metro)
- 9 inches in Cedar City, Utah
- 7 inches in Laramie, Wyoming
- 5.6 inches in Fort Collins, Colorado
- 2.8 inches near Greeley, Colorado
- 0.4 inches officially at Denver Int'l Airport
The weight of this heavy, wet snow damaged trees in Cedar City, Utah on Sunday. Up to 17,000 were without power on the morning of May 12 in northern Colorado, according to Xcel Energy in Aurora, Colorado.
MT @zachwhitneynews: Heavy wet snow is bringing trees down all over Iron county. Power outages expected into tonight. pic.twitter.com/VnlHKHTgTcHow Much More Snow
- NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) May 11, 2014
The heaviest additional snow accumulations through Tuesday will fall in the mountains of southwest Colorado. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico may also see up to eight inches of mid-May snow.
The threat of snow has ended for the larger cities of the Colorado Front Range.
How Unusual Is This?
May snowstorms in the Rockies and the Denver metro are not as unusual as you may think.
In six the last 10 years, the season's last measurable snow (0.1 inches or more) fell in May. Denver picked up an inch of snow on May 10, 2011 and May 12, 2010. Average May snow in the Mile-High City is 0.7 inches.
There have been five Denver snowstorms with at least six inches of snow later than May 9, including a 10.7-inch snowstorm on May 25-26, 1950.
The latest measurable snow on record in Denver was, incredibly, June 12, 1947, just three days before Father's Day.
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