2 days Ago
While March tends to come with snow, Boulder and Longmont have had a dry spell this year.Greg Heavener, a meteorologist with the Boulder office of the National Weather Service, said the only measurable snowfall in the region this month was one-tenth of an inch, as of Friday. That measurement was taken near the University of Colorado Boulder between March 6 and 7.
“There’s basically been a dearth of snowfall — and, really, moisture — across the region this past March,” Heavener said.One-tenth of an inch is the minimum amount of snowfall that can be considered measurable, Heavener explained. Anything less than that is considered a trace of snow.
This puts 2025 around fifth place for the least amount of snowfall recorded in March for the region, according to Heavener.Boulder and Longmont haven’t seen much moisture recently, but Heavener said it’s been different east of the Front Range, where the eastern plains have seen more snowfall and severe weather.“We’ve seen several events this month that have just missed us,” he said.
“The activity is there, the moisture is there. We’re just missing it by 40, 50 miles.”The snow that typically comes in the late winter and early spring is what the region needs to dampen fire conditions heading into the summer months, Heavener said.
“March and April are (among) our snowiest months in Colorado,” Heavener said. “That’s usually when we get the really nice, heavy, wet snow.”Bob Henson, a Boulder-based meteorologist and science writer, also recalled a prior March bringing just a trace of snow.
“I’m sure the warm temperatures are making the lack of snow feel even weirder,” Henson wrote in an email. “Right now, we’re in the running for a Top 20 warmest March.”The Tree Farm, a nursery and garden center near Erie, has faced some challenges due to the warm, dry weather.
Manager Mike Gittleson said the nursery lost a few junipers because there wasn’t enough water.“We have to have more crews out watering things that we normally wouldn’t have to water,” Gittleson said.He said the warm weather has also led to some trees getting their leaves sooner than usual.
“I’m noticing a lot of plants already leafing out that normally wouldn’t be,” Gittleson said.For Longmont business Angles Sports, the lack of snow this month has brought ski and snowboard rentals to a “screeching halt,” according to owner Ryan Kazee.Nathan Otteman answers questions of customers at Angles Sports ski, board and fly shop in Longmont Saturday.
(Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)“Our rental business is way down,” Kazee said.Kazee said October through March are usually the strongest months of the ski season for Angles. He said March, like February, is typically consistently busy, especially during spring break.
Then, rentals steadily slow down throughout April.That hasn’t been the case this year, though.“March has been acting like April,” Kazee said.
“It’s like we’ve jumped ahead a month, almost.”Angles is also a fly fishing shop. Because of this month’s warm weather, he said some customers have started booking fishing trips a little earlier than normal.
He said fishing gear sales have also been up, as well, though not enough to make up for the lack of ski and board sales.Even though the mountain slopes still have good snow for skiers and snowboarders, the warm weather to the east has made people give up on the resorts, Kazee said. The Angles team has been trying to educate people that there’s still a lot of snow in the mountains, but that’s hard when locals are experiencing 70-degree days.
“It’s kind of ‘out of sight, out of mind,’” Kazee said. “We just try to keep all our customers and everybody motivated to stay engaged in the sport.”.
