DENVER (KDVR) — Denver set records with rainfall over the last few days. The rain measured at the Denver Airport came out to over 4 inches over the last 3 days, which is nearly one-third of Denver’s annual rainfall.
In a typical May, the Denver area will pick 2.16 inches of rainfall. So far in the month though, Denver has picked up more than double that normal amount. With 4.47, as of Friday evening, that brings 2023 to the 12th wettest May on Record. Right now the record for the 10th wettest May is 4.67 inches set in 1995. The record for the wettest May in the Denver area is 8.57 inches set in 1876.
Some of the heaviest rainfall totals in the area came to over 6 inches of rain in areas like Aurora, Foxfield, Sedalia and Pondarosa Park.
There were also several areas that reported significant snowfall totals of over one foot. Berthound Pass reported 27 inches of snowfall, Winter Park and Loveland Pass both measured 21 inches of snowfall and Echo Lake picked up 18 inches of snow from this system.
Lower elevations like the Denver metro stayed well above the freezing point, but what if this had all come down as snow?
Typically, snow falls in a 10:1 ratio, which means every 1 inch of rainfall could have come down as 10 inches of snow. That means the Denver area could have picked up over 3 feet of snowfall. Areas to the south like Sedalia which recorded over 6 inches of rain could have picked up over 5 feet of snow if the conditions were right and the temperatures were colder.