This all came to an abrupt end in the last week of October when an Arctic airmass brought frigid temperatures and snowfall the Front Range, including Denver. When dry high pressure dominates the months of September and October in Colorado like it did in 2019, spectacular fall-like, calm and mild conditions are nearly always experienced. As a persistent ridge of high pressure held firm over the Great Basin, Desert Southwest and Rockies in late summer 2019, the back half of the North American Monsoon was also brought to a rather quick end over the region. This warm and dry period lasted through September and into early October. It wasn't until August when the commonly experienced summer dry spell arrived. As we transitioned into the warm season months of June and July, precipitation came in near average for both months with totals landing slightly above their respective monthly averages. Climatologically, May and July are Denver's wettest months of the year, so having May as 2019's monthly winner in the precipitation category is not uncommon. After slightly below average precipitation in April, May followed through with the year's highest monthly total of 3.23 inches. January, February and March all finished with above average precipitation along with a healthy contribution to the second half of the 2018-19 seasonal snowfall totals. The year of 2019 got off to a wet start as a cold and active weather pattern developed over the mid-latitudes of the western United States. The average annual temperature in Denver for 2019 was 49.6☏, which was 0.9☏ below the 148 year average of 50.5☏. As for temperatures, 2019 was the first year since 2013 where the year finished below the annual average. The previous year of 2018 ending with a scant 8.53 inches. After 3 years of below average precipitation, Denver wrapped up 2019 with an above average total of 15.51" inches. ENSO neutral environments, along with the transition into neutral and out of neutral, have also been known to occasionally bring dry and wet seasonal extremes to the Rocky Mountain region.įor the weather parameters of precipitation and temperature, 2019 finished wetter and cooler than average. When in La Nina environments, near to below average precipitation is often experienced along the Front Range and high plains region east of the Rockies. In general, El Nino conditions bring wetter than normal conditions to the Front Range and eastern Plains of Colorado, primarily in the spring and winter months. This weak El Nino episode gradually transitioned into a ENSO neutral environment (EL Nino - Southern Oscillation) in the summer 2019 and is currently the environment the northern hemisphere finds itself in as we start 2020. Denver began 2019 under the influence of weak El Nino conditions which began in the fall of 2018 and persisted through the summer of 2019.
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