Today is the first day of meteorological spring, and our weather this week will feel like it for the next several days.
But this is Southern Colorado, and it's a forgone conclusion that we're not done with winter just yet!
Looking to the past before we look to the future, Colorado Springs and Pueblo both had to wait until December to record their first measurable snowfall of the season.
After a dry end to 2021, the storm cycle picked up in January.
Both cities ended up with around 4.5" of snowfall that month, which was better than December but still short of the norm.
Finally in February, we saw a snowy finish to meteorological winter.
At the Colorado Springs Airport, we collected 10.5" of snow. Pueblo ended last month with a total of 8.0".
Looking ahead to spring...
On average, March tends to be the snowiest month of the year for Colorado Springs, with 5.7".
Pueblo averages closer to 4.5", making it the fourth snowiest month of the year.
While things tend to warm up in April, spring storms can frequent the region, with heavy, wet snow.
The Springs on average sees around 5.5" for the month of April, with Pueblo averaging 3.4".
May snowfall can be a shock to the system, but it does happen.
Last year's 1.7" of the white stuff in Colorado Springs exceeded May's normal snowfall by more than an inch.
Looking ahead...this week's warm weather is likely to give way to a colder and unsettled pattern by next week.
Beyond that, the Climate Prediction Center's seasonal outlook favors the potential for below-average precipitation through the end of May.
This includes the Four Corners Region and Southern Colorado.
The temperature outlook is pointing towards a warm spring across a large part of the country that includes the southern Rockies and the Centennial State.
Meteorological spring as already mentioned above began today and will last through the end of May.
Being three full months, this makes it easier for meteorologists and climatologists to keep track of climate records and data.
Astronomical spring, or calendar spring, won't begin until March 20th and is based on the position of the earth to the sun.
