The High Country is finally getting a taste of winter with widespread Colorado snow. It took its sweet time getting here, which has us wondering:
Is October warmer and drier than ever in Summit County?
We looked at 114 years of weather data from the official record-keeping station in Dillon. Here’s what we found:
- 37.8 Fahrenheit… average temperature in October since 1910
- 48 Fahrenheit… average temperature October 2024 (as of Oct. 18)
- 46.5 Fahrenheit… average temperature October 1963, the warmest on record
- 11… years with no snow to a trace of snow in October, including this year (as of Oct. 18)
- 2003… the most recent year with no October snow
- 7.5 inches… average snowfall in October
- 44 inches… snowfall in October 1969, the snowiest on record
Data shows a slight warming trend over the past 114 years. Since 2000, October has been about 1 degree Fahrenheit warmer (38.4 degrees) on average than it was from 1910 to 2000 (37.6 degrees).
There was a similar warming streak in the ‘40s, ‘50s and early ‘60s, when average temp was 39 degrees.
We saw no clear pattern with October snowfall, except that years with no snow to a trace of snow often came before or after big snow years.
So what does this mean for ski season 2024-25?
Take it from Arapahoe Basin on Oct. 18: “We have no opening date to announce yet. A-Basin will open ASAP, weather and conditions depending – so stay tuned!”