DENVER (KDVR) — After May and June ranked as some of the wettest months in Denver history, October’s going the opposite way with one of the driest Octobers so far.
Since the significant rainfall in May and June of this year, Denver’s rainfall has gone from above average to below average, according to FOX31 Pinpoint Weather Meteorologist Travis Michels.
July, August and September tallied below-average levels. In the past two and a half months, Denver’s only received 1.61 inches of rain.
To put that into perspective, Denver had about a foot of rain in May and June.
According to the National Weather Service, there were only slightly more than trace amounts of rain in October so far this year.
There were trace amounts of rain on Oct. 2 and Oct. 12. The only rain that was recorded other than the trace amounts was on Oct. 11, which tallied 0.01 inches, the lowest amount the NWS can record.
According to Michels, it goes beyond that with that one-hundredth of an inch being the only measurable rain in the last 31 days.
While little rainfall in October isn’t abnormal (the normal amount is 0.55 inches), if Denver doesn’t get any more measurable precipitation, it will be tied for the second driest October on record.
Top 10 Denver driest Octobers
- Trace (1934)
- 0.01 inches (1933)
- 0.05 inches (1962)
- 0.05 inches (1944)
- 0.06 inches (1988)
- 0.06 inches (1954)
- 0.06 inches (1948)
- 0.08 inches (2003)
- 0.08 inches (2001)
- 0.10 inches (1980)
But there are still two weeks left in October.
As for the rest of this week and heading into next week, Denver’s forecast is all sunny skies. On Friday, Denver is set to hit the 80s for the second time this week.
The forecast looks clear up until the end of next week, where Denver might see some showers near Oct. 26, said Michels.
While this October may not land in second place for the driest October in history, even with the late-month shower, Michels still expects October to land in the top 20 driest Octobers in history.
