Colorado Resort Sees First Flakes of the Season

Colorado has flakes in it. Snow flakes, and quite a few of them appeared across Colorado this morning. Does this indicate a healthy winter might be at hand?

After a lousy 2017-2018 winter, and an even less remarkable summer 2018, it's awesome to see snow as early as August 23.

Check out Crested Butte. Looking at the town of Crested Butte's snow chart, there's no indication they receive snow quite this early. On only a few occasions, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1994, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2012, and 2013, have they received snow in September. According to the town's official webpage, Crested Butte sits at 8,885 feet.

I reached out to Crested Butte Mountain Resort to ask about the recent snow. They replied with the following via Facebook Messenger:

Hello! It did fall last night/this morning. My disclaimer is I am not a weather expert, but as nights start to cool off it is not uncommon to get snow on the peaks late August/early September. It sure is beautiful! - Crested Butte Mountain Resort

How about Aspen Snowmass? They enjoyed the snow this morning, too.

What kind of winter can we expect in Colorado? According to the Old Farmers Almanac, winter 2018-2019 will be "warm and wet." Most of the country can expect above-normal temperatures across the U.S. with the exception of the Southwest.

Our milder-than-normal forecast is due to a decrease in solar activity and the expected arrival of a weak El Niño, which will prevent cold air masses from lingering in the North. - Old Farmers Almanac

I don't know if I'm going to go along with this. They were pretty far off with their predictions for last winter, not to mention monsoon season 2018. Perhaps it's best to wait and see.

Welcome to Colorado. August 23, right in the middle of a major drought, and some mountains are seeing snow. With any luck, this may be an indicator of a legitimate winter. Here's hoping.