Fort Collins Snowfall Totals & Accumulation Averages

This page pulls together information on when, how much and how often Fort Collins, Colorado has snow.

There are data and descriptions here of how many days it snows and the total amount of snowfall that Fort Collins usually gets. There are also monthly and yearly counts of the days that Fort Collins normally has heavy snowstorms and deep snow accumulated on the ground. Plus there's information on when Fort Collins can expect the first and last snowfalls of the season.

The first set of monthly snow totals are averages for 2010 to 2019. All the other numbers are averages, based on weather data gathered in Fort Collins from 1994 to 2010.

How Often it Snows in Fort Collins

The next two tables list monthly and yearly totals for amount of snow and how many days it snows at least 0.1 inches (0.25 centimetres).

10-year snowfall averages at Fort Collins, 2010 to 2019
Days   Inches Centi­metres
1.9 January 5.3 13.4
3.1 February 10.3 26.1
1.6 March 4.9 12.4
1.8 April 6.2 15.8
0.7 May 3.9 9.8
0.0 September 0.0 0.0
1.1 October 3.9 9.8
1.8 November 7.2 18.2
2.5 December 6.7 17.1
14.3 Year 46.1 117.1
30-year snowfall averages at Fort Collins, 1991 to 2020
Days   Inches Centi­metres
4.3 January 6.7 17.0
5.5 February 7.6 19.3
4.5 March 9.4 23.9
3.1 April 6.2 15.7
0.6 May 1.6 4.1
0.3 September 0.7 1.8
1.3 October 4.1 10.4
3.6 November 7.6 19.3
4.3 December 7.5 19.1
27.5 Year 51.4 130.6

These averages don't show how much the snowfall in Fort Collins varies from year to year.

In December, for instance, one in four years totals over 9.2 inches of snow. Another 25 percent of years receive less than 2.2 inches for the month.

Similarly in January, fresh snowfall in the heaviest years amounts to over 9.8 inches, while the lightest years get less than 2.5 inches.

New snow for February ranges from over 12.1 inches in heavy snowfall years to under four inches in light years.

When Fort Collins Has Its First & Last Snowfalls

The first snowfall of winter for Fort Collins usually arrives in October or November. Occasionally September also gets a light snow flurry.

The season's last snowfall for most years happens in April. About once every four years, it does snow an inch or more in May.

Fort Collins is normally free of snow every year during June, July and August.

How Many Snowstorms Fort Collins Gets

About half the days of snowfall in Fort Collins amount to just a skiff, leaving less than an inch of fresh snow on the ground. For 14 days a year on average, the amount of new snow totals at least an inch.

Snowstorms of over five inches a day normally occur two or three times a year. But major blizzards that dump ten inches or more in one day are rare events that don't happen every year.

Number of days per month and year on average in Fort Collins with a total snowfall of at least 1, 3, 5 or 10 inches
1 inch
2.5 cm
3 inches
7.6 cm
  5 inches
12.7 cm
10 inches
25.4 cm
2.1 0.7 January 0.3 0.0
2.7 0.7 February 0.2 0.0
2.3 0.9 March 0.5 0.1
1.8 0.7 April 0.3 0.0
0.4 0.2 May 0.1 0.0
0.1 0.1 September 0.1 0.0
0.8 0.4 October 0.2 0.1
1.9 1.0 November 0.4 0.0
2.3 0.8 December 0.3 0.0
14.4 5.5 Year 2.4 0.2

How Much Snow Normally Accumulates in Fort Collins

For about one-third of winter days, Fort Collins has at least an inch of snow on the ground.

Snow mostly accumulates from December to February. Typically, on two or three days in each of those months, the snow covering Fort Collins gets to five or more inches deep. The snowpack tops ten inches on average for a couple of days annually.

Average total days per month and year in Fort Collins with snow depth of at least 1, 3, 5 or 10 inches on the ground
1 inch
2.5 cm
3 inches
7.6 cm
  5 inches
12.7 cm
10 inches
25.4 cm
12.3 6.1 January 2.9 1.0
8.3 4.7 February 2.2 0.3
3.9 1.9 March 0.9 0.1
1.5 0.6 April 0.3 0.1
0.3 0.2 May 0.1 0.0
0.1 0.0 September 0.0 0.0
1.3 0.8 October 0.5 0.2
4.5 2.2 November 1.0 0.1
11.4 6.3 December 2.7 0.4
43.6 22.8 Year 10.6 2.2
References

Jay Lawrimore, Ron Ray, Scott Applequist, Bryant Korzeniewski, Matthew Menne. 2016. Global Summary of the Month and Year, Version 1.0. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Climate Normals.

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