Vail Snowfall Totals & Snowstorm Averages
This page pulls together information on when, how much and how often Vail, Colorado has snow.
There are data and descriptions here of how many days it snows and the total amount of snowfall that Vail usually gets. There are also monthly and yearly counts of the days that Vail normally has heavy snowstorms. Plus there's information on when the ski resort can expect its 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 at Vail from 1985 to 2010.
How Often it Snows in Vail
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).
| Days | Inches | Centimetres | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.5 | January | 22.9 | 58.2 |
| 9.7 | February | 26.4 | 67.1 |
| 9.6 | March | 31.1 | 78.9 |
| 5.0 | April | 19.8 | 50.4 |
| 4.0 | May | 8.0 | 20.3 |
| 0.0 | June | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 0.0 | September | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 4.0 | October | 9.8 | 24.8 |
| 6.0 | November | 18.8 | 47.7 |
| 9.0 | December | 26.5 | 67.4 |
| 56.0 | Year | 162.8 | 413.5 |
| Days | Inches | Centimetres | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.0 | January | 35.3 | 89.7 |
| 11.7 | February | 35.7 | 90.7 |
| 9.2 | March | 28.2 | 71.6 |
| 7.9 | April | 21.2 | 53.8 |
| 2.4 | May | 4.8 | 12.2 |
| 0.3 | June | 0.6 | 1.5 |
| 0.6 | September | 0.9 | 2.3 |
| 3.5 | October | 8.6 | 21.8 |
| 8.9 | November | 25.9 | 65.8 |
| 10.7 | December | 28.0 | 71.1 |
| 67.2 | Year | 189.2 | 480.6 |
These averages don't show how much the snowfall in Vail varies from year to year.
In December, for instance, one in four years totals over 34.5 inches of snow. Another 25 percent of years receive 17.5 inches or less for the month.
Similarly in January, fresh snowfall in the heaviest years amounts to over 37.7 inches, while the lightest years get 25.6 inches at most.
New snow for February ranges from over 51.4 inches in heavy snowfall years to under 21.8 inches in light years.
When Vail Has Its First & Last Snowfalls
The first snowfall of autumn usually arrives in Vail during October. The season's last snowfall typically happens in May.
Occasionally an extra early skiff of snow lands in September, or a late flurry in June.
Vail is normally free of fresh snow every year during July and August.
How Many Snowstorms Vail Gets
Most days of snowfall in Vail result in at least an inch of fresh snow left on the ground. For 26 days a year on average, the amount of new snow totals three inches or more.
Snowstorms of over five inches a day normally occur eleven times annually. Two or three of these on average are major blizzards that dump ten inches or more in one day.
| 1 inch 2.5 cm |
3 inches 7.6 cm |
5 inches 12.7 cm |
10 inches 25.4 cm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.3 | 4.7 | January | 2.0 | 0.5 |
| 9.9 | 5.1 | February | 2.3 | 0.5 |
| 8.2 | 3.6 | March | 1.3 | 0.3 |
| 6.6 | 3.0 | April | 1.5 | 0.3 |
| 1.8 | 0.7 | May | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| 0.2 | 0.0 | June | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 0.5 | 0.1 | September | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 3.1 | 1.4 | October | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| 7.8 | 3.0 | November | 1.7 | 0.3 |
| 8.9 | 4.0 | December | 1.7 | 0.3 |
| 57.3 | 25.6 | Year | 11.0 | 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.