Colorado gets more than 2 feet May

Colorado just got one of those classic mountain-weather plot twists. A storm on May 5-6 dropped more than 2 feet of snow in parts of the state, with some northern mountain and foothill spots pushing toward 3 feet. That matters because Colorado has spent most of 2026 digging out from an awful snow year. (denver7.com) The catch is simple — a big May storm can freshen the surface and pad late-season totals, but it does not magically rebuild a winter that never really showed up. (wcc.nrcs.usda.gov) ### Where did the biggest snow fall? The headline totals came from the northern Front Range foothills and nearby mountains. (arapahoebasin.com) Snow reports compiled from National Weather Service observations showed 28 inches near Estes Park, 27.9 inches south of Estes Park, 26.1 inches at Meeker Park, and several other spots above 22 inches. In other words, “more than 2 feet” is real, and in a few places the storm got close to 30 inches. ### Why is a May storm such a big deal? Because this was not a normal spring top-off. Colorado’s snowpack has been running historically low for months, and by early May much of the seasonal snow was already gone or badly diminished. (denver7.com) On May 8, the statewide snowpack sat at just 25% of median. So this storm landed in a year when even a late burst of snow could move the numbers enough for people to notice. ### Did it actually fix the snowpack? Not really. It helped, but “helped” and “fixed” are very different words. The NRCS Colorado update for May 8 still showed the Upper Colorado River Basin well below normal at many sites — Copper Mountain at 9% of median snow water equivalent, Berthoud Summit at 22%, Hoosier Pass at 32%, and Fremont Pass at 50%. (denver7.com) The basin index for the Upper Colorado River Basin was still only 31% of median range on the broader dashboard. That is a bump from disaster, not a return to healthy. ### Why does snowpack matter more than snowfall? Because water managers care about the water inside the snow, not just how deep it looks on the side of the road. (wcc.nrcs.usda.gov) Snowpack is measured as snow water equivalent — basically, how much liquid water the snow can release as it melts. A fluffy 2-foot storm is nice, but if it arrives late, melts quickly, or lands after the seasonal peak, its effect on summer water supply is limited. It is like putting a few paychecks into savings after missing months of deposits. ### What does this mean for skiing? It is a real short-term win. Arapahoe Basin was still leaning into spring operations this week and said it would reopen for the long weekend of May 8-10. (wcc.sc.egov.usda.gov) Late snow in May improves surface conditions fast, especially at higher elevations where the snow can stick around for a bit. So for skiers and riders, this storm was not abstract hydrology — it was usable snow. ### What about rivers and summer runoff? That is where the optimism runs into math. The broader Colorado River Basin above Lake Powell was only 23% of the 30-year median snow accumulation as of May 4. System storage was also below last year. So even with this storm, the basin feeding the river remains in a weak position heading toward peak melt and summer demand. (wcc.nrcs.usda.gov) ### So what changed, really? Colorado bought itself a little time and a little water. That is meaningful. But basically, this storm turned an emergency-looking late season into a slightly less dire one. It did not erase the drought signal, and it did not restore the runoff outlook to normal. (arapahoebasin.com) ### Bottom line The May storm was big, real, and helpful. But it was a rescue attempt at the end of a bad snow year — not a reset. (denver7.com) (summitdaily.com) (cap-az.com)