The takeaway from the weather across the U.S. this week: Sometimes, seasons just come early.
The calendar may still say summer, but old man winter barreled his way in to ruin the fun, dumping up to 20 inches of snow across the Rockies and sending temperatures plunging to as low as 10 degrees Fahrenheit in Wyoming, with wind chills -- yes, wind chills -- in the 20s as far south as Denver, Colorado, on Friday morning.
It's not unusual to see snow in the Rocky Mountains or even in Denver in September, but the strength of this cold air mass, and the snow totals, were both noteworthy.
The snow caused major tree damage in Cody and Buffalo, Wyoming, where up to 10 inches fell on Wednesday night and Thursday. According to the National Weather Service, this was earliest recorded snowfall for Cody (by one day), where records date back to 1915. The temperature in Jackson, Wyoming, dropped to 18 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday morning.
Snowing in #Boulder & #Denver. 0.1" recorded at NWS in SW Boulder (pic) @DENAirport has received a Trace. #COwx pic.twitter.com/B7OAnCwGlg— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) September 12, 2014
Rapid City, South Dakota, had its earliest snowfall on record on Thursday, when 3.5 inches fell. According to weather.com, “Rapid City has now had two of its three all-time heaviest snowstorms and its record earliest snow all in a 19-month span since early April 2013.” Seven inches of snow fell at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, and North Platte, Nebraska, had its earliest trace of snow on record.
This storm system was the same one that dumped an unusually large amount of snow in Calgary, Canada, earlier in the week.
The Boulder, Colorado, area saw about 0.5 inches of snow fall on Thursday night, with just a trace at Denver International Airport. On Friday afternoon, a sprawling area of high pressure was sitting across the western U.S., locking in cold, dense air.