While the snow arrived later than expected Tuesday, Sept. 8, about 1-4 inches accumulated in Summit County, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Evan Direnzo. As predicted, the Dillon weather station saw record temperatures.
The high temperature for the day was 37 degrees — which was recorded in the 24-hour window from 6 a.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9, at the Dillon station — according to the National Weather Service almanac. That beat the previous lowest maximum temperature record of 42 degrees set in 2001. The snowfall also beat the day’s record with 3 inches recorded at the station. Previously, only a trace had fallen Sept. 8.
While Tuesday was chilly, it wasn’t the coldest day we’ve had in September. The lowest maximum temperature for any date in September is 30 degrees, which was recorded Sept. 30, 1959. The low Tuesday was 22 degrees, which is below the normal 32 degrees for the day but didn’t break the record of 14 degrees set in 1941.
Local ski areas also recorded several inches of snow well ahead of the 2020-21 ski season. Arapahoe Basin Ski Area received 4 inches. While Sara Lococo, spokesperson for Keystone Resort and Breckenridge Ski Resort, noted in an email that snow totals are unofficial, Breckenridge received about 6-7 inches of snow and Keystone saw about 3 inches. Keystone plans to open Nov. 6 while Breckenridge plans to open Nov. 13.
