April Ranks the Snowiest Month of the Year in Parts of the U.S.

Despite most of the country fully enjoying spring weather by this time of the season, some areas are still dealing with Old Man Winter refusing to budge. In fact, there is one part of the country that sees its snowiest month of the year in April.

The northern and central Rocky Mountains and the nearby High Plains are known to pick up the most snow of the season during the month of April. This region averages at least 2 feet of snow for the month in the hardest-hit locations, while most of the rest of the U.S. enjoys flowers popping out of the ground instead. The Black Hills of South Dakota tend to see the highest amounts of accumulation in this part of the country.

But why does the snow linger for so long here? The higher elevation of the region naturally means that it has a greater chance of snowfall at any time of the year. Thus, the low-pressure storm systems that may generate heavy rain and severe thunderstorms for lower elevations of the central U.S. tend to produce snow across the higher terrains. Additionally, the winds that surround these areas of low pressure typically push up slope, amplifying the precipitation already in place. The end result is a pattern that tends to be snowier even during the peak of the spring season.

Snow is also a common occurrence in April across much of the rest of the northern tier of the nation. The widespread high terrain of the Mountain West is also prone to times of heavy snow as late as April. Most of the Midwest and the Northeast are still not out of the woods for snowfall development during this month.

Looking at specific communities, the town of Lead, South Dakota, records an average of 29 inches of snow over the course of the month. The year 1984 was particularly snowy, with 86.7 inches reported over the 30 days.

April also comes in as the snowiest month of the year in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The capital city picks up an average of 11.3 inches of snow in April. Ski and snowboard enthusiasts regularly head to Breckenridge, Colorado, in April for late-season winter sports fun. This is because the mountain resort town typically sees 28 inches of snow in April.

Heading down Interstate 70 from Breckenridge to Denver is a similar story. April is the second-snowiest month of the year for the Mile High City, clocking in with 8.7 inches. The month is second to March, a time that averages about 11.4 inches. This was the case over the last few days when a few inches of snow blanketed the Denver metropolitan area. The weather was even more surprising, coming on the heels of temperatures that eclipsed the 80-degree mark in Denver last week.

Likewise, Rapid City, South Dakota, generally experiences its second snowiest month of the year in April when the tourist town averages 10 inches. Like Denver, March is the snowiest month in Rapid City with 10.4 inches.

For most of the northern part of the country, April is the last time that you can expect to see snow until the middle of fall. The last average snow of the year happens in April in the zone from the northern Plains through the Upper Midwest, the Great Lakes, the interior portions of the Northeast, and up into northern New England. Cities in this region that can count on the snow stopping for good for a few months after April include Minneapolis and Detroit.

A large portion of the western U.S. also experiences the last snow of the season in April. This list includes Denver and Salt Lake City.

Complications of Late-Season Snow

Snow that falls this late in the season tends to be wet and heavy in composition due to the warmer temperatures. In contrast, snow that falls during the depths of winter is more likely to be light and powdery because of cold temperature readings.

The wet and heavy nature of the late-season snow makes it more likely to weigh down on trees, causing them to snap and fall to the ground. The heavy snow also piles up on power lines and raises the risk of widespread outages.

You only have to go back to April of 2024 to find a weather event that caused significant tree damage and power outages. High winds also accompanied this storm that rocked parts of Wisconsin, northern Michigan, upstate New York, and northern New England.

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