In Colorado, we tend to think of the monsoon season as part of the summer when thunderstorms are expected every day. Will Colorado really experience a “monsoon season”? If so, when, how long, and how much will it affect Colorado?

Some weather services have already released forecasts for July 2023. The Farmer’s Almanac records the forecast for ‘scorching temperatures’. The Farmers Almanac, meanwhile, predicts that this year could be a wet summer marked by “showers and major thunderstorms.”

Is the term monsoon appropriate?

In my opinion, a monsoon is a summer wind that brings a lot of rain in Southeast Asia. Does this term really apply to Colorado? According to National Geographic, a monsoon is “…a seasonal change in the prevailing or strongest wind direction in a region.”

monsoon season in colorado

Yesterday, May 29, 2023, I found myself praying for monsoon season as I carried a five-gallon bucket of water to various trees and shrubs around my property. Sure, it would be easier if we could just install an IV system, but it hasn’t happened yet.

According to Colorado State University, “The North American monsoon (or NAM) is a change in wind patterns that allows a continuous influx of moisture from the Gulf of California into the normally dry southwestern regions of the country.” “This usually happens when strategically concentrated high and low pressure systems settle over the area,” the site added.

The wettest months in Colorado

Southwestern Colorado is most affected by the North American monsoon, with the wettest months being July, August, and September. But when we look to the Denver area, the impact of Colorado’s monsoon season is less clear. In the Denver area, the wettest month is late spring. But according to Colorado State University, a second peak appears around NAM.

For residents of northeastern Colorado, the effect of NAM is not evident in the third example. In this region, precipitation peaks occur in early summer and then dissipate.

May I mark this on my calendar?

It either rains or it doesn’t in Colorado. Also, it may or may not snow. Predicting the weather in Colorado is like catching a monkey, blindfolding it, bringing it into a room, spinning it a dozen times, and then throwing darts at a dartboard. Sooner or later the monkey is bound to run into something.

But if you want to mark the date on your calendar, June 15th is the first official day of the North American monsoon season, according to The Coloradoan.