No fooling, April is here and the weather is getting awesome!
For those of you who are itching to get outside and use that green thumb, you might want to read this and wait a few more weeks to start planting.
Colorado has a habit of throwing surprise snows and freezes well into May, and sometimes early June!
The average date of the last freeze in Colorado Springs is May 8th, and April 29th in Pueblo.
The latest we've ever seen a freeze in Colorado Springs was mid-June, and early June for Pueblo!
For all of you data nerds, here are the chances for a freeze at different temperature thresholds for both Colorado Springs and Pueblo.
It's pretty much a climatological guarantee we'll see temperatures at or below freezing in Colorado Springs before April 24th, but more of a coin flip after May 4th.
We looked back at last year's observations in April, and both Colorado Springs and Pueblo saw almost a third of the month with below-freezing temperatures.
Not only did we drop below freezing, we saw 9 inches of snow in the Springs and around 3 inches in Pueblo!
The coldest overnight low last April was 7 degrees in Colorado Springs, and 20° in Pueblo.
When we put this all together, we can estimate the safest times to plant your flowers and vegetable gardens across southern Colorado.
For most of the Pikes Peak area, you're going to want to wait until at least the middle to end of May before you're safe. Even then, those in higher elevation towns like Monument, Palmer Lake, or Woodland Park could still easily see a freeze through the end of April.
For Pueblo, Canon City, and south to Trinidad, Mother's Day is traditionally a pretty safe time to go ahead and plant the garden.
Our advice would be to watch the forecast and be sure to cover the plants with a thicker cloth material or bring what you can inside if the temperature is going to get down to freezing or below.
