A closer look at a very warm and dry winter

Is this the warmest (and driest) winter ever?

I’ve been asked this question more than once lately, and my first thought was “I doubt it, but I’ll have to check.” I was correct, but I was surprised that it was just a few years ago, in the winter of 1980-81, that it was both warmer and drier. I had thought that, surely, it’s in the 1930s, the infamous “Dust Bowl Years.” As a matter of fact, it probably is, but there is a problem with that, which I’ll discuss later. 

First, it is traditional to use the months of December, January and February as winter, but that doesn’t always fit Gunnison, since March can be brutally cold with temperatures of 20 below zero. That’s not very common, but those temps are found scattered in our database, with the last time being 2002. 

Probably the best measure of how cold it was is the average monthly temperature, so all the discussion below will be along that line. Yes, February 2026 was exceptionally warm, but, as mentioned above, we have to check all winter months. Here are some of the data based on average monthly temperatures: 

December 2025 had an average temperature of 19.9 degrees. The long-term average temperature is 14 degrees. The record was 27.4 degrees, set in 1980.

January 2026 had an average temperature of 17.5 degrees. The long-term average temperature is 9.2. The record was 21.4 degrees, set in 1981.

February 2026 had an average temperature of 28.3 degrees. The long-term average temperature is 16.4 degrees. The record is 31.4 degrees, set in 1934. 

Combining the three months, we have an average winter temperature of 21.9 degrees for 2025/26, which certainly sounds warmish, since the long-term winter average temperature is 12.4 degrees. Total moisture for the entire winter amounted to 1.86 inches compared to the long-term average of 23 inches . Yes, that includes the moisture in snow.

Snowfall for the entire winter was 16.7” compared to the long-term average of 33 inches. 

Based on the record years, it looks like the winter of 1980/81 might be warmer.

December of 1980 shows an average temperature of 27.4 degrees (the record for December). Combining the three months, the winter of 1980/81 has an average temperature of 24.5 degrees, more than 3 degrees warmer than this year. But, was it drier, and was the ground bare like this year? The answer is yes. 

Starting in the 1960s, the weather bureau has been keeping a record of snow depth (snow on ground or SNG) and the data shows the average SNG for the winter of 1980/81 shows an average of .15 inches, with an occasional light snowstorm that melted almost immediately, just like this year. Total snowfall for the winter was only 7.6 inches. Now we’re down to No. 2 on the all-time hit parade. 

A little checking shows that the winter of 1906/07 was exceptionally warm and had the following average temperatures: December 1906 shows an average temperature of 23.6 degrees, January 1907 shows an average temperature of 18.9 degrees, and February 1907 shows an average temperature of 27.9 degrees. This gives an average winter temperature of 23.4, compared to this year’s 21.9 degrees. Now we’re down to No. 2 as far as temperatures are concerned. 

How about the snow? Recall that there is no data for SNG prior to the 1960s, but you can tell quite a bit by the amount of snow and the warm temperatures. It turns out that this was a dry year with only a few small, scattered snowfalls of one to two inches, totaling about 17 inches for the whole winter (well below average), so I can confidently put the winter of 1906/07 as No. 2 in the hit parade of warm dry winters, so now we’re at least in third place. 

Now, how about the 1930s? Recall that the record for February is 31.4 degrees set in 1934. The rub comes in that there is no data for December 1933, and there are three other Decembers in this era with no data, so this is just speculation. January 1934 shows an average temperature 18⁰ with a high temperature of 49 degrees and very little snow. February was exceptionally warm with a high temperature of 56 degrees and high temperatures in the 40s and 50s all month long, showing an average temperature of 31.4 degrees and again a few scattered snowstorms, so I’m suspicious.

Finally, the winter of 1953-54 is almost in a tie with an average temperature of 21.5 vs. 21.9 for 2025-26, with very little snow in the winter.