Has it rained enough in Denver?
Five showers have passed over in three weeks. Every one wet the leaves and was gone by lunchtime — none of it reached the roots.
Denver has had 3.8mm of rain in the last 30 days. A normal August here brings 36.2mm, so that is about 10% of what the ground usually gets — and the driest August in 30 years was 3.7mm.
Rain in Denver through a normal year
Across a normal year Denver gets about 479.8mm of rain, most of it in May (85.1mm) and least in December (20.9mm).
That makes Denver one of the drier places this site covers in the United States in August — 22nd of 30, against Tampa at the wet end (191.8mm) and Sacramento at the dry end (1.8mm).
What that means for what you grow
- Pots and hanging basketsWorst hit, and first to suffer. Very little soil, fully exposed, and nothing to fall back on — in this weather they can empty in a day.
- Salad and leafy vegShallow-rooted and quick to bolt once they run dry. First priority of anything in the ground.
- Beds and bordersA long soak that reaches the roots is worth more than a daily sprinkle, which only wets the surface and is gone by lunchtime.
- Established shrubs and treesFine as they are. They draw from far deeper than a dry spell reaches.
Your own garden, not the town average
This page is worked out for Denver as a whole. Your garden has its own soil, its own shade and its own planting, and the front page will use your exact location instead.
Check my garden