El Niño winters bring Cuchara about 15% more snow than a typical winter.
Based on 14 El Niño winters since 1986: 13 of them beat Cuchara's median snowfall. That's a clear, consistent pattern, not just noise. Ranks #13 of 152 Western resorts for El Niño snowfall.
Checked against a real snow station: at the Apishapa SNOTEL station, measured precipitation in El Niño winters ran +11% vs. its average (46 winters of measurements).
Snowfall each winter compared with Cuchara's 40-winter average, colored by what the Pacific was doing.
El Niño La Niña Neutral
Mid-mountain, November–April. Any single winter can buck the pattern; that's why we look at averages.
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