What a difference a week makes

Last week we were juggling two impressive spring snowstorms, this week we may be juggling wildfires. The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for a good portion of southeast Colorado, and they say this warning area may be expanded as we head into Tuesday. Temperatures soaring into the 70s (we have not had a 70 degree day since November, 12 2009), wind gusts approaching 50 mph, and humidity levels dropping to near 10% are all to blame. Downsloping, or "Chinook" winds can bring us some nice warm days during this time of the year, but can also wreak havoc on travel and bring an early start to wildfire season.

Cooler temps and a chance of precipitation move back into the forecast come Thursday, but at this point this "system" looks very minimal.

Some snow tonight

As was hinted at yesterday, the heavy snow expected with this next system should stay just south of town. Monument Hill, and even as far north as Castle Rock may be looking at 6 - 14 inches of snow out of this system, while here in town we should get somewhere between 1 - 4 inches. Will stick with this unless something changes over the next hours...

Another Storm?

We might have to wait a few more days for Spring as yet another storm is waiting in the wings. With many areas logging a whopping 30 inches of snow in the last week alone, this coming storm may only add to that, and in a big way. At this point Denver is not in the winter storm watch that has been posted for most of eastern Colorado, including Castle Rock and the southern foothills... but this may change if some agreement can be made between the models. With the forecast as is, Denver will likely miss out on the brunt of the storm, but if we can get the winds to shift just a little bit, we could be talking about another 8 - 16 inches as is predicted for most of the watch area. Worth keeping an eye on...

Snowstorm comes to an end...

But not before dropping quite a bit of snow up and down the the front range. After coming in with a roar last night, with snowfall rates in excess of 2 inches an hour, thunder, and wind... the snow continued lightly through the night. This morning there are just a few lingering snow showers, along with sloppy roads and closed schools and businesses. Even with temperatures below freezing, the snow is melting nearly as fast as it fell. By noon most of the streets will likely be completely melted off. Here are a few photos from this latest storm, I have also posted some of the impressive snow totals on the right.

In for a doozy of a storm!

Snow has moved in, and with any luck at all it is here to stay for a few hours. Snowfall forecasts range from 5 to 20 inches depending on who you talk to... it really is just a wait and see. Provided the winds do not shift a little more northerly after midnight, we should be on the upper end of the snowfall forecasts with snow continuing into the day tomorrow. If they do shift, the heavier snow will move into the southern suburbs and Monument hill area - cutting our flow off early.

Already an inch and counting up here... We'll see!

Denver Waits for Storm While Brendan Gets Excited and "Giddy"

Brendan Heberton asserted his excitement today in an online conversation that took place on Gmail. While the source of this information is unconfirmed, the information itself is highly charged with a truth-like feeling.

"Brendan: dude... i am... GIDDY... about tomorrow"

Winter Storm Warning Posted

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for most of the front range urban corridor. The warning goes into effect from 3pm Tuesday through 6pm Wednesday. Much like last week's storm, heaviest snowfall amounts will stay in the western and southern foothills. At this point the forecast is calling for 5 - 10 inches for most of Denver, with 6 - 14 inches possible in the snow-favored areas.

Stay tuned as a lot of details will continue to be worked out over the next 12 to 24 hours. Warm surface temps, rain/snow change over, and other typical spring complications will greatly affect the snow totals with this storm...

Winter storm warning means good chance of snow

The National Weather Service has upgraded the winter storm watch I mentioned yesterday into a *winter storm warning* which means there is a good chance for a major winter storm from late tonight through the day tomorrow. The forecast calls for 5 - 12 inches of wet heavy snow, wind, and cold temperatures. Best chance for snow will come tomorrow morning with snow diminishing during the day and into Friday night.

If the forecast on timing and snow totals changes - I'll let you know! Stay tuned! Enjoy!

Finally a storm worth blogging about?

It has been a long time since we have been under any kind of winter weather advisory, but that could all change in the next 24 hours. Already the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for much of northeast Colorado, including Denver, for a potential storm Thursday night and Friday. At this point best estimates are looking like 5 - 10 inches of snow in most locations. Temperatures should be cold enough with this system that precip should be all snow (unlike last weekend), but ground temperatures have warmed significantly over the last days which always makes spring snowfall forecasts quite difficult. In any event, a good chance of snow and likely very gusty winds are in store for Friday - let's see what happens!

Until then, enjoy another day in the 60s on Thursday.

The following image shows the winter storm highlights for northeast Colorado (NWS).

*UPDATE*

Quick update to this morning's post... The National Weather Service has now issued a winter weather advisory for the greater Denver area. The forecast now calls for 1 - 5 inches to fall today and tonight, with 3 - 7 inches possible in snow-favored areas in the west and south. Some isolated snow showers may bring mean some areas may pick up even more than this in a short amount of time!

Heavy snow for foothills, little expected in town

A winter storm warning has been posted for areas just west of Denver, but little of that is expected to make it into the city. While we will likely see some rain and snow showers today, especially in the western and southern parts of town, little to no accumulation is expected. We'll see if this forecast changes as we go through the day!

Spring returns in earnest for the first part of this week, with highs both Tuesday and Wednesday in the 60s. Another cold front will affect the area at the end of the week... but at this point, does not look like anything all that impressive.

Exiting storm will bring some snow to Denver tonight

Well, we definitely missed out on what could have been a classic March snowstorm, but the large storm system that is now well east of us may drop a little snow as it exits this evening. Best chance for accumulation will be in the western and southern suburbs where upwards of five inches are possible, while anywhere from a dusting to three inches is expected everywhere else. Some snow showers may quickly dump some wet fluffy flakes in isolated areas, so higher amounts are not out of the question.

Things calm down a bit before another system swings across the region during the Sunday/Monday time frame. At this point it also looks like it will also take a southern track... and leave us out of the action again. For more on this, refer to every other post I have written in the last five months.

Where's our snow damn it?!

Winter stays on southern storm track

We continue to see one potent storm after another move onto the west coast, then quickly dive south over Arizona and New Mexico before launching east and wreaking havoc over the mid-Atlantic or deep south. Again, what looked like a decent chance at a nice snow storm for Denver about a week ago as dwindled into nothing but a chance of rain and snow showers over the next few days. With that, this week will be another spring like week, albeit a bit cooler than last, but no snow blizzards or deep-freezes to talk about. The coolest day of the week will likely be Thursday after a little cold front drops through the region Wednesday. By this weekend temps should rebound again nicely.................. And then? Who knows.