Cool and wet for Easter Weekend

After a quick reprieve from the unsettled and cool weather today, temperatures are set to dive once more as we head into the weekend. Forecast highs for both Saturday and Sunday are in the low 50s, with a 50% chance of rain and snow. Temperatures will flirt with the freezing mark during the overnight hours, thus a change to all snow periodically is not out of the question. I expect little to no accumulation with warm ground temps and mixed rain. In the mountains, on the other hand, a winter storm warning has been issued where up to 20 inches of snow has been forecast for some locations.

As we move into next week temperatures will remain cool. It looks like a good warm up will not take effect until the second part of the week, with cool air and scattered showers continuing to dominate the forecast Monday through Wednesday.

Unsettled week ahead

The going forecast for this week calls for a chance of showers about every 24 hours and cooler temperatures. The first, and possibly best, chance for rain comes overnight tonight. The associated cold front will drop highs into the 50s for Tuesday. By Wednesday another slight chance of showers is introduced, and again Friday into the weekend. Will wait on the later days to see if anything comes of these systems, for now they look light and disorganized.

West of Denver is bracing for more heavy Spring snow tonight, with many of the northern and central mountains looking at upwards of a foot and a half of snow. Rain and snow will be intermittent throughout the week for them as well.

Much needed moisture?

Finally a chance for rain and snow across Colorado over the next 24 hours. Scattered rain showers have already popped up in and around the Front Range, with heavy snow being observed in many mountain locations. I think temperatures will stay too warm for snow in Denver, but scattered rain showers and even rain mixed with snow seems likely overnight and into the day Thursday. Foothills to the west of town appear to be in line for some decent accumulation overnight as temperatures are expected to be cold enough for snow above about 6,000 feet, about 5 - 10 inches expected there. Further west even more snow is forecast.

Temperatures look to remain on the cool side through the period, but things should dry out a bit for a least the first half of the weekend (good news for baseball fans!).

Another storm system likely to leave Denver wanting more

High winds and low humidities will create extreme fire danger this afternoon across most of eastern Colorado in advance of our next cold front due later this evening. Unfortunately, this system once progged to give us a decent chance for rain and snow now looks like it won't bring much in the way of either. Cooler temps for Sunday? Yes. Chance of rain and snow? Yes. Downright cold and heavy precipitation? No. The mountains and eastern plains are expected to do much better than the Front Range as downsloping winds will likely hinder pricip amounts in the city.

Monday and Tuesday highs will once again climb into the 60s under clear skies. Another system is due in sometime Wednesday bringing us another shot of cooler air and unsettled weather. Won't hold my breath on this one either.

Rain, snow, wind, and cold barrel south

As I mentioned yesterday, today's weather is rapidly changing. This morning temps were still a balmy 65 degrees in central Denver. By 10am the skies had darkened and wind had picked up. At this hour the temperature has dropped into the mid 40s.

As one can see by the image to the right, there is a decent amount of precipitation heading towards us from the northwest. Rain and snow showers have already worked their way into parts of Denver proper, and are only expected to grow in coverage as we head into the early afternoon. The NWS expects any rain that does fall to quickly turn to snow. As it stands, it looks like we can expect somewhere between 1 and 3 hours of moderate to heavy snow in town - gradually diminishing as we head into the evening hours. The winds are expected to shift to favor the western and southern suburbs this evening likely cutting off accumulating snow in the northern and eastern parts of the city. Will keep a close eye on this scenario as it could change, but for now will stick with 1 - 4 inches in Denver with 2 - 6 in the snow-favored locations. With any luck at all this system will stall over Denver for awhile and give us a good dumping of snow!

Keep in mind greater than a foot of snow may fall in many locations to our west, so please use caution if you have to head to the high country today.

80s to give way to rain and snow

The mercury hit 82 degrees today shattering a our record high by 6 degrees! Now the bottom is set to fall out as we head into the day tomorrow. Latest forecasts looking good for finally getting some much needed moisture up and down the front range, some of that coming in the form of snow. This time of year it starts getting difficult to predict snow totals as so much hinges on how fast rain turns to snow, and accounting for warmth in the ground after weeks of above seasonal highs. With overnight lows in the 20s Sunday night (a whopping 55 degrees cooler than this afternoon's highs!) rain should eventually turn to snow and some accumulation is expected in the city. Many of the mountain communities are already under winter weather alerts as heavy snow and driving wind is expected to pummel locations to our west. I will wait another shift before getting too specific about snow amounts in the city, so for now just prepare for big changes in our weather over the next 12 to 24 hours!