Snow and Blowing Snow East... Clear in Denver

The storm system that brought snow to the greater Denver area for the last two days has finally moved east. The system is still causing brutal conditions out near the eastern border and neighboring states, but here in town let the melting begin.

Forecasts show temperatures rebounding quite nicely after today. The only thing keeping weekend highs from soaring into the 60s is the snow cover - nevertheless temperatures will be warm during the days with highs in the lower 50s. So far dry and seasonable weather look to be the story of the next week.

Storm Shifts East

Light snow will continue into the early afternoon before ending completely. Radar shows the storms energy has shifted well east of Denver at this hour, giving the plains a little taste of the action before exiting the state completely later today.

Check out some of the snow totals on the right. These will be updated again later today.

Snow to Continue!

The National Weather Service has updated their snow totals forecast. The low has slowed down as it makes its trek across Colorado, and with that expected snow totals have dramatically increased. Denver can now expect between 14 and 28 inches total, with snow ending sometime Thursday. Many foothill locations are already reporting 28 inches of snow.

More to come soon...

Impressive Snow Totals and Storm Update

We are already seeing some impressive snow totals around the region... Here are a few of the highest reports as of 10am from the National Weather Service:
Nederland: 15 inches
Evergreen: 12 inches
Boulder: 11 inches
Denver: 3 inches

With most places reporting "heavy snow" in the last hour I think it is a pretty safe bet that these totals will continue to increase. National Weather Service is calling for 1 to 4 feet for foothill locations... with 9 - 18 inches still the going forecast for Denver proper.

Looking Good for Snow

For the most part everything looks to be on track for a pretty decent snow event of the next 36 hours. The only blip is the potential for a dry slot working its way in tomorrow evening cutting off snowfall early... but the National Weather Service gives the impression that would effect areas east and south of Denver proper more so than the city itself. Forecasts of about a foot between late tonight and midday Thursday look about right for Denver - with favored areas in the southern and western parts of town receiving 15 - 20 inches. A lot has to go just right for this to materialize - but, so far so good!
This image from the National Weather Service shows how large of a region this storm will cover. The pink within the circle represents *winter storm warnings* with Denver at the eastern edge of those warnings.

Update on storm...!

The National Weather Service has upgraded the winter storm watch to a *winter storm warning*. Snow totals are expected to range from 1 - 2 feet in the mountains, 10 - 18 inches in the foothills, and 8 - 14 inches in Denver. Depending on timing, how much initial melting takes place because of the warm ground, and how long into Thursday the snow lingers - these amounts could vary widely. Some forecasts are predicting as much as 18 inches here in town! While others are leaning more towards six... I would say that the NWS's 8 -14 inches is a good compromise.

Snow should begin to develop tonight after midnight. Heaviest snow during the afternoon Wednesday through Thursday. The warning expires at 6pm Thursday.

Snow! Snow! ...Snow?

The National Weather Service has issued a *winter storm watch* for most of the mountains and the urban corridor from late Tuesday night through Wednesday night. At this point the forecast is calling for 6 - 12 inches of snow during this period, with "areas of blowing snow and reduced visibilities" (nws). A winter storm watch means that there is the potential for a decent storm - but with plenty that still needs to come into place - not a certainty. The blue shaded areas on the left image show the areas under the winter storm watch, the image on the right is the current radar (weather.com) with the approaching storm in the northwest. (click to enlarge)




Keep in mind there are still many details to be worked out in the next 24 hours as this storm starts to take shape. In the latest forecast discussion by the NWS they discussed a number of concerns that may limit the amount of snow fall we actually see. Those include the uncertainty surrounding the duration of the storm (some models suggest it will move faster than others), the potential for dry slots and downsloping wind (hindering upslope favorable for Denver, and keeping heaviest snow accumulation west and east of Denver). That said, they seem to think 6 - 12 inches is a good compromise as some models are suggesting upwards of 18 inches, and other predicting less.

This blog will be following the any developments very closely over the next 12 - 24 hours! Stay tuned!

One Two Punch?

Another interesting week seems to be shaping up with the first of two systems set to move in tonight. The National Weather Service has upped precip chances for Denver to "likely" tonight through much of the day Sunday. While some models are showing a healthy 4 - 8 inches of snow for the southern suburbs and foothills, forecasters are thinking they are far too generous. The general consensus is that any rain or snow that falls in the forecast over the next 24 hours will remain on the light side. Some accumulation is possible, especially in the more favorable areas. Highs will be cool tomorrow - struggling to reach 40.

After tomorrow all eyes turn towards Tuesday. A cold front is progged to drop into the region sometime Tuesday, bringing with it rain and snow. I am restraining myself from getting too excited about this storm... but some models are suggesting we could be in for a prolonged event! At this point because there are still some glaring discrepancies between the various weather forecasting models the NWS has broad-brushed Tuesday-Thursday with chances of snow... but not committed to calling this the storm of the year. There is plenty of moisture, and cold area to work with, it becomes a matter of timing and where exactly the low sets up. If the GFS models pan out, we will likely see another fast moving storm with little snow accumulation. Most of us remember the blizzard of '97 where 19.1 inches of snow fell in 24 hours... setting a new record for October. I will leave you with an image I found from that storm... And we will see what happens this week!

Wintry Weather

Most of the region woke up to a fresh blanket of snow this morning! While temperatures finally got cold enough for rain to change to snow around 7am this morning, most of Denver's precip fell in the form of rain through much of the night. Snow showers, and rain mixed with snow will continue this morning - slowly tapering from north to south as we move through the day. You can see in the image below that most of the heavy precip has already shifted south of Denver. Areas west and south of town continue under a winter weather advisory until 6pm this evening for a total of 3 - 8 inches of snow. In Denver accumulations should stay on the light side. It is likely that the dusting of the white stuff many of us see out our windows this morning will be about as much snow as we will get from this system.
Mild weather will be quick to return after this little taste of winter. Temperatures will remain cool tomorrow with highs in the low 50s - but by this weekend we will be back in the warm 60s!

Quick Shot of Rain - Maybe Snow

After tying a record high yesterday (84 degrees), and another warm beautiful day today, things are about to change again. The National Weather Service is starting to feel pretty confident about approaching cold front and have upped precipitation chances to 80% Tuesday night. The biggest question that surrounds this next system are the temperatures. At this point it looks like it will remain warm enough in town for a rain/snow mix with all snow above 5400 feet. Obviously a difference of just a few degrees could change that - and if we manage to cool things down a little more and faster it could all be snow here in Denver as well. That said, foothills are only expecting 2-5 inches tomorrow evening into Wednesday, so even if it does all come in the form of snow here in town, I would not expect an earth shattering event. Nevertheless, we will have to keep an eye on it and see!

It will remain cool through the rest of the week with highs in the 50s for Thursday and Friday - and then possibly warmer for the weekend.

Warm This Week

Record Breaking Low... Cold to Continue

Last night's low of 17 degrees was recorder-smashing! The old record low for October 10 set back in 1905 was a balmy 25 degrees. This image from cbs4denver shows the light dusting of snow downtown, which is our first accumulating snowfall of the season. North of Denver near the Wyoming border conditions were much worse, forcing the closure of I-25 for several hours last night. Cold temperatures will stick around for at least the remainder of the day. Sunday temperatures will moderate a bit, giving way to a pretty seasonable week. The next frontal system will threaten to bring cooler temps and precip by the end of the week.

For today... Snow showers have diminished for the most part. Will not rule out additional flurries this afternoon and this evening.

-Stay warm!

Beautiful today... Then SNOW!

Things are about to get real interesting around here, and in a hurry. After a picture perfect day today with highs in the low 70s, the bottom will drop tomorrow as cold airmass from Canada dips south during the day bringing Denver a good chance of snow tomorrow afternoon and evening. Although chances are "likely," the NWS thinks accumulations will be light. Just in case the forecast falls apart and it does not snow tomorrow night, we have another decent chance for snow from Friday night through Saturday. Saturday's highs will likely not break the 40 degree mark.

Denver's average first snowfall is October 19th... Looks like this year that could come early. Stay tuned as details for accumulations, temperatures, and timing will continue to get worked out!