Dangerous Cold

A *wind chill warning* remains in effect for most of Colorado today, including the greater Denver metro area. According to the National Weather Service a secondary surge of colder air may help keep temperatures even colder than previously expected. The current temperature is 8 below zero, and is not expected to climb much higher than that today. Tonight temperatures will be approaching record lows with -20 forecast for Denver. Areas with clearing and protected from the wind could see temps drop even lower. With wind chills near -40 today and tonight, the NWS warns frostbite on exposed skin is possible within 5 - 10 minutes. Below are images of the current temperatures and wind chills in the U.S. One can only imagine what these maps will look like tonight...

Temperatures will start to moderate a bit come Thursday, but will remain on the cool side through the weekend. Our next chance for snow looks to be Sunday into Monday, with another arctic blast possible. Still way to far out to have any confidence in this at this time.

Bitter cold in store for Denver, snow on the way as well

An arctic airmass like we haven't seen in quite some time is headed for Colorado, and will be fully entrenched come Monday night. The National Weather Service is now forecasting a high of -2 degrees on Tuesday. The last time we did not make it above zero for a high was way back in 1997! Single digits will return on Wednesday before finally breaking freezing again Thursday.

In addition to the cold, the NWS has issued a *winter weather advisory* for nearly all of eastern Colorado. At this point it looks like Denver can expect anywhere from 3 - 7 inches of snow from midday Monday through early Tuesday. Snow-favored locations to our south and west are looking at more like 5 - 10 inches from this storm.

While it appears that the bitter cold will be the major weather story of the next several days, please stay tuned for any changes to the going snowfall forecast.

Stay warm out there!

Snow moves on, cold persists

For those of you who follow my blog through the winter months, you know all to well about the dreaded dry slot. Last night, after a brief period of moderate snow, a dry slot pushed in all but shutting off the snow for Denver completely. While snow finally did redevelop early this morning, it was very light, and we were likely robbed 2-3 inches of accumulation. That said, it was nice to finally get a "real" snow, and almost everywhere in northeastern Colorado picked up some much needed moisture. Here are some snow totals as of this morning (inches):
Golden: 8.6
Greely: 6.0
Highlands Ranch: 5.0
Northglenn: 4.5
Central Denver: 4.0

While snow will continue for some in far eastern Colorado this morning, the rest of us will just be dealing with the bitter cold. Current temperature: 5 degrees F. Tonight's low: -8 degrees F. Bundle up!

More mountain snow, Denver remains dry

Ski resorts across Colorado's high country are basking in what is shaping up to be one of the best Novembers in recent memory. Many mountain locations picked up two feet of snow last week, and are bracing for more of the white stuff in the coming days. According to the Denver Post, some locations could pick up as much as four feet of snow this week, a scary headline for one of the busiest travel times of the year. The good news (if you want to call it that) is that the densely populated front-range will once again be spared, and travel in and out of DIA should not be interrupted. While forecasters are calling for the coldest temperatures of the season to roll into Denver on Wednesday, at this time it does not look like any snow will be accompanying it (NWS). Temps should rebound nicely going into next weekend, and the wait for Denver's first (real) snow will continue...

This image from the National Weather Service, and edited by yours truly, shows winter storm warnings from California to Colorado, but nothing east of the Divide.

Bitter Cold Grips Nation

Just how cold did it get overnight? -16 degrees F was the low temperature recorded at Denver International Airport sometime just after 3am this morning. Currently we are not doing much better... hovering at about 8 degrees below zero. We are not alone in this arctic blast as nearly every state in the country is getting a little taste of winter. Check out the current wind chill map from the weather channel - it feels like -44 degrees in parts of North Dakota! Highs are expected to stay in the low teens in Denver today... but with the sun shining, this should be bearable. Tonight's lows will once again drop below zero before we make a nice recovery for the weekend!