Cooler weather returns to Denver after a mild weekend
Thanks in part to a strong downslope wind off the mountains ahead of the cold front now affecting the area, we saw temperatures top 60 degrees across the Denver area today. The warm-up has come to an end, though, as a cold front has already passed by, bringing a chilly wind with it tonight. Monday morning temperatures will generally be in the 20's across the metro area, but breezy conditions and scattered clouds throughout the day will make it feel slightly cooler than what the temperatures indicate. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll see highs top out in the low to mid 40's in the city, while areas at the base of the foothills (Boulder, Golden, etc.) will only be in the upper 30's and also will experience stronger winds. Up in the foothills, it will be a raw, windy day with highs only topping out around 30.
The breezy conditions will subside tomorrow evening, and we'll see a cold night with temperatures falling into the low teens across most parts of the metro area (maybe some single digit readings out on the plains). However, we'll see a quick rebound with high temperatures reaching the mid to upper 40's on Tuesday and Wednesday (close to average for mid to late February). We'll see a strong storm system affect southern Colorado beginning Wednesday, and it could bring some flakes to the metro area by Wednesday night/Thursday, but right now it looks like most of the snow will end up missing Denver to the east, while parts of the eastern plains could end up seeing a potent snow storm.
Light snow for the mountains overnight
A weak system responsible for the cooler air filtering in tonight will produce a round of snow showers for the mountains, favoring the north and central regions the most. Accumulations will be light for most areas, in general 2-4 inches, with lesser amounts in the southern San Juans. Areas from Steamboat to the far northern Front Range (Cameron Pass) could actually end up doing a little better, perhaps seeing up to 6 inches if they're lucky. Not a big storm by any means, but enough to freshen up the slopes for some areas.
Potent winter storm aims for Southern Colorado on Wednesday
A large trough of low pressure will reach the state by Wednesday, favoring the San Juans with big snow potential. Areas such as Wolf Creek and Silverton, and also Taos, NM, will be in line to rack up some impressive snow totals, with strong southwesterly winds. The storm should intensify over eastern Colorado by Thursday as well, perhaps bringing some good snow to the Sangre de Christos and then the eastern plains (as mentioned above, the storm will likely miss most of the Front Range cities to the east).
As the storm begins to move out to the east, we should see some wrap-around snow develop over northern Colorado which would likely favor Steamboat, and depending on how strong the wrap-around is and how much available, could benefit the rest of northern and central Colorado as well. Even after the main storm exits, it looks like a northwesterly flow could develop and persist for several days over northern Colorado, which would be awesome news for ski resorts and bring similar powder conditions that were seen late last week. However, it's still a little too far out to be able to predict with any kind of certainty that this will happen, but it is definitely something to keep an eye on. The weather pattern across the Rockies looks quite active through at least the end of February, which is great news, so hopefully we will continue to pick up some good mountain snowfall.
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