Gore Range views on a sunny day from Meadow Mountain, near Minturn (2/8/13)
Southern storm dumps heavy snow on the San Juans Sunday night into Monday
Skiers and snowboarders who were lucky enough to be in Wolf Creek today likely enjoyed a phenomenal powder day, with 16" of new snow as of this morning's snow report and 40" over the past three days! Additionally, Durango Mountain reported 14", while Silverton saw 8" and Powderhorn 7". Snow continued in the southern mountains today as the storm moved east, with more of the precipitation concentrated in the Sangre de Christos and southern foothills. Colorado Springs got in on a little of the action as well, picking up a couple of inches today. Winter weather advisories remain in effect for the Sangre de Christos tonight, as well as the southeastern Plains, but the storm will have exited Colorado by tomorrow morning as it moves into west Texas and Oklahoma, bringing snow to those areas.
Tuesday morning, temperatures will be below zero for many mountain areas west of the divide, and temperatures will remain chilly, though not bitterly cold, through the day as the clouds begin to clear. Winds may be a little breezy at times at the higher elevations, but will generally be light.
Tuesday morning, temperatures will be below zero for many mountain areas west of the divide, and temperatures will remain chilly, though not bitterly cold, through the day as the clouds begin to clear. Winds may be a little breezy at times at the higher elevations, but will generally be light.
Sunshine returns to Denver on Tuesday
It was pretty cold in Denver today with overcast skies and temperatures only topping out around 30. Most parts of the metro area will be in the low teens tomorrow mornings, but in the foothills and eastern plains, it will likely be in the single digits. Skies will clear overnight and the sun will return tomorrow, warming temperatures into the upper 30's (while chilly, it will feel much more comfortable thanks to ample sunshine and light winds). Wednesday will be the warmest day of the week with temperatures rising into the upper 40's in the city. However, the warming trend will be short-lived as a cold front reaches Colorado on Thursday, bringing colder temperatures and perhaps some snow.
Snow possible for Northern Colorado, Front Range on Thursday/Friday
A storm system will skirt the northern and northeast portions of Colorado on Thursday, bringing unsettled weather on Thursday through Friday. This system is going to be a close call, depending on how far east and/or north of us it tracks (some disagreement in models). The best thinking at the moment is that Steamboat and the northern Front Range (Indian Peaks, RMNP, Cameron Pass) will get in on the action first (on Thursday), and then after the cold front passes through northeast Colorado and winds switch to northeasterly, Denver and the eastern Front Range foothills could see a round of upslope snow. This will likely be a light-to-moderate snow event overall, but it's too early to tell. Additionally, the northern mountains could see some initial snow showers ahead of the main system on Wednesday, thanks to available moisture and favorable winds.
Dry Saturday and Sunday, possible mountain snow storm for President's Day
Looking farther ahead, after the system I mentioned above exits the state by late Friday, dry and sunny weather will return for the weekend. However, this stretch of dry weather will likely be short-lived as models indicate a low-pressure system moving into the central Rockies on Monday the 18th (President's Day). Even better news for the long term is that it looks like yet another system will move in just a couple of days later. After a bone-dry January, it sure is nice to see a weather pattern develop that brings in storms to the area every few days. Let's hope that this trend continues and that we can start to make up for our snowpack deficit.
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