A strong storm is expected to have a massive impact on Thursday night at the scheduled time. Bad conditions in the Denver metro area will begin Friday afternoon.
In Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins and most places below 6,000 feet, rain will mix with snow on Friday afternoon and all snow will change for Friday night and Saturday morning. So the CBS4 weather team has declared the first warning weather day from noon on Saturday.
The Denver metro area is under winter storm warning starting at 4 p.m. Friday. The maximum impact of this last season’s storm will be related to the accumulation of snow on the trees. Since most trees now have full leaves and the snow will be very heavy, the weight of the snow can easily break at least the limbs of small trees. Areas that accumulate at least 6 inches can cause significant tree damage, including large limb fractures. These large organs can cause extensive and prolonged power outages while damaging homes, vehicles and other property.
The highest total snowfall in the mountains at the foothills of Jefferson, Boulder, and Larimer County, and west of Val Pass, will vary significantly across the region. All of these areas are under winter storm warning. For the Denver metro area, locations southwest of downtown Denver have the best chance of snowfall of more than 6 inches. Elsewhere the total number should be at least 2-3 inches.
Further west and east, there is a winter weather suggestion instead of a warning which means the expected snowfall will be less and the effects should be less severe. 3-7 inches of snow is forecast in the I-70 corridor in the eastern plains through Limon, while 5-11 inches to the west of the I-70 Val Pass and the hills around Steamboat Springs, Aspen, Vail and Guinness should be found.
Here’s the storm we’ve all been waiting for. It initially introduced itself by creating a wall of dust that was lifted by strong winds transporting cold air from the north.
Further west and east, there is a winter weather suggestion instead of a warning which means the expected snowfall will be less and the effects should be less severe. 3-7 inches of snow is forecast in the I-70 corridor in the eastern plains through Limon, while 5-11 inches to the west of the I-70 Val Pass and the hills around Steamboat Springs, Aspen, Vail and Guinness should be found.
Temperatures are expected to be below record in Denver on Saturday morning and again on Sunday morning. Metro areas can drop as much as 26 degrees in both mornings which means a hard ice that can damage sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.
Denver and the entire front range have frozen alerts from 9 p.m. Friday until 10 a.m.
Looking ahead to the second half of the weekend, start with another hard ice on Sunday afternoon before temperatures reach 50s. Sunday will have limited sunshine and will be mainly dry. There is still a possibility of rain but it will rain, not snow.
Snow has already started falling across some highlands above 7,000 feet on Friday morning and will continue to snow all day there. There will be snow in the Denver metro area during the evening commute.
This storm is the perfect recipe for weather conditions to provide enough snow in the front range to overcome the 3.9 inches of snow we received in May 2019.
The cold front that passes through the barrel is creating upward air, which creates moisture. We already have enough moisture in the atmosphere so the upward movement will only help to create more moisture. On top of that, the jet stream will roar and due to our placement under that jet, the humidity will increase further.
The angle of the sun towards the end of May will initially prevent snowfall, so the heaviest snowfall may occur after sunset on Friday night.
Footpaths from Estes Park to Conifer can expect 12 to 24 inches of snow on Saturday afternoon. There will be up to 30 inches of snow at Rocky Mountain National Park and some maximum altitudes. Palmer divisions near Castle Rock and Monument should be expected to be 12 to 18 inches. Colorado Springs, and the Denver Metro should receive 4 to 8 inches of snow.
On Saturday and Sunday mornings, temperatures dropping below 20 degrees Celsius caused deep snow across the region.