Cold and snow still on the way for Wednesday. Models less impressive with snow amounts today which makes sense with a more arctic type front. Cold air will push down from the northern Rockies late tonight into Wednesday morning. Models showing upslope flow but only up to about 9000-10,000 ft with winds becoming more northwesterly above that, so highest snow smounts could be in the lower foothills below 8000 ft. Snow looks to arrive between 5 am and 8 am south of I-70, earlier north of I-70. Snow to continue through the day and diminish in the late afetrnoon on Wednesday. Temps will drop throughout the day, with warmest temps at sunrise. Temps expected to be at or below zero Wednesday night into Thursday morning, so a cool start to the day on Thursday, but mostly sunny and warming by afternoon. The commute on Wednesday could be slow and slick, especially with warm temps today, first snow could initially melt at lower elevations and become ice underneath later snow. Most snow will be east of the Divide, so little if any in the mountains west of the Divide. Snow amounts now look like this:
Models now keep things dry and mild through the weekend and into next week. next chance for snow looks to be late next week or next weekend.
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"Climatology is what you expect, Weather is what you get".
"It is better to be roughly right than precisely wrong".
Mon Jan 9
A fairly tranquil start to the week with seasonal temps and dry conditions for Monday and Tuesday. A cold front associated with an upper level trough will move down from the northern Rockies on Wednsday and bring more snow and cold temps to eastern CO. Cold front is epxcted to move south from the WY border early Wednwesday morning, with snow north of I-70 in the early morning hours and moving south later in the morning. Snow looks like it will be mostly light in intensity, but I expect 1-2 inches across the Urban Corridor and Plains east of I-25, with 2-4 inches possible over the foothills and Palmer Divide. Snow should end Wednesday evening, so commute on Wednesday likely to be slower than usual with some slick roads. Very cold temps expected in the wake of this system Wednesday night/Thursday morning. This system will only affect areas east of the Divide, so no additional snow for the mountains west of the Divide.
Another similar system is forecast to impact CO Friday evening into Saturday morning.
On a global scale, it appears the upper ridge that has been parked along the West Coast and eastern Pacific is in no hurry to move anywhere soon. Long range models keep the ridge in place for the next 7-14 days. This ridge has been responsible for the drought conditions over CA and our CO mountains as well as the incredible snow amounts in southern AK. Anchorage and Cordova have reported up to 18 feet of snow over the past month, with several roof collapses and the National Guard being called to in help remove snow from homes and roads. Storms have moved into southern AK before heading southeast into the northern Rockies.
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"Climatology is what you expect, Weather is what you get".
"It is better to be roughly right than precisely wrong".
Too bad future generations aren't here to see all the great things we are spending their $$ on!!
