It seems odd to be writing this from 70 degree warmth of Florida, and wishing I was back in CO to experience the record cold. So, not nearly as much snow as forecast, but plenty of cold. The western upper trough that was supposed to provide the moisture for the northern trough stayed farther west and south, so we were only influenced by the arctic front, which had very limited moisture, most areas received less than 2 inches, with 4 inches being the max outside Boulder.
The majot winter storm that is affecting a large portion of the US will kick into high gear later today into Wednesday. Major snow and ice will impact the Midwest, Ohio Valley, Great Lakes and Northeast today and Wednesday, which will adversely affect travel across a very large area. Major flight delays and cancellations will ripple through the air traffic system as major hubs like Dallas, Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, New York and Boston are impacted. It will likely take a few days for the system to return to normal operations.
Coldest air is yet to come with low temps tonight expected to be from 3 to 10 degrees colder than last night, so record lows likely in many areas of CO, and wind chills 10 to 20 degrees lower than ambient temps, so dangerous cold tonight and Wednesday morning. Actual low temps will be -10 to -20 most areas, with some temps down to -30 in protected valley areas. Temps will moderate some on Wednesday with more sunshine and should make it near or slightly above zero most areas. Wednesday night cold again, but not as cold as Tuesday night with temps from 0 to -10. Thursday temps warm back to near seasonal norms with high temps in the 20's most areas. Models indicate a slight chance for some snow showers on Thursday, but no accumulation expected.
Upper ridge will remain over the eastern Pacific and bring brisk northwest flow and disturbances over CO this weekend. A chance for light snow or flurries will exist Friday and Saturday, with little or no accumulation expected in the foothills, perhaps an inch or so mountain areas. A more vigerous disturbance is forecast to affect CO Sunday and Monday, bringing better chances for accumulating snowfall, but no more than a few inches at this time. Yet another arctic blast is forecast to plunge south over CO late Sunday into Monday. Temps will not be as cold as the current arctic air, but still cold with temps below zero again if models verify.
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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!!
