Sun mixed with some clouds, is expected to in Denver for most of this week, with snow confined to the mountains until Saturday, the National Weather Service predicts.
Windy conditions will accompany snow in the high country with gusts up to 60 mph, said Natalie Gusack, a NWS meteorologist. An avalanche warning issued on Sunday for the Front Range and the Vail and Summit County area remains in effect until 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Denver’s high temperature is expected to reach 46 degrees on Monday. Temperatures in the mountains will range through the mid-20s to low-30s, Gusack said.
“For today, the snow is in the mountains. We are looking at it reaching the plains come Tuesday night, Wednesday morning, but it will mostly be up near the Wyoming border. Come Saturday, it will reach across the plains like a blanket,” Gusack said.
But total snowfall is expected to be small. “As the week continues we will probably get better information on that,” Gusack said.
Winds carrying Pacific Ocean moisture, blowing across Western states including Colorado, are expected to bring steady snow in the mountains this week. That storm system could bring snow to metro Denver by the end of the week.
So far, annual precipitation in metro Denver is running behind at 11.2 inches compared with the normal 14.08 inches at this time of year. But weather forecasters said the pattern is shifting toward something more typical of winter.
“Snow-pack is rapidly catching up,” National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Fredin said Sunday. “It certainly will catch up in the coming weeks.”
Colorado’s ski areas need the snow.
At Winter Park on Sunday afternoon, the resort operators reported 12 inches of new snow over 24 hours, and the adjacent Mary Jane Territory opened. Winter Park operators reported 17 of 25 lifts running. But only 4 percent of Winter Park’s expert runs, and 16 percent of intermediate runs, were open, according to the Colorado Ski Country USA snow report.
At Vail, 3 inches of snow fell Sunday and 144 of 195 ski runs were open.
