If you’re a Front Range snow lover, it’s been a long time coming. If you’ve enjoyed Denver’s mild and dry winter-to-date, though, you’re probably not going to love next week’s forecast.
For the first time in more than a month, a significant snowfall appears likely for Denver and the Front Range early next week. While details are still in question, it appears a moderate snowfall event could be in the offing for the urban corridor on Monday, perhaps lasting into early Tuesday.
Right now, Denver’s highest commute impacts look to come on Monday evening and Tuesday morning, although the storm could arrive early enough to impact Monday morning’s commute as well.
“Definitely (expecting impacts) for that Monday evening commute, and perhaps that Tuesday morning one also,” said Bernie Meier, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Boulder. “It’s going to get much colder on Monday.”
The biggest question about next week’s storm will be the exact track of the storm. The storm’s anticipated track, based on Thursday’s computer model data, would take the center of the area of low pressure through the Texas panhandle. That’s close enough that it’ll pull up moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean and swing it into Colorado. It’s also far enough south that it allows cold, Canadian air to drain in from the north.
If the storm tracks farther south than that, though, it could be far enough away that only light or minimal accumulations would fall in Denver.
That said, computer forecast data has been fairly consistent over the last few days, indicating increased confidence about next Monday’s storm trajectory.
Consistency from Euro on next Tuesday's possible Colorado snow. Still early, but the best signal we've had for a little while.
— Chris Bianchi (@BianchiWeather)
Timing is another question, although it appears likely that snow will impact at least the evening commute on Monday.
As of Thursday, it appeared that enough snow will fall to lead to big impacts for the Monday evening and Tuesday morning commutes. Should the storm track a few hours earlier, though, Monday morning’s commute could also be a wintry mess. This looks to be a medium-level snow event, meaning an early range of 3 to 6 inches of snow appears possible for most of the Denver metro area by the time the storm finishes early on Tuesday.
“Right now, we’re on track for probably the 3- to 6-inch range, but it’s probably a bit too early for specific numbers,” Meier said Thursday. “The timing is still kind of uncertain, the amounts are still in question.”
Higher amounts are likeliest along the Palmer Divide and points south, closer to the center of the area of low pressure responsible for the snowfall.
Regardless of snowfall amounts, though, Monday will feature a dramatic drop in temperatures following the arrival of an Arctic cold front late Sunday. Highs on Saturday and Sunday will likely top 60 degrees in Denver, perhaps approaching 70 on Saturday. By Monday, however, the mercury will struggle to reach 35 degrees, representing as much as a 30- to 40-degree drop in temperatures over a 24-hour time period.
Next week’s snow event also comes on the heels of an unusually dry and mild stretch for Denver and the metro area. Since Dec. 1, only 3.3 inches of snow have officially fallen at Denver International Airport, well below average for December and January.
“This’ll probably be (Denver’s) best snow since November,” Meier said.
