March in Denver often means snow, and it looks like a classic spring snow event could be in the offing later this week.
An area of low pressure could bring several inches of snow and gusty winds to eastern Colorado on Wednesday night through Thursday. It could lead to a hefty accumulating snow for parts of the Front Range, potentially including the Denver metro area.
High uncertainty remains, however, as the exact positioning of the storm system will determine snowfall amounts and exact impacts. Temperatures will also be borderline cold enough to produce high snowfall amounts, throwing in another layer of uncertainty with this upcoming system.
“There remains a considerable amount of uncertainty with this system,” the National Weather Service wrote in its evening forecast discussion on Monday night.
A sharp cold front arrives from the north on Wednesday evening, ushering in a period of cold rain on Wednesday night into Thursday morning. As colder temperatures filter in from the north, however, that rain will likely switch over from rain to snow on Thursday morning.
That front will also take high temperatures from the mid 60s on Wednesday down into the 30s by Thursday afternoon. Friday also looks chilly with highs only topping out in the 30s, before temperatures rebound back closer to seasonable levels on both Saturday and Sunday.
The positioning of the area of low pressure will be key to snowfall amounts and exact impacts from this week’s storm. The center of the area of low pressure is forecast to be somewhere over eastern Colorado. If it’s a bit further north, it’d likely limit impacts to the Denver area, because most of the moisture would stay in Wyoming and western Nebraska. If it tracks a bit further south, however, it could draw in more cold air, and potentially more snow along with it.
Heavy snow/strong wind potential for the area Thurs, but low confidence on strength/position of system. Follow us for latest forecast
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder)
In addition to the snow, winds could top 40 mph along the northeast plains of Colorado, particularly east of Greeley and by Fort Morgan. This could make travel exceptionally difficult on parts of Interstates 70 and 76 on Thursday, if not impossible. Some of those gustier winds could move into Denver and the urban corridor, although the strongest winds will likely be in eastern Colorado.
At the very least, any errands or spending prolonged periods outdoors will be difficult on Thursday, in particular.
This is Denver’s snowiest month of the year, on average, with over 11 inches of snow each March. So far this month, however, it’s been mild and snow-less, with only half an inch of total monthly snowfall through Monday, and Denver’s average monthly temperature was running more than five degrees above average.
If this week’s storm track holds together, however, it could signal a big spike in that monthly snowfall amount.
