Update at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 27: This story will no longer be updated. Click here to see an updated forecast, snow totals from the National Weather Service and current road conditions for Wednesday.
Previous reporting:
Update 6:45 p.m.: A major winter storm moving through Colorado will continue to drop plenty of snow in the mountains Tuesday night and cause road conditions to deteriorate until Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
The storm is behaving similarly to how forecasters thought it would, causing the biggest impacts in the mountains, said NWS Boulder Meteorologist Maggie Ideker.
There’s still some uncertainty about how much snow the Denver metro will see, Ideker said.
Snow totals will depend on how cold it gets, if rain turns to snow and if road surfaces become cold enough for the snow to stick.
A narrow band of heavier snow about 5 to 7 miles wide could cause a , and freezing temperatures may cause wet roads to become extremely slick as late as Thanksgiving morning.
According to Tuesday evening forecasts, the high end of expected snowfalls includes:
- Up to 4 inches of snow at DIA and in Brighton;
- Up to 5 inches in Northglenn;
- Up to 6 inches in Denver, Aurora, Broomfield, and Boulder;
- Up to 7 inches in Arvada, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood and Littleton;
- Up to 8 inches in Golden and Parker.
Original story: Snow is falling in Colorado’s mountains Tuesday morning, but the worst of the Thanksgiving week storm is yet to come, according to the National Weather Service.
NWS forecasters said mountain snowfall had been but is expected to intensify steadily throughout the day, causing hazardous travel conditions along mountain roads and passes.
Ayesha Wilkinson, a meteorologist with the NWS Boulder office, said snow is expected to fall at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour in the mountains through Tuesday night.
“Heavy mountain snowfall will lead to significant travel disruptions across the higher terrain and all mountain passes through tonight,” NWS forecasters said in a on Tuesday. “Moderate snowfall will also impact the foothills and Palmer Divide beginning tonight, with deteriorating road conditions.”
Snow will continue in the mountains through Wednesday, spreading to metro Denver and the Interstate 25 corridor around 2 a.m., forecasters said in the outlook.
Depending on overnight temperatures, Denver and the surrounding area could see a few inches of wet snow accumulate, but forecasters said road impacts will be limited.
According to Tuesday evening forecasts, include:
- Up to 3 inches of snow for Denver, Denver International Airport, Brighton and Northglenn;
- Up to 4 inches of snow for Arvada, Broomfield and Boulder;
- Up to 5 inches of snow for Aurora, Centennial, Lakewood, Colorado Springs and Littleton;
- Up to 6 inches of snow for Golden and Highlands Ranch;
- Up to 7 inches of snow for Parker;
- Up to 8 inches of snow for Castle Rock;
The mountains are also expected to see 2 to 3 more feet of snowfall by the time the storm wraps up Wednesday night, according to NWS snow forecasts. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center warned backcountry travelers that the storm will bring dangerous avalanche conditions.
The most snow is forecast for West Elk Peak, the highest summit in Colorado’s Elk Mountains, which could see up to 55 inches of fresh snowfall between Tuesday morning and Thursday morning, .
Other mountain include:
- Up to 40 inches in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, especially along Monarch Pass and Berthoud Pass;
- Up to 40 inches in Colorado’s lower Elk Mountains, including Ohio Pass, Kebler Pass and Chair Mountain;
- Up to 37 inches in Colorado’s Park Range, including Mount Werner;
- Up to 31 inches in White River National Forest;
- Up to 31 inches in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, including Wolf Creek Pass and Coal Bank Pass;
- Up to 26 inches along Vail Pass;
- Up to 24 inches in Winter Park;
- Up to 21 inches in Keystone;
- Up to 20 inches in Eldora;
- Up to 16 inches in Breckenridge.
Eastern Plains communities will see a few inches or less of snow, and the storm is expected to wrap up across the state around 11 p.m. Wednesday, forecasters said.
A remains in effect for areas above 9,000 feet until 5 p.m. Wednesday.
will start for the foothills and areas south of metro Denver, including Castle Rock, around midnight Tuesday and remain in effect until midnight Wednesday, .
Another for Denver and the surrounding suburbs will start at 2 a.m. Wednesday and expire at 2 p.m. that afternoon, according to NWS forecasters.
“Banded snowfall is possible Wednesday morning, leading to widely varying snowfall totals,” forecasters said in the advisory. “Locations in the southwest Denver metro have the highest chance of winter weather impacts.”
Though Thanksgiving will be cold, with highs in the mid-30s across the Denver area, it comes nowhere near the coldest the holiday has been in the metro.
The coldest Denver Thanksgiving, a record set in 1919, saw temperature highs in the negatives with overnight lows near -18 degrees.
Cold, dry weather will continue through Saturday after Thanksgiving, with temperature highs forecast in the mid-30s across the Denver area and in the teens across the mountains.
A few mountain snow showers are possible Friday night into Saturday, forecasters said. Otherwise, warmer and drier weather is expected through the weekend.
